The Surprising Sting of Summer For Cats
Flea and tick protection for cats. Check. But whatabout all the other insects tempting and bugging cats? It’s natural for cats to leap after moths, pounce on spiders, play with stink bugs or paw at ants. Cat don’t have the ick reaction humans to bugs. Tiny critters that move trigger a cat’s hunting instinct and they’re all fair game. Wasp and bee sting leaving a toxic venom, flies carry disease and the mesmerizing glow of fireflies spell danger. Most insects are not a cause for alarm but some can be potentially lethal to cats.
In our garden fireflies put on a magical lightshow and one found its way indoors the other day. I quickly caught and released it before the cats could have a glow in the dark party. Did you know if a cat eats a handful fireflies it could be deadly? The firefly aka lightening bug glow from toxic chemical compounds called lucibufagins.
Allergies to bees stings and bug bites are rare but avoid risks. For minor skin irritations or abrasions, I rely on the gentle, natural healing of Vetericyn
Never use DEET-containing repellents or permethrin-containing products i.e. PetGard, Advantix on a cat.
- Anaphylactic shock is an allergic reaction to a foreign substance (usually an insect bite or sting) called an allergen which a cat comes into contact with.
- Anaphylactic shock is a serious medical emergency not treatable at home and is treated with epinephrine injections. It comes on suddenly and without treatment can be lethal within hours. Mostly young cats under the age of two are affected.
- The only way to prevent anaphylactic shock is to keep the cat away the specific allergen and once there is a reaction it will reoccur in the future.
17 Comments
Nerissa's Life
Peep #1 had a run-in with some bugs just recently. I finally convinced her to go to the doctor last night, thinking that maybe she had fleas or something. She was scratching like she had fleas, for sure. Turns out, she’s developing an allergy to wasps. Yup, the peep got herself stung the other day. Silly peep, for sure.
Purrs,
Seville
ellen
A couple of the cats are horrible bumble bee killers. I am a gardener and could usually save the bee, but moths are a different story. Agus thinks that the moths that sneak in when I let the dog out after dark are his own personal plaaytoys. He will catch and kill and sometimes appear to eat them. He is the youngest cat and the other oldsters ignore the whole mess.
Pawesome Cats
I always thought fireflies were so pretty, I didn’t release their glow was toxic. We have some nasty bugs in Australia too, but our kitties are indoors so they’re safe.
Penelope
When Nellie was younger, she was a wasp killer! She hated them and was very adept at slaying them before they could sting. Now that she is older, she ignores them. Each evening when the cats come in, they are checked for ticks – particularly difficult on Kozmo, but an important part of our routine to keep our cats healthy. So far this summer, there has only been one tick and that was on Cinnamon (the hairy slobbery sister).
We are lucky that where we live, we don’t have black flies, fleas are at a minimum and (alas) no fireflies.
Thanks so much for the terrific reminder!
Nellie’s Mom
PS Nellie sends kisses to Merlin
Skeeter And Izzy
Thank you for more great information!
Luvs
Skeeter and Izzy and the Feral Gang + Twig & Peanut & Romeo >^..^<
meowmeowmans
Our Mom and Dad freak out when a bee or wasp gets in the house. Especially because Zoe will chase anything that flies.
Brian
We have had a bee or two get in the house but fortunately the peeps squashed them before they could do any harm.
The Swiss Cats
We are very careful with bugs, except flies : they are so tasty ! Purrs
Annabelle
Not that the cats would ever get to a firefly but whoa we had no idea.
It’s funny because it had been so long since I had seen fireflies and then all of a sudden watching the wooded area you can see them. I use to love to capture them in a jar when I was a youngster too many decades ago!
da tabbies o trout towne
doodz & “N”…whoa…we troo lee dinna noe fire fliez wuz that kinda vizshuz……thanx for de heads up !
Heerz two an arctic char kinda week oh end ♥♥♥
Kathryn
I had no idea. Thanks.
Ellen Pilch
Very interesting. I had no idea about the fireflies. My kitties stay inside, but it is still good to know.
easy rider
I always was a little sad that fireflies became rare her, but after reading your post I’m rather glad that dogs&cats are safe from this flying lanterns.
The Island Cats
Every once and awhile, a bee gets in to the house and the mom freaks…not just because she’s afraid of bees, but she’s afraid we’ll wanna play with it. She tries to get it out of the house as soon as she can.
Sometimes Cats Herd You
We didn’t know that so many insects were dangerous. They just seem like fun when they get in the house!
Hannah and Lucy
We don’t need to be alerted to wasps, bees and other bugs as Mum shrieks loudly if even a butterfly dares to enter the air space that is our garden!
Luv Hannah and Lucy xx xx
Summer
Wow, I didn’t know bugs could be so much trouble – I will have to be careful!