Yes, hawks can eat cats, but it is uncommon and usually involves small kittens or very small adult cats, not typical full‑grown house cats.

Quick answer

  • Hawks are opportunistic predators that mainly hunt small animals like rodents, rabbits, and other birds, not pets.
  • Attacks on cats do happen, but documented cases are rare and usually involve small or unsupervised cats in areas with large raptors and scarce wild prey.
  • Most healthy adult cats are risky targets because they scratch and bite, so many hawks avoid them unless desperate or the cat is very small.

What hawks usually eat

  • Typical hawk prey includes mice, voles, ground squirrels, rabbits, and other small mammals and birds weighing roughly under 5 pounds.
  • Some large raptors (like red‑tailed hawks and great horned owls) can kill prey similar in size to small cats, but they still prefer easier, wild targets.

When a cat is at risk

  • A cat is more at risk if it is a kitten, very small (around 5 pounds or less), sick, elderly, or distracted, especially in open areas where hawks hunt.
  • Rare incidents and forum reports describe raptors killing or trying to carry off small pets when food is scarce or the bird is inexperienced, but these are described as isolated events, not routine behavior.

How to keep your cat safer

  • Keep cats indoors as much as possible, especially at dawn and dusk when many raptors hunt.
  • When outside, supervise your cat, use a covered catio, or let them out in areas with overhead cover like trees or awnings so they are less visible from the air.
  • Avoid leaving food outdoors that attracts prey animals (like rodents), since that can also attract hawks and other predators into your yard.

Bottom note

Information gathered from public forums or data available on the internet and portrayed here.