Snake Protects Mouse While Cat Watches

Mice are generally perceived as unintelligent animals. However, they are not given enough credit for their instincts. These instincts help mice keep away from danger that plagues them from the air and from the land, given that they are targeted as prey by so many predators.

However, when two predators confronted one mouse, it did not panic. Instead, something very interesting happened, as one of the predators protected the mouse from the other, leaving many to wonder what was going through the mouse’s mind during this time. While the mouse’s thoughts may never be known, the dynamic of a predator saving prey and making unlikely friends is always something that makes good viral videos, which is exactly what happened when a snake saved a mouse from a cat.

Snake Protects Mouse From Becoming A Cat’s Dinner

Mice have more predators than most other animals. Because of this, they consistently have their guards up for any changes in sounds, smells, or unknown creatures in their environment. In most instances, a mouse would be afraid of a snake and a cat being in the same location, given that both creatures are known to hunt mice and make them their prey. However, a viral YouTube short video shows that snakes do not always hunt mice. At times, they protect them instead.

A video on YouTube features a white constrictor-like snake, a mouse, and a cat. The snake appears to be protecting the mouse from the cat by placing its head over the mouse, not letting the cat get near. For its part, the mouse looks calm and is not struggling to get away from the snake. The cat, as many commenters, as well as the title, pointed out, looks perplexed that the snake is keeping the mouse safe. Although cats are generally not afraid of snakes, this cat does not attempt to take the mouse from the snake’s safe care, choosing to be an onlooker to the situation instead.

To be fair, there were many comments about the video being made via artificial intelligence. There were other versions of the video that AI clearly generated. But, regardless of whether the video in question is real or not, it does beg the question of what mice think when confronted by a predator. In all cases, it is a thought of sheer terror as mice are instinctively afraid of known predators who target them.

Mice Are Instinctively Afraid Of Cats And Snakes

Mice have an instinctual fear of a great many animals. This includes snakes and cats. Consequently, if mice catch the scent of snakes or felines, they will do their best to get out of the area and hide, sensing that danger is present.

A study published in Cell wanted to put the theory to the test of whether all mice are afraid of snakes or just those who lived in the wild. Scientists put the scent of “snakeskin essence” as well as cat urine in a cage with mice who had never encountered either animal before. The mice all reacted the same, cowering in the corner of the cage, believing there was impending danger.

Again, these mice had never been around a snake or a cat before. It was their instinctual fear that kicked in, causing the body to go into flight mode. It is this instinct that has helped mice escape from would-be predators before they are seen in the wild.

This study was found to be relevant in 2016 when another study was conducted to determine just where in the mouse’s brain the fear was rooted. According to a study published in Nature, the fear response is located in the region of the brain associated with the olfactory sense. Therefore, it makes sense that smell is what causes mice to enter a state of “hyper-preparedness” so they can survive.

According to Dr. Linda Buck, Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center neurobiologist and Nobel Prize winner and team lead, the results are akin to people experiencing PTSD.

“The stress hormone response is very reminiscent of human responses to fear and stress. And of course, there are disorders in that, like PTSD,” Buck explains. “Understanding the neural circuitry underlying fear and stress of various sorts is very important, not just to understand the basic biology and functions of the brain but also for potentially finding evolutionarily conserved neural circuits and genes that play an important role in humans.”

Without the ability to smell predators and build in instincts, mice would be easier to hunt than they already are for a multitude of animals, cutting their lives even shorter than it is for so many.

Mice Can Turn Off Their Instinctive Fear Response

Perhaps more interesting than the fact that mice have instinctual fears regarding certain predators is the fact that mice can override that fear instinct when they learn that there is nothing to be afraid of.

According to a 2025 study published in Science, scientists wanted to see if mice could learn not to be afraid of a perceived threat. In this case, it was a massive shadow that was used to simulate a predator being nearby.

When the mice initially saw the shadow, they ran away, hiding in the corner of their cage. Scientists then placed a barrier in the cage, not allowing the mice to run away. The mice did not have anything negative happen to them, yet the shadow remained.

After spending some time in the cage with the shadow present but nowhere to hide, the mice learned they were not in danger. Consequently, when the barrier was removed and the shadow returned, the mice did not run.

Therefore, the instinctive fears can be eliminated if mice learn that fear is not a threat. While it is not clear if the cat was seen as a threat to the mouse, it is clear that the mouse in the video has learned the snake is a creature that will not harm it, but protect it instead.

Cats See Snakes As Prey

What makes the video of the snake seemingly protecting the mouse even more interesting is the fact that the cat is being held at bay. The cat is not pursuing the mouse, but more importantly, the cat is not pursuing the snake. This is interesting, given that cats see snakes as prey and do not have a fear of them.

Given that cats do not have a fear of snakes or mice, it is interesting that the snake can fend off the cat. The cat in the video appears to be perplexed by the situation, but is not going out of its way to fight to get to the mouse. This may be due to the fact that the cat, mouse, and snake were raised together and developed a harmonious relationship, as opposed to being introduced to the house at different times.

While the dynamics of this trio are not explained in the video, under normal circumstances, cats have evolved not to fear snakes. Instead, they see them as prey or even something to be played with. Consequently, if the cat truly wanted to catch the mouse, it would have attacked the snake without hesitation, especially if there were no past negative interactions when hunting snakes. Likely, the cat would have pounced on the snake’s head to incapacitate it, allowing it full access to the mouse.

However, because all the animals in the video appear to be completely calm, the trio has likely been together for an extended period, if the video is, indeed, real. There also does not appear to be a lack of food, meaning predation instincts may be significantly less than they would be in the wild, suggesting that fears of predators can diminish if there is no reason for them to exist.

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