Scorpions: Danger to cats?

salsanchips · Mar 15, 2008

In the first year of my new house (before I got my two cats) I discovered and killed three scorpions inside the house. These are the small, brownish-gold, semi-translucent ones you find in central Texas. Terminix has sprayed inside and out, but nevertheless, one or two scorpions will probably get in again this summer.

My understanding is, getting stung by one of these scorpions is not that much worse than a bee sting -- at least for a human (still, Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m keeping my eyes out for themâ€¦).

Question is, what about cats? My cats have shown a keen interest in pursuing various insects when they appear and Iâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]m sure scorpions would be no different.

If a cat gets stung by a scorpion, how dangerous is it to the animal (other than the pain they would have to endure)?

audiocat · Mar 15, 2008

I grew up in rural Arizona and we always had scorpions in the house and always had cats. There was never a problem.

We now live in Austin and we again have scorpions. From what I understand from our vet, the scorpions here in Austin, TX are not as poisonous as the Arizona variety.

The vet did say that it can be a problem if the cat is stung on the nose, mouth or paw pad, but that it is rare this happens.

Maybe someone on this site has had a cat stung by a scorpion and can offer more advice.

btw: I've been stung in Arizona by one. It REALLY hurts.

strange_wings · Mar 15, 2008

Neither of mine have been stung, but I have found one that was suspiciously beaten to death on the floor a few years ago.

I think for the most part cats know how to handle scorpions and spiders, after all look at where domestic cats originally came from.

One thing I've found that helps is not to have anywhere for the scorpions to hide and if you see your cats looking at anything intently, you better check. Both Sho and Tomas have found scorpions for me.

I'm probably the odd one out in that I usually offer the skinny dehydrated scorpions water and food before I release them outside.

It sounds like you have the same ones in Texas that we do here. They're not a very aggressive scorpion and do prefer to run and hide first.

Ask Terminix or other pest companies about what you can do to help keep them from getting in. It may be as simple as changing what is around your house, such as flower beds or what is in them. We have a concrete sidewalk that goes all the way around this house, except for a small part, and luckily don't get too many scorpions.

c1atsite · Mar 15, 2008

Good question as I might be moving to 'zona

artgecko · Mar 15, 2008

I live in AL and we get the little black house scorpions sometimes (about 2" max length) our cats used to kill them all the time without any ill effects.

Art

mochaviolino · Mar 17, 2008

Originally Posted by AudioCat

I grew up in rural Arizona and we always had scorpions in the house and always had cats. There was never a problem.

I agree. Personally, those things scare the bejeezus out of me (no matter how tiny!), but I've never heard of a cat that was injured by a scorpion. If anything, it was the other way around.

Out of curiosity, what kind of spray are you using for the scorpions? We've always been told they have no effect on them..

courtney_ou · Mar 22, 2008

im in SE OK and we probably have the same kind of scorpions. chloe got stung 2 summers ago and it didnt hurt her. her paw just swelled up a bit. i made her a little ice pack with a ziplock baggie and she had so much fun pushing that around the house that i think she totally forgot she'd been stung. i'd keep bendryl just in case

goldenkitty45 · Mar 23, 2008

I'm glad I live in Minnesota

jencat · Mar 23, 2008

I don't think the ones in Texas are like the Arizona bark scorpions that are the common ones where I live. You would think there would be the possibility of an allergic reaction with any sting though. At least 1 or 2 of the barks get in my house every summer after the monsoon season starts. They can get through the tiniest of cracks. I'm lucky because some people have infestations of them and they can fall off their ceilings in their beds and such. They creep me out and I always freak out when I find one! My cats have found them before I have but luckily none have been stung. They are such a neutral color that they blend in with carpeting so you can get a nasty surprise if you walk around barefoot.

natalie_ca · Mar 23, 2008

Originally Posted by GoldenKitty45

I'm glad I live in Minnesota

Ditto that! Give me snow and floods over creepy crawlies any day!!!

laureen227 · Mar 23, 2008

Originally Posted by Jencat

I don't think the ones in Texas are like the Arizona bark scorpions that are the common ones where I live.

no, ours here are little light brown ones:
sting comparable to that of a bee sting.

strange_wings · Mar 23, 2008

^If people wanted scorpion pictures, then they should have said something! I have some of the "rescues" before I released them.

