Cort loves spiders. He doesn’t play with them, he just stops them and eats them. If he sees a beetle, roach, ant, cricket, etc. he’ll play with them until he kills them or they get away, but he does not eat them. I decided to check out this behavior. Spiders are the most common of all the bugs, I have no shortage of them in my house. Most of Cort’s prey is probably the common house spider (Parasteatoda tepidariorum). Their common predator is birds, cats, dogs, and wasps. They eat mosquitoes, flies, and ants and live about one year.
As a general rule, a cat won’t come to any harm by eating a spider. I’ve been kidding my friends that spiders are like sushi to Cort and I’m probably on to something. While Cort is not hungry, by any means, a small spider is just a crunchy snack for him, like you eating a potato chip.
Cats are obligate carnivores needing meat to survive. Meat contains taurine (or 2-aminoethanesulfonic acid, which is an organic compound that is widely distributed in animal tissues). Spiders contain a high amount of taurine content possibly making them delicious.
He is smart not to eat beetles, grasshoppers, crickets, and roaches because their exoskeletons can cause irritation to his mouth and tummy. I’ve never seen Cort eat a spiderweb but it seems that some cats do.
The silk strands of a spider’s web are made up of protein and various amino acids. Protein and carbohydrate deficient cats will seek cobwebs out. If your cat is bitten, especially in the mouth, by a venomous spider it could begin to swell and you should see an emergency vet.
Mine doesn’t seem to be bothered about spiders but he is very partial to the iodd mouse. I found a very decomposed body under the sofa the other day.