# Living toys



## Vivid Dawn (May 31, 2010)

Does anybody worry about your cats having living toys? Nebbie loves to chase (and eat) spiders... I'm always afraid she'll get a really poisonous one (like a black widow). Even the grass weaver spiders can be dangerous - while they aren't fatal, I've heard a bite can cause extreme pain and takes a long time to heal (sort of like a mild Recluse bite).
Paizly tried to get a mouse once, and I was afraid it would bite her... those things hurt! (well, hamster bites hurt, I imagine a mouse bite is similar)

Today I passed up some toys that looked really nifty! Or they did to me, anyway... but I knew that if I took them home, they would just lay on the carpet and collect dust... SIGH

Oh, I also remember a story that one of my favorite elementary teachers told.... she used to live in Texas, and her cats would chase scorpions. The cat would get stung on the nose, go wimper in a corner for a little while, then go right back to chasing the scorpions!


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## beamjoy (Nov 6, 2010)

I think I already mentioned this on here before, but my parents' dog got sick once from eating a mouse that was poisoned from their neighbors' house or barn. She got really sick and they were afraid they'd lose her, but she recovered fully.

It is something to worry about. Of course you can control rat poison, but you can't control spiders and scorpions and all that. You also can't control your cat, _am I right?_ 

I'm allergic to bees and keep Benadryl around in case I get stung. I gave a small dose of it to my cats once when they were all sick with colds, on a vet's recommendation. I wonder if it would be a good idea to keep Benadryl on hand for the cats in case they get a hold of something poisonous? I tried looking it up but Google didn't tell me anything.


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## MowMow (Nov 6, 2010)

This is one thing that's kept me from moving to Arizona to be nearer SO(besides the ungoldy hellish heat and uber high cost of living). MowMow LOVES chasing bugs (even if he does fall asleep some times while he's stalking them). I'm terrified of Scorpions not only because I know I'm going to scream like a little girl and jump on the furniture when I see one but because I'm afraid of MowMow getting hurt by one.

Right now MowMow LOVES spiders, moths, centipedes, and other stuff he finds. Just last night I heard him chattering in the hallway and found him staring at a Moth. I've found wasps and yellowjackets dead in places where MowMow hangs out and I've never seen him with a sting so I guess he's good at it.


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## Vivid Dawn (May 31, 2010)

MowMow said:


> MowMow LOVES chasing bugs (even if he does fall asleep some times while he's stalking them).


Wow... those must be some awfully slow and/or boring bugs! LOL

I would love to live in Arizona! NO SNOW!

I do keep Benadryl in my pill box, for nights I NEED to get sleep for lots of activity the next day. I have 50mg liquid caplets, so there's not really a way to break them up to give them to the cats.


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## love.my.cats (Jan 29, 2009)

We get huntsman spiders in our house. They're so big and creepy, I don't think they actually hurt you though. More often than not, it is dead huntsmans we find.. Most of the time they'll only have 2-3 legs still attached!!


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## Vivid Dawn (May 31, 2010)

Huntsman spiders... like this kind?










I know this as a "house/wood louse hunter" spider. Their jaws are HUGE and strong, because they crack open the shells of beetles and rolly-poly bugs. The bite can hurt, but they're not poisonous.
And yes, those dark "pincher" things in front are the jaws. My cats chase them all the time, too... guess they either haven't gotten bit yet, or just haven't learned their lesson! LOL


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

Gross!! Nutmeg LOVES bugs, she could eat them all day.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

My girls love to chase bugs, although fortunately they tend not to eat them. I've often wished someone would make something like a remote-controlled fly! My girls would like that toy.


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## beamjoy (Nov 6, 2010)

Vivid Dawn said:


> I do keep Benadryl in my pill box, for nights I NEED to get sleep for lots of activity the next day. I have 50mg liquid caplets, so there's not really a way to break them up to give them to the cats.


Sure you can. I just used scissors to cut the very end off of one and then used the syringe to suck it out of there. Not very elegant, but it works. You hust want to give them a tiny little dot of it anyway.


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## Time Bandit (Aug 17, 2010)

Both Rochelle and Alice love to chase any bugs they find in the house....cockroaches, spiders, the occasional earwig (eww eww eww!). Rochelle just paws at them...Alice will paw at them until she's ready to eat it, hehe.

Samantha ignores all bugs...except for moths. She watches moths whenever she can, and I'll take her outside in summer and let her bat at them.


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