As I've said, they're not very aggressive (thankfully). I've had them in bed with me... one ran over my foot one evening. I would much rather had a scorpion in my bed then other things (roaches, centipedes, recluses, etc)
Many years ago I saved one from some children during late October, they had dug it out of it's hibernation spot and the weather was already too cold to just let it go. I set up an aquarium for it and a few months later she had babies (that's one way to sex a scorpion lol). Sadly my uncle decided to sneak into my bedroom while I was at school and killed them.

She had become somewhat tame, would take crickets from tweezers, and wouldn't raise her tail to me.

If you find one in your home the easiest and safe way to catch them is to just use a cup and a pencil. Herd them into the cup and then go dump them outside at the edge of your yard.

cinni · Jun 1, 2013

I just moved to AZ, and my cat was stung a couple nights ago. She yelled like crazy. Her paw swelled up almost double and she limped around for a couple hours. Other than that she is fine. Think she thought it was a new toy. lol

cinni · Jun 1, 2013

Can't say that I took it outside though. Actually stomped on it two or three times.

dralx · Jun 4, 2013

hello, im new to this site and to cats...im getting my first adopted kitten this weekend.

Also, and probably more important, Im a doctor in rural central Mexico (Zacatecas) where scorpions are abundant (in my practice i have had scopion stings go from 3 a month to even 6 or 8 a day being more frequent in dry humid zones and during the summer). most scorpions in north america belong to the centuroides (genus i think) and here in mexico we have 2 different kinds that are proven deadly, we have developed an antivenom designed for humans and is very effective, however, i doubt it will work on cats. We have recorded over 500 house remedies for a scorpion sting, however, only the antivenom is proven to be effective. the main reason why these home remedies have persisted is in the nature of the scorpion sting in itself, there is a kind of sting (pre-sting, if you may) that realeases an enzime which is designed to "melt" part of connective tissue present in skin and therefore is very painful, but harmless, therefore many people attribute the "cure" to home remedies. My office, home, and clinic are fumigated regularly every 1 or 2 months but i still find scorpions roaming around, (just this week three, i believe) most are just lost and will run away or try to hide when comfronted but i dont take any chances and eliminate them right away, there was a post that asked for an effective toxin against scorpions...i use a spray in which its active ingridients are imiprotine and cyflutrine (if the translation is correct) and in my expireince it is highly effective and fast (hope that helps some).

As I stated earlier, im a cat newbie and as i was reading on about vet visits, food, care, and home proofing i suddenly found myself asking how would a cat hold up against a scorpion, and since there is deffinetely no evidence (i could find) that a cat is inmmune to scorpion venom, but instead, cats are overall a hard match for a scorpion, i still dont like to leave these sort of things to chance, so provided my experience (on scorpions and general toxicity on humans) i have generated a list of useful tips to get rid of scorpions (and therefore keeping your pets away from scorpions) which has helped me not get stung in over three years working as a medical doctor here.

