Hope - our cat makes a strange noise with her toys

My cat is a rescue. She often finds one on her toys and carries it in her mouth howling the whole time. At some point she might put it down and hover over as she cries. What is that all about? I keep thinking she thinks its food she has caught, but what is all the crying about?

Hope

Answer by Kate
Cats will often treat their toys like real prey so it could be the noise she is making is the noise cats make when they are hunting live prey. I wouldn't worry, in fact it is a good thing as she is able to express her natural instincts.

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Cat has been doing it since 8 weeks
by: Anonymous

I've had a cat from when she was 8 weeks old until now (6 years old). The first time I heard her I bolted downstairs to find her sitting in the middle of the kitchen with a sock laying in front of her. I knew right then and there that this would be a repeated behavior lol! She still makes these strange meow/purrs that are extremely loud whenever she plays with one of her toys. I think it's adorable. I've watched her through a window when I was outside, and witnessed her make these sounds when she's carrying a ball in her mouth. It almost seemed as though she was calling out to me to say "Mom! Mom! Look what I got!". I talk to her all the time, and whenever I hear her make these sounds late at night I call back to her reassuringly and say "Yeah! I hear you!" or "What!?". She usually responds back or purrs as if she's pleased that I've noticed :) It makes me happy to know that other cats do this..it means that these cats are happy and are just trying to let you know that they've caught something!
play sounds
by: Anonymous

One of my two cats, seems to prefer playing by herself. She was a rescue, so I don't know her background, but I got her when she was 8 months or so. Anyway, the first time I heard her "crying" it scared me, and I ran to see why. She was playing with a toy. After a while it became normal, and it makes me smile now because I know she's having fun! The noises she makes sound like she's saying "OH! OH! OH! AH! AH! OH!"
I don't understand why a cat would be so noisy when making a "kill" so I've been looking for an answer!

I have also noticed that my girls don't like the same toys most of the time. My other cat used to only like glitter balls, and we play fetch with them, but recently I bought them some soccer type balls and they both enjoy those. I think she likes these because they are soft and easy to carry in her mouth. Neither of my girls will go near a toy with a bell on it. We just have to honor their differences just like our human kids.

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