Live Cat Appraisal: Starting with a Beast That's Got a Long Prison Record

Chapter 202 Cat's Anti-Addiction Mechanism
Two days later, the sun was shining brightly.

It's perfect weather for releasing them!

Xu Dafei and several colleagues from the Cat Alliance drove to the rescue center.

Upon entering, they only saw Xia Qiyue sitting leisurely in the courtyard, holding a cup of flower tea and enjoying the warm autumn sun, but Chen Nian was nowhere to be seen.

"July, where's Old Chen?"

As Xu Dafei placed the empty mobile isolation pod against the wall, he asked curiously.

Xia Qiyue shook her phone.

"Hey, we're broadcasting on the grasslands outside."

"Live stream? At this hour... did he take Xue Aotian out for a walk again?"

“It’s not just Xue Aotian.” Xia Qiyue smiled and said, “Dian Dian and Xiao Huihui were also forcibly ‘requisitioned’ by him and dragged out to be teaching assistants for ‘real combat training’.”

"Huh? Live-fire training?!"

"How old is Aotian? How come he's already involved in real combat!"

Xu Dafei looked completely bewildered and hurriedly opened Chen Nian's live stream.

The live stream suddenly switched to a vast meadow.

In the distance are continuous snow-capped mountains, and on the ground nearby are countless obvious pika burrows.

The sounds of wind, insects, and Chen Nian's clear commands came through the receiver:

"Yes, yes, yes! The one right next to your feet! The hole where we just made that noise! ​​Oh dear, how stupid of you! You ran away!"

"The left side! There's another hole on the left! Quick! Block it!"

Under his repeated commands, the purple-furred ball of fur was busy running around in circles on the meadow, pouncing left and right, its movements swift but always a beat too slow, or misjudging the direction, and being outmaneuvered by the alert pikas. It didn't even manage to touch a single fur, and instead exhausted itself, panting heavily.

Chen Nian shrugged at the camera.

"Hey fellow cat lovers, you can see the huge gap between theory and practice, right?"

"Snow leopards are known for their low hunting success rate among large cats. They have to cope with high-altitude hypoxia, complex and steep terrain, and extremely alert prey. It's not as simple as you think; they can't just kill indiscriminately just because they have claws."

As he spoke, he waved to the side.

"Teacher Huihui! Go! Demonstrate what 'professionalism' really means!"

The camera panned, and the sturdy and steady Little Grey Wolf wagged its tail, looking like it had nothing to do with you guys, and slowly strolled into the center of the frame.

Xu Dafei looked at the wild desert cat on the screen, which had become a 'teaching tool'.

His lips twitched violently involuntarily.

Not buddy!

This is a genuine, purebred wild desert cat!

You're treating this like you're training a pet dog, ordering it around like that. Isn't that absurd?
He couldn't help but turn his head to look at Xia Qiyue, who was watching with great interest, and asked, "What exactly is going on here?"

While watching the live stream, Xia Qiyue explained, "Well, during the live stream this morning, some new cat lovers were being argumentative, insisting that snow leopards catching pikas on the plains is indiscriminate killing, even though Aotian is still young. They also thought that Aotian practicing with toy mice every day is just theoretical and a waste of his talent."

"They just keep setting things up and creating a buzz, it's so annoying."

"And then Old Chen actually went?"

"Hmm~" Xia Qiyue nodded.

"Who told someone to insist on arguing? You know Chen Nian's personality; he likes to let the facts speak for themselves. Oh right, you reminded me."

As she spoke, she skillfully switched back to the backend management interface, found the ID with the bar in front of it, and then decisively checked the 'ban for 365 days' option.

"Done!" she clapped her hands in satisfaction.

Xu Dafei watched this scene and silently swallowed.

Actually, Chen Nian wasn't entirely trying to spite the trolls.

He wanted to take this opportunity to truly train Xue Aotian's biting ability and reaction to live prey.

Success or failure in actual combat is not important; what matters is accumulating real experience.

Soon, Little Grey in the picture got into character.

It distanced itself from the restless and erratic Xue Aotian, chose a cave entrance, lowered its body as if it had transformed into a gray rock, its eyes sharp, its muscles tense, and entered a state of absolute stillness, then patiently waited.

This wait lasted for nearly ten minutes.

puff--

The surface of the soil at the burrow entrance shifted slightly, and a plump pika cautiously poked its head out, looking around warily.

Just at this moment!

Swish-!
As quiet as a virgin, as active as a stripped rabbit!
Little Grey is moving!
It strikes with pinpoint accuracy from above, like an arrow released from a bow!

