How real cats hunt: stalking, waiting and pouncing

Tests: 3 of 12 right · Exam: 3 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 11 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 119 of the biology course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.

Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.

Test 1 · ★★ · wrong ✗

«my cat sits staring at a mousehole for ages and gets nothing, he's useless» What is right?

1. Cats are not hunters at all — score 4
2. Real cats catch a mouse every time, so he must be ill or very lazy — score 6
3. Sit-and-wait hunters often wait a long time and catch nothing, even wild cats — ✓ the right answer · score 7
4. He is waiting for cheese to come out of the hole, not for a mouse — ← Mova's choice · score 8

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 8, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 119, line 2: «Real cats mostly hunt by waiting, not chasing: a cat may sit perfectly still beside a hole in the garden for an hour, ears swivelling to catch the faintest scr…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «wait» (+4); the same doer «real cats» (+4). The right option, 3, scored 7. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★★ · wrong ✗

«cats can see in pitch black, that's why they're out at night» What is right?

1. No, cats are completely blind at night — score 2
2. Yes, in total darkness they see perfectly, better than in daylight — ← Mova's choice · score 6
3. They need some light, but only about a sixth of what we need — ✓ the right answer · score 2
4. Cats see only in bright colours at night, never in grey — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 6, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 119, line 8: «Cats can see in about one sixth of the light people need, but in total darkness a cat sees nothing, just like you.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same place «total darkness» (+4); the same action «see» (+2). The right option, 3, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Why don't your own eyes shine green in a torch beam?

1. Our eyes are always closed at night, even when we walk about — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. People do not have the shiny tapetum layer behind the retina — ✓ the right answer · score 3
3. Our eyes are too small to catch any torch light — score 4
4. Torches only work on animals — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 104, line 12: «A platypus shuts its eyes, ears and nose under water and finds shrimps and worms by feeling tiny electric signals from their muscles with its bill; males have…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «shut» (+2); the same thing acted on «eyes» (+2). The right option, 2, scored 3. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★★ · right ✓

How could a mouse's own squeaks help a cat find it?

1. Mouse squeaks smell of food, and cats follow the smell to the mouse — score 6
2. Squeaks make the mouse glow — no support
3. Cats cannot hear squeaks at all, so they do not help — score 7
4. Cats hear very high sounds and can turn their ears to the spot — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10

Why: It took the question to ask what something is like. It chose option 4 with score 10, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 119, line 10: «Each cat ear has about 30 muscles and can turn on its own to pinpoint a sound, and cats hear very high sounds, including mouse squeaks, far above what people h…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «hear» (+5); the same doer «cats» (+5). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★★ · wrong ✗

«gonna trim my cat's whiskers so they look neat» Why is that a bad idea?

1. Whiskers are what cats taste with, so it could not taste its food — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. Whiskers keep the cat's head warm — no support
3. Whiskers grow back in one minute, so trimming is a waste of time — no support
4. Whiskers are full of nerves and help the cat feel its way and its prey — ✓ the right answer · score 4

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 1 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 119, line 11: «Whiskers are thick, deep-rooted hairs full of nerves; cats cannot focus well very close to their noses, so the whiskers sweep forward to feel the prey for the…», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «cats» (+3); a different action (counts against) (+1). The right option, 4, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Why would a well-fed cat play with a mouse longer than a hungry one?

1. A full cat is too weak and sleepy to bite the mouse quickly — score 1
2. Full cats cannot see properly, so they keep missing the mouse — score 1
3. It is in no hurry to eat, so it stays careful and plays — ✓ the right answer · score 2
4. Hungry cats are scared of mice — ← Mova's choice · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 4 with score 3, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 119, line 15: «Pet cats hunt birds, mice, voles, lizards and insects, and in places like Australia and on islands cats have badly harmed small wild animals; a bright collar o…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+3). The right option, 3, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★★ · wrong ✗

A kitten grows up alone, never seeing its mother hunt. What would most likely happen?

