Well, I don't think so. I get flies in here often, and for Ivo they're new and exciting things to play with. She's eaten quite a few in her time and hasn't had any bad reactions to date. She even has eaten roaches (extra eww) with no side effects at all.
Sam and Sally eat bugs anytime they can catch one..yuk! I never thought about it harming them, and I can't think of a time when they have been sick over it. I read on another forum to watch out for the cicadas this year because the shells are not digestable and since this is the year for them to come in huge swarms, you should limit your pets intake.
I heard about the cicadas this year too. We have so many every August as it is, I can't imagine even more. One big one once followed me inside and Candy tried her hardest to catch it. I killed it by squishing it against the wall (triple eww). And they attach themselves to the screens so the noise is even louder.
Candy's eaten bugs before i could kill them and she's fine. I wouldn't worry at all.
I'm sure Kahu will be OK. My mother used to say it takes a bucket of bugs to kill you, if our dog swallowed a fly.
The other day my four were following something along the living room floor and then went in a circle surrounding it. I went over and it was a dopey wasp, my did I move it quick, they were so luck not to get stung. It must have followed me into the house.
Kiwideus..mine went NUTS over a rather large fly that into the condo. Not sure if they caught it..but I wouldn't be concerned. My brother had a cat..Rascal..who would bring home all sorts of prey....voles, mice...he even caught a bat!! My stepfather was concerned that Rascal would catch rabies and contacted the local animal control. Fortunately...the bat did not have rabies.
We had a good news report on our local station abuot this a few days ago.
It's not the bugs themselves that are the problem, it's the "shells" they leave behind when the emerge as adults - you've seen the brown husks they leave on trees, plants, etc. The casings (THAT's the word I was looking for!!) are indigestible for household pets and can cause stomach upset or worse. The report was more geared toward dog-owners, since dogs are pretty curious by nature and tend to sniff/lick at the casings, but I'd keep an eye on my outdoor kitties, too.
And I'd be pretty proud of any cat who managed to catch one of those ugly buggers!!!!
Dori has never actually eaten the bugs she kills (well at least I don't think she has). Being she is indoors there have only been a couple she has had the pleasure to kill, but it's so funny because once it's dead she comes and meows at my boyfriend or I excitedly so we will come look at her kill. We always tell her how thankful we are to have her save is from those 'monsters' and reward her.
Here is the article I read that was posted by someone on another forum..Interesting that they say the bugs have a nutty flavor, now how do you suppose they know that?? Definitely not a job I would want!!
I hate these things, they chew up my flowers and make an awful racket.
HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) — This spring's crop of 17-year cicadas will seem like junk food to dogs and cats — and, like junk food, they can make pets sick, the Humane Society of the United States warns.
"Imagine a yard full of chicken nuggets — that's sort of what it's going to be like," Randall Lockwood, a Humane Society vice president and animal behaviorist, said Tuesday.
He said the insects are protein-rich but their exoskeletons are indigestible, so eating too many can cause vomiting or constipation.
Millions of the large, red-eyed insects are expected to emerge from the ground across the eastern United States within days or weeks for a once-every-17-years mating dance. Experts say the nymphs will climb into trees, shed their shells to reveal wings, and then go about their business, including loud buzzing by males to attract mates.
The Washington-based Humane Society advises keeping pets indoors, securing screens and holding tight to dog leashes outdoors.
The 1 1/2-inch-long bugs "combine all the stuff that particularly dogs like to chase," Lockwood said. "They're kind of flying pet toys: they are loud, slow-moving, often low-flying."
For most pets, it's a once-in-a-lifetime experience — and almost irresistible, he said.
"They're just so abundant that this is kind of the canine equivalent of a bag of potato chips," he said.
The bugs have a nutty flavor, David George Gordon, author of "The Eat-A-Bug Cookbook," told The Washington Post.
Lockwood said cicadas are meaty, and eating a few won't hurt your pet. But too many can overload an animal's digestive tract with chitin, the hard substance of which insect shells are made. If a pet has more than two vomiting episodes or appears to be in pain, a trip to the veterinarian may needed, he said.
A little cicada chitin may be beneficial, according to the makers of Skin-eze, a product marketed by South Carolina-based AllergicPet.com to relieve skin itching in dogs and cats. The small amount of cicada chitin in Skin-eze "decreases nervous spasms," according to the company's Web site.