Though we tend to regard predators with awe, and some degree of dread, they are neither good nor bad, neither devils nor noble beings, but merely animals pursuing the way of making a living for which they are designed. Cats are wonderfully specialized hunters, the most carnivorous of the animals classified as carnivores. Coyotes, foxes, raccoons, and weasels all eat a mixed diet of prey, carrion, eggs, insects, and varying amounts of berries and other vegetable matter. The diet of black bears is as much as 90% vegetarian. Cats alone eat almost exclusively fresh meat. Vegetable material lacks sufficient nitrogen to keep pace with the cat's metabolism. In layman's terms, plants don't give cats enough nutritional bang for the bite. And so cats must hunt.

Cats are well-built for their job as hunters. Their teeth are very sharp, the large carnassial molars capable of a greater scissors-like shearing than any other carnivore. A cat's canine teeth are particularly dagger-like, long and pointed, able to inflict severe wounds. Cats can open their jaws to nearly 90 degrees. The muscles of the head and neck provide tremendous jaw strength and stabilize the cat for delivering the powerful killing bite. Retractile claws are designed to grab and hold prey, curving out, around and in like giant barbs. Lithe and muscular, with an especially supple spine, the feline creeps along "catlike" in a low crouch, then springs suddenly with great agility. So honed are they for the hunt that a cat's life has been described as having two activities—hunting and resting.

The timing and accurate deployment of this hunter's tools are guided by extremely acute vision. The design of a cat's head is not unlike a human's for they, like us, rely upon vision above other senses. Cats have round heads, fairly small ears, and lack the long muzzle and powerful nose of canids. The cat's large, forward-facing eyes provide it with binocular vision, with which it gauges the movements and position of prey, in preparation for a carefully-timed pounce.

The long-held belief that mountain lions spring down upon deer from a tree or ledge is a myth, speculates mountain lion researcher Harley Shaw. Cats can't risk injuring themselves by leaping from a great height or struggling with prey. Thus, they pounce only when the situation is optimal, and the chance for success high. Cats wait in ambush, or sneak up on prey, rushing in over the last 10 to 50 feet, rearing up to grasp their quarry over the shoulders. As the overpowered animal collapses, the lion bites deeply into the back of its neck, breaking the neck and killing the prey.

Do cats instinctively know how to hunt and kill, or must they be taught? A bit of both, it seems. Captive-reared mountain lions that had never hunted escaped from a zoo, killed several goats and small animals, then concealed the carcasses beneath soil and leaves. In a study, six-month old captive mountain lions with no previous exposure to hunting killed a mule deer fawn. But another captive mountain lion had to be fed potential prey before showing interest in killing it himself. Cats, then, seem to instinctively chase and kill, but they must be taught by their mothers what is appropriate prey, as well as the finer skills of hunting.

Cats are generally solitary animals. Their only society is that between a mother cat and her kittens, and among the kittens of a litter. These interactions can be surprisingly playful and, to our eyes, affectionate. Adults come together only during mating, then they part and the female rears the young alone. Kittens remain with their mother, learning to hunt and live a cat's life. Once leaving their mother and littermates, they begin a solitary existence in the shadows.

Next: The Cats