Human beings throughout history have continuously contemplated life’s unknowns: What is the purpose of life? Are we alone in the universe? Do cats really eat spiders?
Sadly but amazingly, only religion and philosophers have attempted to answer the first two, wisely steering clear of the more loaded third question. Intrepidly, your humble pest control blogger will tackle the third question (finally) that has plagued the likes of Kant, Hume, & Rousseau for ages. (though not well known, Descartes’s ponderous phrase ‘I think, therefore I am,” first began as ‘I cat, therefore I eats me some spiders.’)
Years ago, while speaking to a potential customer in Boise, they declined to use our service. When I inquired as to why they did’t want their home protected from pests like spiders, they said that they were “just going to get a cat instead.” That literally blew my freaking mind. I mean, if cats were so effective at eating spiders, why was I in the pest control business at all? Could cats single handedly put me out of business? Was there a feline pest control cabal? After a few painfully anxious days researching the topic, I was put at ease.
So, do cats really eat spiders? The answer is yes. Strictly speaking, Cats are carnivores, but they will sometimes eat other things, like the occasional spider, or piece of grass. They are carnivores in the sense that they cannot survive long without meat.
After answering the age-old question in a brief but intellectually stimulating paragraph, I was led to the second question: SHOULD cats eat spiders?
The answer is no. Virtually all spiders have venom, (except for 2 small families of spiders) and when ingested by your house cat, can cause problems. In the same way cats will eat plants that are poisonous to them, then promptly throw it up, cats will eat things that they shouldn’t, often to their detriment—Like spiders!
That is why I still am in business. Your cat MAY eat spiders, but they shouldn’t. A pest control service is still required to protect you, AND your pets from spiders, and other household pests.