buy a UV light bulb (or black light), scorpions are fluorescent under this kind of light, and altough it might not chase them away, you will at least be able to spot them easier.
get a good pesticide, the one i use has imiprotine and cyflutrine (again, if translation is correct)
If you encounter a scorpion with baby scorpions on her back, dont step on it, use pesticide ASAP or an ever more effective alternative (however, gruesome) is to burn them (either before using the pesticide or without pesticide)...i use zippo lighter fluid and matches (BTW try not to cause an accidental fire).
when moping the floor, use a chloride based cleaning product. Im not sure why this works, but it works to keep scorpions from coming in to your house. i use a product with pine oil (turpentine), which may also be responsible for the effect on scorpions.
There is a kind of plant that "chases away" scorpions and it is commonly used here in mexico, not sure of the name but i will investigate and post ASAP (sorry for the tease). when i first heard of this plant i was skeptic, but i keep it outside my bedroom and i have never encountered a scorpion in my bedroom.
scorpions are territorial, so if you encounter (and eliminate) a scorpion in a specific area, there is no immediate need to search for more, however, check the next morning or so around the same area for a different scorpion trying to gain territory.
scorpions have a hard time climbing up metal and are not very good swimmers, use that to your advantage, get creative.
if you do get stung by a scorpion, stay calm and get medical attention (vet for a cat) and if you can, bring the scorpion that bit you (preferably dead) to identify the species.
if medical care is relatively far from you, try to keep scorpion venom in your first aid kit (children usually need a higher dosis, so be prepared).

Finally, just want to apologize for the long post, but hopefully this will help someone. and sorry for the grammatical errors, i wrote this in a hurry and my English is getting rusty.

alkemist · Apr 20, 2015

Dralx said:
hello, im new to this site and to cats...im getting my first adopted kitten this weekend.

Also, and probably more important, Im a doctor in rural central Mexico (Zacatecas) where scorpions are abundant (in my practice i have had scopion stings go from 3 a month to even 6 or 8 a day being more frequent in dry humid zones and during the summer). most scorpions in north america belong to the centuroides (genus i think) and here in mexico we have 2 different kinds that are proven deadly, we have developed an antivenom designed for humans and is very effective, however, i doubt it will work on cats. We have recorded over 500 house remedies for a scorpion sting, however, only the antivenom is proven to be effective. the main reason why these home remedies have persisted is in the nature of the scorpion sting in itself, there is a kind of sting (pre-sting, if you may) that realeases an enzime which is designed to "melt" part of connective tissue present in skin and therefore is very painful, but harmless, therefore many people attribute the "cure" to home remedies. My office, home, and clinic are fumigated regularly every 1 or 2 months but i still find scorpions roaming around, (just this week three, i believe) most are just lost and will run away or try to hide when comfronted but i dont take any chances and eliminate them right away, there was a post that asked for an effective toxin against scorpions...i use a spray in which its active ingridients are imiprotine and cyflutrine (if the translation is correct) and in my expireince it is highly effective and fast (hope that helps some).

As I stated earlier, im a cat newbie and as i was reading on about vet visits, food, care, and home proofing i suddenly found myself asking how would a cat hold up against a scorpion, and since there is deffinetely no evidence (i could find) that a cat is inmmune to scorpion venom, but instead, cats are overall a hard match for a scorpion, i still dont like to leave these sort of things to chance, so provided my experience (on scorpions and general toxicity on humans) i have generated a list of useful tips to get rid of scorpions (and therefore keeping your pets away from scorpions) which has helped me not get stung in over three years working as a medical doctor here.

buy a UV light bulb (or black light), scorpions are fluorescent under this kind of light, and altough it might not chase them away, you will at least be able to spot them easier.

get a good pesticide, the one i use has imiprotine and cyflutrine (again, if translation is correct)

If you encounter a scorpion with baby scorpions on her back, dont step on it, use pesticide ASAP or an ever more effective alternative (however, gruesome) is to burn them (either before using the pesticide or without pesticide)...i use zippo lighter fluid and matches (BTW try not to cause an accidental fire).

when moping the floor, use a chloride based cleaning product. Im not sure why this works, but it works to keep scorpions from coming in to your house. i use a product with pine oil (turpentine), which may also be responsible for the effect on scorpions.