The whole process was so fast that it was almost impossible to see!
All they heard was a soft crack, and the squeaks of the pika disappeared instantly!
This was a textbook example of a successful hunt!

Kill with one blow!
Clean and neat, without any delay!
Many viewers in the live stream were instantly captivated by this scene, exclaiming that Teacher Huihui is amazing!

After successfully hunting, Little Grey, carrying the still slightly twitching pika in its mouth, swaggered over to Chen Nian, squatted down, tilted its little face up, and swayed the tip of its tail proudly.

"Hmm! Well done!" Chen Nian traded a handful of cat food for a pika with Little Grey.

He tossed it to Xue Aotian, who was already staring wide-eyed and eager to try it out.

Ouch!

At this moment, the whimpering monster finally evolved into the howling monster!
Xue Aotian let out a strange cry and pounced on the pika.

The instinct to hunt awakens at this moment!

It doesn't need to be taught; the behavior is ingrained in its bones and it uses it subconsciously.

The pika was just the right size for Xue Aotian to hold in his arms.

First, it instinctively bit the pika's neck tightly with its small but sharp milk teeth, holding it firmly with its two front paws. The next second, its powerful hind legs seemed to be equipped with electric motors, and it began to kick and thrash wildly like a rabbit!
Upon seeing this familiar scene, many cat lovers in the live stream instinctively covered their arms.

"Holy crap! That posture! That movement! It's exactly the same as my unfilial son!"

"Yes, yes, yes! My cat does that too! We were petting each other, and it was purring contentedly, when suddenly it grabbed my hand and started nibbling and kicking! Luckily, I have thick skin!"

"I had a worse time. Last time, my unfilial son got carried away and didn't know his own strength. He forgot to trim his claws and kicked me, leaving several bloody marks!"

"Teacher Chen! Do all felines do this?"

"what is this?"

Seeing this, Chen Nian took the opportunity to start explaining the science.

"The 'rabbit kick' that everyone sees is indeed very common in felines, and it is not a deliberate attack, but a hunting instinct engraved in their DNA."

"Just like how Aotian learned it naturally without me ever teaching it."

"In the wild, this is an effective way for felines to kick their prey to suffocate or tear its fur as quickly as possible."

Some viewers in the live chat still didn't understand:
"Then why does my cat suddenly do this to me when it's feeling comfortable?"

"This one"

Chen Nian couldn't help but chuckle softly.

"That involves a very interesting mechanism in felines, which we can call the 'anti-addiction' mechanism."

"Anti-addiction?"

Many viewers who had never heard of it before immediately became interested and perked up their ears.

Chen Nian pointed to Xue Aotian, who was still working hard:
"This also stems from their survival instinct."

“Subconsciously, felines cannot remain in a state of extreme comfort and relaxation for extended periods, as this would reduce their alertness to potential dangers.”

"Therefore, they have evolved a self-protection mechanism."

"When comfort reaches a certain threshold, their instincts will sound an alarm: 'Danger! Too relaxed!' Once the alarm sounds, their first reaction is to immediately get out of this state and protect themselves. And the most direct way is to give the object that makes them feel comfortable, such as your hand, a 'rabbit kick' or a nibble."

"'I can't be this comfortable! I need to stay alert! I'll bite/kick first!' -- That's probably what's going on in their little brains."

"So far, this is also widely considered to be one of the most reasonable explanations."

The viewers in the live chat suddenly realized what was going on.

"I see!"

"So it bit me not because it dislikes me, but because it likes me so much that it's afraid of becoming addicted?"

"Another day of being enlightened by Teacher Chen!"

Chen Nian smiled and shook her head, then turned her attention back to Xue Aotian.

Although the little guy was full of vigor, he was still young and his claws and teeth were not sharp and powerful enough. After struggling for several minutes, he was panting heavily, but the pika's fur was almost completely intact.

All that was left was a pile of rabbit fur.

Boo.
The little one was very disappointed and buried his head in Chen Nian's arms, starting to whine again.

Chen Nian quickly comforted her.

"It's okay, you're still young, you'll grow a month more!"

With Xue Aotian's incredible growth rate, three months is equivalent to five months for other snow leopard cubs. When that time comes, dealing with a pika will be a piece of cake.

Just then, Chen Nian's phone rang; it was Xu Dafei calling.

"Have you arrived at the shelter?"

"Okay, okay, I'll go back right away."

After hanging up the phone, Chen Nian curled her fingers to her lips and whistled a loud and clear whistle.

squeak--

Soon, two figures darted back from different directions.

"Let's go! get out of class is over for today."

"I have to go take your boss home!"

(The dragon roars!! May all the cats be rich!)
(End of this chapter)