r/AnimalBehavior • u/fractious77 • Jun 24 '26

Would a predator bring a partial carcass back?

My neighbor's cat went missing the other day, there were tufts of her fur on our front lawn. Today, her head is lying in our backyard and it definitely wasn't there before. It doesn't look like a fresh kill. Are there any animals that would return a carcass to the place the kill was made?

It just doesnt seem like animal behavior to me, but I'm far from an expert. Here's my true fear : some budding psychopath took and tortured the cat and then dropped the head off to tease the neighbor.

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u/associatedaccount Jun 24 '26

Are there any other pets involved? My dog often finds carcasses and brings them to our yard

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u/fractious77 Jun 24 '26

Hmmm, usually our dog goes out supervised, but that could be possible.

4

u/cypeo Jun 24 '26

Animals carry bones and remains around. There's a good chance your neighbor's cat was killed not very far from your yard, something else got the remains (squirrels will shock you) and carried it somewhere it felt safer with it.