Cat gags when he sees certain bugs?

[Ladyrosee]

Hi! My two year old little weirdo loves little spiders that get in the house but one time a little beetle got in that my mom thinks might have been a stink bug type thing and Morton got it in his mouth and started losing his mind and gagging and shaking his head. Now he sees those earwig type bugs i showed him one in the house and he immediately ran away and gagged is this some weird PTSD? Lol he was playing with one the other week..sort of just following it around he only really kills spiders.

 

[Caspers Human]

I wouldn't say PTSD, per se, but yes, I think it's a learned reaction.

Casper often chases bugs, too. One time, about a year after we adopted him, there was a stink bug infestation and a bunch of them got into the house. It took us days with the shop vac to clean up the first wave and they were still coming in weeks later. I remember watching Casper go after a stink bug and I tried to say, "Hey, buddy, you don't want to eat THAT bug!" No sooner did I start to say it, Casper bit into it and he instantly got a great big "ICK!" look on his face! I wasn't funny to him but I just had to laugh!

Thankfully, stink bugs aren't harmful to cats. Eating that stunk bug did gross Casper out, pretty bad, though.
Ever since that day, Casper walks a wide circle around any stink bug he happens to encounter.

I'd say that your cat's reaction comes from the same kind of thing that happened to Casper.

 

[Ladyrosee]

I wouldn't say PTSD, per se, but yes, I think it's a learned reaction.

Casper often chases bugs, too. One time, about a year after we adopted him, there was a stink bug infestation and a bunch of them got into the house. It took us days with the shop vac to clean up the first wave and they were still coming in weeks later. I remember watching Casper go after a stink bug and I tried to say, "Hey, buddy, you don't want to eat THAT bug!" No sooner did I start to say it, Casper bit into it and he instantly got a great big "ICK!" look on his face! I wasn't funny to him but I just had to laugh!

Thankfully, stink bugs aren't harmful to cats. Eating that stunk bug did gross Casper out, pretty bad, though.
Ever since that day, Casper walks a wide circle around any stink bug he happens to encounter.

I'd say that your cat's reaction comes from the same kind of thing that happened to Casper.

Aw! Poor thing hehe. I just always worry about him he's my miracle problem child with a terrible disease. I watch him like a hawk and he's not really a vomiter so I was like WHAT is happening?! I tried to walk him to the earwig and he saw it and tried to scramble away

 

[Caspers Human]

95% of insects aren't harmful to cats. You might have to watch out for bees or Black Widow spiders but those things are pretty easy to spot. Even if a cat did get bitten by a Black Widow, it would likely mean a trip to the vet but they aren't immediately life threatening unless the cat has allergies or other health problems.

When I was a kid, we used to have a dog that chased bees! He would get stung in the mouth every time but he still went after them. Sometimes, he'd catch a dozen bees in a day! We tried to stop him but he still kept on eating bees. It never seemed to hurt him very much.

You know what kinds of bugs are in and around your house. If there was anything harmful, I'm sure you would catch it and get rid of it before the cat got to it. If your cat eats a few bugs, now and then, it won't hurt him.

If he gets that "ICK!" face when he sees a bug it's probably funnier than anything else.

If he gets hold of enough "icky" bugs, he'll probably just stop chasing bugs, all together.