BERLIN (Jan 3, 2008): Many cat owners are regularly treated to a grisly scene in the morning. Half awake, they open the front door to fetch the newspaper and spy a dead mouse on the doormat.

Another corpse may lie nearby, perhaps that of a young rabbit, a fish, a bird as big as a magpie, a frog or a toad. Few small animals are safe from a cat's hunting instinct. What can you do if your feline keeps bringing home fresh victims?

"A human being can hardly influence a cat's hunting instinct, which is innate," noted Brigitte Noltze of the Berlin-based German Cat Lovers' Association. The instinct does not diminish even when a cat has been kept indoors for years.

"The urge to hunt doesn't disappear," Noltze stressed.

But this does not mean that every cat, when let outside, will automatically do a lot of hunting. "It's also a matter of character," Noltze said. "The intensity of the hunting instinct varies greatly."

Cats born in the autumn and who spent their first months indoors often have a weaker urge to conquer a wide swath of territory and hunt a lot, pointed out Heidi Bernauer-Muenz, an animal behavior therapist from the western German city of Wetzlar.

The breed also plays a role. Long-haired and relatively heavy cats such as Persians have hardly any hunting instinct, said Anneliese Hackmann, president of the World Cat Federation and German Pedigree Cat Club, both based in Essen.

Breeds such as Bengal cats and Savannah cats - domestic-wild hybrids - have a greater urge to kill other animals. "Abyssinian and Somali cats also have strong instincts," Hackmann said. The widespread European shorthair is also a very agile and eager hunter.

Many cat owners put a belled collar around their cat's neck to warn prey of its approach. Experts say this endangers the cat, though as the collar can become entangled in underbrush or on a tree.

"Apart from that, a bell doesn't really give warning because a cat remains still for a long time before attacking," Noltze said.

Creeping up on prey, lying in wait, getting ever closer, and then pouncing - this is how all domestic cats hunt. "Most cats have this technique only," Bernauer-Muenz said. "Only a minority can pursue prey and attack from a greater distance." These cats are the most skilful hunters, and even catch birds.

Some cats are unafraid of water and can gradually empty a garden pond of fish, if you allow them to. In such cases, experts advice, the pond should be covered with a fine-meshed net or screen.

"If you want to keep down the overall number of victims, you should keep your cat indoors when it likes to hunt - namely at night," Hackmann said. Newly hatched birds are easy prey.

"If you want to do songbirds a good turn," Noltze recommended, "you should keep your cat indoors more often" during the breeding season.

Many cat owners feel sorry for the little victims their kitty drags home.

"You should remember, however, that natural selection is at work here," Bernauer-Muenz remarked. "Cats usually catch ill or weak animals."

Noltze agreed: "People must simply accept it. They can affect their cat's hunting score, but not its hunting instinct." - dpa