> Most cats catch for fun rather than food I think

The hunting trigger is only loosely connected to hunger — they don't get hungry then go out to hunt, they'll often see a hunting opportunity and go for it, eating the result partially/totally/not as needed. In a situation with abundant prey this will look like they are mostly hunting for “sport”.

I assume this comes from hunt availability/success being intermittent: it is better to slightly over-hunt (and slightly overeat) to keep reserves up for a lax period that might be coming.

They say that a fed cat is a better mouser, and this might be why. A truly hungry cat will prowl less to conserve energy so have less opportunistic encounters with prey.

>Are cats actually effective at pest control or is that cat propaganda?

Yes. Have you never heard of a barn cat? Until recently pretty much ever commercial or industrial facility large enough to have its own maintenance department typically had one or more.

>How would cats operate in these societies?

Just like a barn cat. Leave out starvation rations for it and it'll hunt for the rest.

> Most cats catch for fun rather than food

Domestic cats do. Stray cat's hunt for a living.

Catching for fun rather than food actually increases their mouse-hunting potential. With fun as a motivator, they can catch a lot more mice than they have the appetite to eat.

I mean, you don't need archeological evidence given that there's a vast amount of historical evidence of cats being kept for pest control as well as companionship. Even the Western world was largely agrarian just a hundred years ago! And farm cats are still a common thing. Free-roaming cats are also a massive threat to bird populations in many places – cats are just very effective predators and birds reproduce much slower than mice and voles.

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