Kittens and 🕷 spiders

[Mumdiva99]

My kittens just came running in with a giant spider they had found. One cat was very determined it was her prize....growls, hisses the full works. I know this is all normal....but.....do I just let them eat it? It was massive, they are tiny.....I took it away but should I just leave them alone?

No picture of them with the spider I'm afraid.

Aww. I am a bit of an animal softie, so my reaction is clever kitties, but also, poor spider. If I think the prey has any chance of survival, I tend to rescue it. But be prepared: it starts with spiders (or in my kitty's case, sticks!) but they soon graduate to worms, moths, bats, slow worms, mice, rats, rabbits..... My kitty also went through a stage of bringing in entire birds nests, with and without tell tale signs of egg yolk....

They are adorable, by the way.

You forget all that playtime you give them just teaches them how to catch prey.

I rescue the spiders if I have a chance but otherwise, I let them eat them. On the plus side, my cats are great at catching and eating flies (and very entertaining, jumping up and clapping fly in their paws) so they make up for the spiders they eat.

@Kittytheteapot la la la (fingers in my ears) I won't listen to any hunting tales!! My kittens will come back with daisy's and buttercups!!!

So the spiders won't do them any harm. Thanks guys. (I did catch a spider earlier this week I was told was a false widow.....that was taken a long way away from the house before I let it go. I know I am a cat mummy because my first thought was no longer "what if it bites my dd/ds" but " what if it bites a kitten")

I'd let them at it. This time next year you'll have a spider free home.

The kids are on their own then 😂

Yes, spiders are safe to eat. And fly catching cats are a godsend. You know how irritating that constant buzzing of a trapped fly can be? And then, you hear a small thud of a cat catching the fly against the glass of a window and lo! annoying buzzing stops!

I forgot to add frogs to my list. My kitty is annoyingly good at finding frogs but never eats them. I think they must taste funny.

Be thankful it's only spiders atm 😩 My young cat caught a bird for the first time a few months ago, so he was about 9 months old. I managed to catch him so i and pinned him down until he let go and the bird flew off.
A few days later he's sat at the back door with another one, this one wasn't so lucky! It was still alive but barely, it broke my heart !! Thing is it's what they do and don't know any different

My two bengals are the best flycatchers I’ve ever had. 😸😸
Not only do they trap flies against the windows, but they also leap high in the air and catch flies, gnats, dragonflies etc in mid flight.
I do worry about them when they go after wasps and bees though.

I’ve got so many spiders now our bengals gone.

During lockdown, I went into the garden to find 3 baby birds lying near each other, 2 dead, one struggling to breathe. Both parents nearby looking distraught. My 'darling' cat had raided the entire nest. I had to get dh to finish the last baby off as I couldn't bear to see it suffering. It took me days to stop thinking about the parents' feelings. I must admit, that was the closest I have come to hating my cat.

Havelock catches spiders in the middle of the night.
Then drops them on my pillow and wakes me up to show me them
I wish he would just eat the nasty things.

My kittens will come back with daisy's and buttercups!!!

We had a very soft and gentle cat who sometimes came home proudly bearing hedgerow fruit.

Her sister was rather more bloodthirsty, unfortunately. Mostly mice, though.

Yes they’re fine to eat spiders. Be warned though they generally don’t eat the legs so you’ll find them after they’ve eaten the body 🤢

Mine is only six weeks old and has caught a lizard and a mouse. That I know about.

@TastelessBracelets

I'd let them at it. This time next year you'll have a spider free home.

This is definitely a thing! 3 cats here, virtually no September spiders!

Point of the thread sailing by me, but I don’t understand why people are bothered about cats killing birds. On a bird by bird, or spider by spider basis. Cats naturally hunt and you feed them tinned dead animals. Most of you probably eat animals Who have been killed, too. I don’t understand why that’s okay but killing a rat or spider who’s had a chance to live in the wild is bad.

I think the difference is that most cats kill for fun but most humans kill to eat.

@Bwlch

I think the difference is that most cats kill for fun but most humans kill to eat.

Agree. My cat catches something every day. The majority of his prey is mice now. Every day, a poor mouse lies on my kitchen floor, either uneaten, or with just the head removed. I wouldn't mind if he ate everything he caught.

When you see a cat with live prey, too, it is tough to watch them endlessly tease and torment it. Just kill the thing! Fortunately, I rarely see the playing with the prey as most stuff is caught at night.

And yeah, I know it is natural, and I am grateful to be able to give my cat a natural life, but I can't help my own feelings too.

Yes it's the fact they play with them and just sit there watching them die basically. Anyone would find it upsetting I think

My two previous overlords used to tag team their spider hunt.
My current overlord once chased one, sat on it, forgot about it, then wandered off.

How cute haha.
My cat loves killing spiders, she has big paws and she flattens them. I keep finding flat spiders all over the house.

Let them eat them.

However daddy-long-legs not so much. Get vomited up about 2 minutes later every time. The cat never learns.

@Bwlch - in the house? You have a 6 week old killing machine!

I know it’s what cats do - but I do wish people would stick a bell on them. I do like cats but I like the small birds in my garden more - sorry!