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- Sep 23, 2018
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My 1.5-year-old cat LOVES bugs. If she sees a bug anywhere in the house, she makes it her business to torment it. This was not a big concern for me until about 10 minutes ago when I spotted her poised to pounce on a black widow that was taking a late night stroll across my living room floor. I moved in fast, scooped her and my roommate's cat (who was not interested in the spider, but was lounging nearby) right up, and shut them in the bedroom. I killed the spider (a practice I only reserve for the dangerous ones), let the cats back out, and all is good.
But the only thing I can think about is how I was planning to go to bed half an hour ago and was only up because I was looking for something I misplaced. I can't shake the thought that if I had gone to bed, she would probably have gotten herself bit by that widow. In addition to widow bites being potentially fatal to cats in general, my cat is petite, and the nearest 24-hour emergency vet is over an hour away from me. She could have died.
What worries me more is that this is the second one I have seen inside in two days, which makes me think they must be moving indoors because it's getting colder. I decided that the cats won't be allowed to go in the basement anymore, since it doesn't get cleaned out much and is probably full of them. But both of the ones I saw these past two days were hanging out in places that are cleaned thoroughly and regularly, which means they had probably just come in from outside.
Since I am not able to watch my cat every second, the only things I can think to do are (1) start discouraging her from playing with bugs altogether, and (2) take measures to prevent spiders from coming into the house. I am wondering if anybody has experienced this problem and what did you do to protect your cats? The best I can come up with is putting a towel under the front door and the basement door to prevent spiders from entering that way, and otherwise just staying extra vigilant. Is there anything I can use to actively deter them?
I'm also not sure where to start with teaching my cat not to play with bugs. I can try to stop her every time I catch her doing it, or distract her with treats, but I'm not sure she will get the message. Maybe giving her another outlet for the hunting behavior by rewarding her for playing with a string toy instead of the bug? Clearly spider season is upon us, so I'm gonna need her to learn fast.
But the only thing I can think about is how I was planning to go to bed half an hour ago and was only up because I was looking for something I misplaced. I can't shake the thought that if I had gone to bed, she would probably have gotten herself bit by that widow. In addition to widow bites being potentially fatal to cats in general, my cat is petite, and the nearest 24-hour emergency vet is over an hour away from me. She could have died.
What worries me more is that this is the second one I have seen inside in two days, which makes me think they must be moving indoors because it's getting colder. I decided that the cats won't be allowed to go in the basement anymore, since it doesn't get cleaned out much and is probably full of them. But both of the ones I saw these past two days were hanging out in places that are cleaned thoroughly and regularly, which means they had probably just come in from outside.
Since I am not able to watch my cat every second, the only things I can think to do are (1) start discouraging her from playing with bugs altogether, and (2) take measures to prevent spiders from coming into the house. I am wondering if anybody has experienced this problem and what did you do to protect your cats? The best I can come up with is putting a towel under the front door and the basement door to prevent spiders from entering that way, and otherwise just staying extra vigilant. Is there anything I can use to actively deter them?
I'm also not sure where to start with teaching my cat not to play with bugs. I can try to stop her every time I catch her doing it, or distract her with treats, but I'm not sure she will get the message. Maybe giving her another outlet for the hunting behavior by rewarding her for playing with a string toy instead of the bug? Clearly spider season is upon us, so I'm gonna need her to learn fast.