There is a kind of plant that "chases away" scorpions and it is commonly used here in mexico, not sure of the name but i will investigate and post ASAP (sorry for the tease). when i first heard of this plant i was skeptic, but i keep it outside my bedroom and i have never encountered a scorpion in my bedroom.

scorpions are territorial, so if you encounter (and eliminate) a scorpion in a specific area, there is no immediate need to search for more, however, check the next morning or so around the same area for a different scorpion trying to gain territory.

scorpions have a hard time climbing up metal and are not very good swimmers, use that to your advantage, get creative.

if you do get stung by a scorpion, stay calm and get medical attention (vet for a cat) and if you can, bring the scorpion that bit you (preferably dead) to identify the species.

if medical care is relatively far from you, try to keep scorpion venom in your first aid kit (children usually need a higher dosis, so be prepared).

Finally, just want to apologize for the long post, but hopefully this will help someone. and sorry for the grammatical errors, i wrote this in a hurry and my English is getting rusty.

This is a great & useful post! I have been super scared past 3 days here in somalia finding scorpions running around, 1 got away, i moved to a diff room, saw another, bug sprayed it, it probably died bc it kept stinging itself. & just now i went hunting for some & my wildcat kitten found one under the door that i didnt see & ate it promptly, & another under the rug of my old room, & she quickly ate it again while frantically looking for another. I havent slept in days, i may just start keeping my kitten in my room as i sleep. Thanks for the info!

momananakitty15 · Aug 22, 2015

20150819_113629.jpg

momananakitty15
Aug 22, 2015

My Kitty got stung...can anyone i.d. the variety of species? He's pretty much over the effects. I am giving him natural products. He got weakened but is perking up. See the tuft of fur at the stinger? I looks like it got in his tail...he's not too fuzzy except for there. The fur might have shielded him from some of the sting, it is wrapped around it a little. It might have got him at the neck. He literally scratched a piece of fur and skin out before I could find the sting. He isn't complaining but wants to stay near me a lot and get petted...He's a sweet old Kitty. I've got to help him get strong again so we can go on our Food Drive walk next month! I used a baking soda paste that seemed to help too.

LTS3 · Aug 22, 2015

MomaNanaKitty15 said:
My Kitty got stung...can anyone i.d. the variety of species? He's pretty much over the effects. I am giving him natural products. He got weakened but is perking up. See the tuft of fur at the stinger? I looks like it got in his tail...he's not too fuzzy except for there. The fur might have shielded him from some of the sting, it is wrapped around it a little. It might have got him at the neck. He literally scratched a piece of fur and skin out before I could find the sting. He isn't complaining but wants to stay near me a lot and get petted...He's a sweet old Kitty. I've got to help him get strong again so we can go on our Food Drive walk next month! I used a baking soda paste that seemed to help too.

I can't ID the scorpion but your best bet is to call the vet or vet ER and ask. Email them a picture or drop by with the picture. Definitely take your vet to the vet if he is acting sick or unusual in any way.

groginaz · Sep 29, 2015

Dralx -

You sound like a great person and your new kitten is very lucky to have you. It sounds like you have a nasty version of scorpion in your neck of the woods.  Luckily that in the central AZ desert, scorpions stings are no worse than a bee sting, and they are more afraid of you than you are of them. Strange_wings really has the right idea. For the few times I see one in the house, I just scoop them into a cup and toss them outside. It turns out that they help control the creepy bugs that I really dislike.

I live in a desert rural area of Arizona (40 years now) and have a cat (Mango). I used to spray for other bugs years ago (crickets and roaches mostly)  but have discovered that I get way fewer bugs in the house since I stopped. Another reason for not spraying is that I don't want the poison around Mango.

I see scorpions outside on my back patio, which is fine with me. I also notice a lot more lizards (which also eat creepy bugs....and scorpions) since I quit spraying . Nature has it's way, I guess.   I have been tagged by scorpions twice years ago while living at a different house...once in the hand, and on a different occasion in the neck.   It was nothing worse than a bee sting.

Scorpions: Danger to cats?

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