behavior changes

Question
Hello, I have a four year old, spayed female cat. Recently she has had some behavioral problems. We have pet mice and fish, but she learned a long time ago not to bother them, and usually ignores them. When she has gotten in trouble in the past she always knew she was in trouble and would run and hide after I scolded her. Lately she has been trying to get into the mouse cage, and been knocking over the fish bowls.That is unusual for her, and when I got after her for it she responded as if nothing happened but would rub up against my legs and purr as if looking for attention. It seems to be that around the same time she started acting out there was alot of stress in the house. I was wondering if that is affecting her, but everything has pretty much settled down and she is still misbehaving. I am really worried about her and not sure what to do. Thank you for your time, Kayla.

Answer
Kayla,

Cats are exceptionally intelligent predators. It takes intelligence to be a stealthy predator and feign disinterest until the time is right to pounce. Instincts do play a role when it comes to how much you can domesticate out of your pets and you can't domesticate the hunter and predator characteristics out of your cat. Unfortunately for your mice and wet pets they are the natural prey for your cat. I'm quite surprised that she's been so good for so long. Being a predator comes naturally to cats, they are built for that purpose. I'd recommend that you try using an aquarium covered with a reptile grate if you would prefer that your cat doesn't try to eat your mice. As for the fish bowls an aquarium with a reptile cover will also solve that problem.