My Cat also eats bugs

miao_kitty

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So another "is it bad for my cat?" question. Shermie loves to hunt bugs like flies, spiders and ants. I've also seen him take on an earwig (pincher bug?) and a rolly-poly (pill bug?). He eats them when he's done toying with them. Which makes me wonder...are certain bugs bad for him to eat? I mean besides the obvious ones that are poisonous to humans like black widows and/or maybe scorpions. (Though I dunno much about scorpions...we don't really have 'em here) I nearly broke my toe tonight try to get Sherms away from a centipede (I've never seen one in this house before) b/c I didn't know if he could eat it or not....Am I just too paranoid? LOL
 

ldg

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Our kitties love to hunt them down, but they're really not that good at actually killing them. Pretty pathetic considering they were ALL ferals!
The only one that eats them is Ming Loy. But the only bugs we have in the house for them to get at are flies, spiders, and lady bugs. She eats them all.


Laurie
 
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miao_kitty

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Hi! Thanks for the advice. It's good to know my pain was worth it ;-). I've never seen a centipede in a house before ('cept at my parents' in the mtns. but they had all kindsa bugs, black widows including
). I don't think it's a house centipede (it's legs aren't as long as the pictures) but still, I'm not sure what I should do when I'm gone. I don't know where it came from or if more will come. *shudder*.
 

indigowulf

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I actually read an article somewhere about hobo spiders, which said the most green way to eliminate them was to let your cats eat them. Appearantly thier toxins dont effect cats like they do us.

The only bug Ive seen one of my cats actually eat that had ill effects (drooling) was a flying ant in ant mating season. He only bit it, didnt swallow it. I think it was the formic acid they defend themselves with.

Usually my cats know which bugs they shouldnt eat, the ant was a fluke because it was flying around so temptingly
 

snosrap5

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Tigger loves flies!
It's way to hard to try and rescue bugs in my house because if I move one cat I get ten more cats trying to find out what is going on!
 
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miao_kitty

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Originally Posted by indigowulf

I actually read an article somewhere about hobo spiders, which said the most green way to eliminate them was to let your cats eat them. Appearantly thier toxins dont effect cats like they do us.

The only bug Ive seen one of my cats actually eat that had ill effects (drooling) was a flying ant in ant mating season. He only bit it, didnt swallow it. I think it was the formic acid they defend themselves with.

Usually my cats know which bugs they shouldnt eat, the ant was a fluke because it was flying around so temptingly
Ok, so where are hobo spiders found? I looked them up on google briefly and they sure are ugly.
and scary. bleh.
 

indigowulf

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Hobo spiders are found all over the nothern part of the US and canada. 90% of "brown recluse" bites north of the mason dixon in US are actually hobos, as brown recluse dont survive well in the cold. the other 10% are actual browns that traveled in luggage, ect, but not native. Im sorry I dont have info on other countries, when I was researching them I was only concerned for my own little family and didnt pay attention to the rest. Best way to tell a hobo from a house spider.. hobos cant climb up walls. If you see one securely climbing along the ceiling, its not a hobo. Also, hobos are MEAN! I started researching them because I caught a spider in a jar after it ***charged*** me from 3feet away, and sure enough, it was a hobo.
 

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Lil' Jag also loves to chase and catch insects, especially flies.
 
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miao_kitty

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Originally Posted by indigowulf

Hobo spiders are found all over the nothern part of the US and canada. 90% of "brown recluse" bites north of the mason dixon in US are actually hobos, as brown recluse dont survive well in the cold. the other 10% are actual browns that traveled in luggage, ect, but not native. Im sorry I dont have info on other countries, when I was researching them I was only concerned for my own little family and didnt pay attention to the rest. Best way to tell a hobo from a house spider.. hobos cant climb up walls. If you see one securely climbing along the ceiling, its not a hobo. Also, hobos are MEAN! I started researching them because I caught a spider in a jar after it ***charged*** me from 3feet away, and sure enough, it was a hobo.
wow, kinda scary. These guys definitely validate my dislike for spiders! Thanks for all the info!!
 
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