where did the term cats game come from
Cat Perhaps the best known element of cats' hunting behavior, which is commonly misunderstood and often appalls cat owners because it looks like torture, is that cats often appear to "play" with prey by releasing it after capture. This behavior is due to an instinctive imperative to ensure that the prey is weak enough to be killed without endangering the cat.[174] This behavior is referred to in the idiom "cat-and-mouse game" or simply "cat and mouse".