Termites, One Of My Cat's Favorite Snacks

Kitty Lover in Africa

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Here in Africa, every year when rainy season comes, the termites in the area sprout wings and fly out of their nests after the first heavy rains - part of their natural life cycle. The place is basically covered with them for an hour or two, then their wings drop off and they crawl away. They are super-attracted to light, so if I don't watch out and turn off all my lights, I'll get a house full of flying termites, all harmless but very annoying. The locals catch them and fry them up as snacks (they taste like bacon - yes I've tried them). My cat Fudge agrees and loves to run around and catch them. It would be fun to watch if I could do it without getting insects all over me!
termites (1).JPG

Those are flying termites attracted to the light of my dining room lamp.

I was trying to upload a photo of my cat chasing them but it doesn't seem to be working. Probably my dodgy internet connection.
 

neely

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Wow! :eek2: How long a period of time do you have to keep the lights off, e.g. days, weeks, etc.? On a positive note, I guess it provides entertainment for Fudge.
 
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Kitty Lover in Africa

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Wow! :eek2: How long a period of time do you have to keep the lights off, e.g. days, weeks, etc.? On a positive note, I guess it provides entertainment for Fudge.
Nothing like that long, fortunately. Only for the hour or so that the termites are flying around, once they shed their wings they aren't a problem anymore. But this happens within 24 hours after every big rainstorm for the first part of the rainy season. But at least Fudge gets a lot of fun out of it!
 

Purr-fect

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My boys would love those!

The odd house fly or moth that gets into the house is stalked relentlessly for hours until it escapes or greg catches and eats it...yuck.
 

8kitties

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We had termites flying out of the ground in our yard recently...cats didn't seem to care (although Runty had one sitting on his head), but the birds were having a feast, that is until we sprayed the termites. That is cool about eating them--I had wondered if you could.
 

marmoset

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Geez now I kind of want to try a termite. When I lived in the mountains of Arizona our cat ate grasshoppers in vast amounts. I still get chills recalling the crunching sounds and subsequent sounds of regurgitation- but really it was the crunching that got to me.

Still if it tastes like bacon and does not involve pork I think that's pretty awesome. Your cat has good common-sense.
 

vyger

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I lived in Hawaii as a kid and the termites used to swarm there also. A neighbor had a coy pond with these big giant fish and they would turn a flood light on over the water. The fish ate all night long. But we found that the termites were not harmless. They ate holes in paper lanterns and newspapers and other things.
 
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