Anybody Feeding Lizards?

[aprilprey]

Another thread on the various proteins we can feed got me to thinking: anybody feeding lizards to their cats?  I have an old book called "The Cat's Mind", written by a British author Bruce Fogle


In the book he talks about the typical diet of a feral cat in Australia - which includes a significant amount of lizards!  Being desert animals from way back...it makes sense a lizard or two would make its way into a cat's diet.

Which begs the question: is anybody feeding lizards to their cats?   I suddenly have a burning desire to KNOW!

 

[fhicat]

We should feed grasshoppers, centipedes, frogs, beetles and tarantulas too!

 

[fluffybeard]

I haven't fed any lizards to my kitten, but the cat I grew up with was a lizard serial killer! Never got any mice or birds that I saw, but she slaughtered those lizards!

 

[pinkman]

I believe there is one user, @Cat Person  who feeds lizards as part of her whole-prey regimen.

I'd love to feed whole prey - been wanting to for a while. I've been also looking for whole live crickets, which were so easy to find when I lived in Philadelphia - all I can find so far in NYC is freeze-dried crickets with a dust of... something something. I'm gonna try to hit up some reptile supply stores - see what I can find.

 

[peaches08]

I have tons of lizards outside of my house, but I have no idea if they're safe for eating or not. Who knows if mine have eaten any or not (if one made it inside my house). They get palmetto bugs for sure.

 

[meranaldar]

I've never fed lizards, but my cat used to bring them in all the time, and eat them if I didn't rescue it (which I always did if I was around, they would just "mysteriously" get away. I always tried my best not to let her see me take them away, I didn't want her to start taking them somewhere else to eat them). She hasn't bought one in, or anything else for that matter, for quite a while now (she's 14).

If I remember correctly, my vet counted them a risk for worms.

  Though I took them away because I didn't like to see them played with and killed.

 

[ritz]

There are a few lizards around where I live, Ritz is interested in them but can't get too them being strictly indoors. I believe they are biologically related to fish, so I don't see why a lizard as a treat would hurt your cat.
I can buy crickets at PetCo/PetSmart. I use to get them as a treat for Ritz plus they have choline(?) and taurine in them. I'd put them in the bath tub and let Ritz have her way with them. She lost interest in them pretty quickly.
But when a bug wanders in from off the streets, then she really gets excited, hunts it down and sometimes kills it and eats it. She's not real fond of Daddy Long Legs.
Sometimes the best things in life are free.

 

[goingpostal]

I know some places sell feeder anoles and frogs for reptiles and snakes that eat them.  People eat frogs so why couldn't a kitty?  Just a matter of getting them to eat it like any other protein. 

 

[chandra09]

When I can afford to feed whole prey I would want to include lizards as part of the rotation. The many books and articles I've read on a cats natural diet have always included lizards.

I don't have any lizards where I live, (OK that's probably not true), but I have honestly never seen any. (Western New York state if you're curious).

When my parents had outdoor cats they would naturally eat toads. Whole. Which was pretty gross. Especially when they would throw them back up. Whole.

But that's an amphibian vs. a reptile, whatever, close-ish.

Yes as @pinkman mentioned, @cat person feeds, (or at least used to feed), some lizards as whole prey to her cats. I put together a raw fed protein list a while back because I was curious if cats generally preferred one type over another, so I gathered that info from her.

She said her cats ate Leopard Geckos. Also, Meadow frogs and American Bull frogs.

 

[aprilprey]

(Western New York state if you're curious).

YES I AM CURIOUS!  I grew up in Rochester, NY!  Don't recall ever seeing lizards, but do remember finding lots of tadpoles in local ponds and creeks.

Hmmm.....tadpole pate.

 

[catpack]

Just curious...
If you intentionally feed lizards as food, what do you do proactively to make sure your cat doesn't get lungworms??

 

[betsygee]

My cats catch lizards and bring them inside to play with, but they don't like to eat them.  I always thought maybe they taste bad!  They do get their fill of 'live prey' in the form of small birds and rodents.  Apparently the guts aren't all that tasty, though, because they leave those parts for me to clean up. 

 

[aprilprey]

Just curious...
If you intentionally feed lizards as food, what do you do proactively to make sure your cat doesn't get lungworms??

I was not sure if that question was addressed to me as the OP....

Just in case: I have no immediate plans to feed lizards...just occurred to me to ask if anyone here had.  Sorry - can't answer your question.

 

[catpack]

Aprilprey, my question wasn't directed at anyone particular, just thought if someone were feeding lizards, they might have an answer.

We have seen a few cases of lungworm come in via the rescue (1 died before we knew the cause) just looking for ideas.

 

[aprilprey]

Aprilprey, my question wasn't directed at anyone particular, just thought if someone were feeding lizards, they might have an answer.

We have seen a few cases of lungworm come in via the rescue (1 died before we knew the cause) just looking for ideas.

Thanks for the clarity...I hate it when I can't answer a question!  Sorry to hear about the kitties..hope someone has an answer for you.

 

[chandra09]

I live in the Rochester area! I guess we were neighbors once upon a time!

 

[aprilprey]

 
I live in the Rochester area! I guess we were neighbors once upon a time!

Check your PM.