That cats don’t understand the nutritional value of a free meal doesn’t mean they’ve lost their instinct/drives to engage in feline behavior. Not every kill is because they intend to eat it, the internet is full of pictures of people grossed out because their cat brought them a half dead rodent, bird, or snake. Barn cats often lean more on the feral side but will still take you up on a free meal if provide it. The toys we buy for our pet cats are designed around engaging their predatory behavior and channeling it into not lethal play. If you keep a cat locked inside and are its only source of food, it will eat whatever you provide and adjust its behavior to the life offered. If you don’t provide opportunities for enrichment and feed it garbage it probably will end up unhealthy and obese, but I’d still question how often it’s seeking to alleviate it’s boredom stalking and killing bugs when you’re not looking. One of the biggest concerns for wildlife is that cats are domesticated enough to understand the convenience of a human-sourced bowl of free food to fill their bellies but being well fed doesn’t suppress the instinct to hunt. They’ll kill when the opportunity arises because they have the instinct to and it alleviates boredom even if they have no intention of eating it. You’re correct that the responsibility is on the human, because the human understands all this and is responsible for controlling the environment and diet.
This is true for any animal kept in captivity. If you’re the only source of food eventually they will eat what’s available even if it’s detrimental. If you don’t provide for their behavior needs they’ll indulge those drives in ways you don’t want. Dogs will dig, shred, and develop anxiety. Parrots will pluck themselves naked. A lot of fish and reptiles won’t eat the wrong thing and have a low tolerance for the wrong environment, they just die.
That cats don’t understand the nutritional value of a free meal doesn’t mean they’ve lost their instinct/drives to engage in feline behavior. Not every kill is because they intend to eat it, the internet is full of pictures of people grossed out because their cat brought them a half dead rodent, bird, or snake. Barn cats often lean more on the feral side but will still take you up on a free meal if provide it. The toys we buy for our pet cats are designed around engaging their predatory behavior and channeling it into not lethal play. If you keep a cat locked inside and are its only source of food, it will eat whatever you provide and adjust its behavior to the life offered. If you don’t provide opportunities for enrichment and feed it garbage it probably will end up unhealthy and obese, but I’d still question how often it’s seeking to alleviate it’s boredom stalking and killing bugs when you’re not looking. One of the biggest concerns for wildlife is that cats are domesticated enough to understand the convenience of a human-sourced bowl of free food to fill their bellies but being well fed doesn’t suppress the instinct to hunt. They’ll kill when the opportunity arises because they have the instinct to and it alleviates boredom even if they have no intention of eating it. You’re correct that the responsibility is on the human, because the human understands all this and is responsible for controlling the environment and diet.
This is true for any animal kept in captivity. If you’re the only source of food eventually they will eat what’s available even if it’s detrimental. If you don’t provide for their behavior needs they’ll indulge those drives in ways you don’t want. Dogs will dig, shred, and develop anxiety. Parrots will pluck themselves naked. A lot of fish and reptiles won’t eat the wrong thing and have a low tolerance for the wrong environment, they just die.