1. It would be the best hunter of all, as nobody got in its way — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. It would never chase anything at all in its life, not even a ball of string — no support
3. It would usually be a worse hunter, since hunting is partly learnt — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. It would learn to hunt from a book — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★★ · right ✓

In the Lion King, Nala pounces on Simba in play. What is that kind of play in real young cats?

1. Practice for hunting — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. A sign they are feeling ill — no support
3. A dance to attract birds — no support
4. A real fight to the end — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★★ · wrong ✗

«crap, the cat got a robin again» What could the family do to help birds?

1. Let the cat out more at dusk — score 5
2. Nothing, cats never harm birds, the robin must have been ill — ← Mova's choice · score 7
3. Give it a bright collar or bell and keep it in at dawn and dusk — ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. Feed the robins to the cat so it gets full and stops hunting — score 3

Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 2 with score 7, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 119, line 15: «Pet cats hunt birds, mice, voles, lizards and insects, and in places like Australia and on islands cats have badly harmed small wild animals; a bright collar o…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «birds» (+4); the same doer «pet cats» (+3). The right option, 3, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Why might cats and mice both be busiest at dawn and dusk?

1. Mice like watching the sunrise — no support
2. Cats have evolved to hunt when mice are out — ✓ the right answer · score 2
3. Cats are scared of the dark and the light — ← Mova's choice · score 3
4. They agree to meet then — score 1

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 3 with score 3, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 20, line 15: «Cat whiskers are very sensitive, about as wide as the cat's body, so they tell the cat whether it will fit through a gap, and help it sense prey in the dark.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same circumstance (+3). The right option, 2, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★★ · right ✓

«my 3 cats are all staring at the bird outside, how many ears pointing at it, no 4 cats, Mum's one too»

1. 8, two each — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. 6, two ears each on 3 cats — no support
3. 4, one ear each — no support
4. 16, four ears each — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★★ · wrong ✗

«why do small hunters like cats have slit eyes but lions round ones» What is the best idea?

1. Slit eyes help cats eat grass — score 2
2. Round eyes are only for animals with big teeth and loud roars — ← Mova's choice · score 5
3. Lions are blind in daylight, so they need round eyes for the night — no support
4. Slit pupils suit small animals hunting both in sunlight and at dusk — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 5, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 89, line 12: «The olm lives in dark caves in Slovenia and nearby; it has no colour, and its eyes are hidden under skin, because in total darkness eyes were no use and faded…», reached through the cause of the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «darkness eyes» (+3); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓

Identify the principal function of the tapetum lucidum in the feline eye.

1. It reflects light back through the retina, improving vision in dim light — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. It determines the colour of the iris — no support
3. It produces light of its own in conditions of total darkness — no support
4. It protects the surface of the eye from dust, grit and other foreign bodies — no support

Why: Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the hunting strategy predominantly employed by the domestic cat?

1. It obtains prey exclusively by scavenging the remains left by other predators — no support
2. It waits motionless near a location from which prey is expected to emerge — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
3. It hunts collectively in large organised groups — no support
4. It pursues prey over great distances until the prey collapses from exhaustion — score 5

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 5, tied with another option at 5 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 119, line 13: «Cats often bat prey about before killing it, which keeps their face away from its teeth and claws; well-fed cats play longer, and hungry cats get on with the k…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «bat prey» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗

Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning feline vision in the absence of light.

1. The cat perceives only the colour green at night, and every other colour vanishes until dawn — no support
2. In total darkness the cat is unable to see, though it requires far less light than a human — ✓ the right answer · score 8
3. The cat relies upon its eyes to emit a faint illumination of their own in darkness — score 6
4. The cat sees perfectly in total darkness, as well as by daylight — ← Mova's choice · score 11

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 11, against 8 for the next best. Its support: lesson 119, line 8: «Cats can see in about one sixth of the light people need, but in total darkness a cat sees nothing, just like you.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «see» (+4); the same doer «cat» (+4); the same place «total darkness» (+3). The right option, 2, scored 8. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓

Ascertain the approximate daily duration of sleep and rest in the domestic cat.

1. Between twelve and sixteen hours — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. Twenty-four hours without interruption — no support
3. Between four and six hours — no support
4. Between one and two hours — no support

Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/119-how-real-cats-hunt/