Scorpion is a dreaded predatory arachnid that preys on insects and invertebrates (with a few preying on vertebrate) due to their venomous sting on their forward-curved scorpion tail.
However, only a small number, 25 species (in the family Buthidae) of the over 2500 scorpion species has venom able to kill human beings. The rest don’t represent a real threat to human beings, and healthy don’t need treatment if stung.
Do kitties hunt and eat scorpions?
Yes. Cats have an instinctive nature to hunt (chase, kill or eat) not just scorpions but cockroaches, grasshoppers, birds, mice, rats, and any other small animal, insect, or bug. It is not because they don’t get enough food or are necessarily hungry. They are just curious, and it is their nature.
Therefore, if you live in places where there are scorpions and other bugs, you need to know if they are safe for these pets or not.
Fortunately, if your cat can catch a scorpion without being stung and eats it, nothing is likely to happen. All you need to look for is any signs your feline ways stung or bitten.
Are cats immune to scorpions
While they are stung by scorpions far, much fewer times than humans and dogs, just like humans and dogs, cats are not immune to scorpion venom.
Any information that cats are immune to scorpion venom is untrue, and the assumption may be due to the lesser frequency observed in these pets. Kitties are agile and may easily detect and leap way, avoiding being stung. Also, their fur may protect them, or maybe the cats scare scorpion away.
Besides the venom, some may also bite your cat or kitten with their pincers, leaving some injury or hurting them.
Finally, not all of these arachnids have serious venom, and your felines may suffer minor symptoms that they can easily hide from you.
Symptoms of scorpion sting on cats
According to The University of Arizona, Arizona Poison and Drug Center, stung cats show “some local effect, such as the yelping, pawing, rubbing, licking of the sting site, shaking of the head and limping.” Just like the sting of wasps or bees, scorpion sting is also painful.
Additionally, most cats may have more severe symptoms like tremors, roving eye movement, agitation, and breathing rate changes if bitten by a very venomous scorpion.
It is also possible for your feline pals to swell at the site they were stung, look drunk, and their pupil may be dilated.
If you suspect or witness your cat being stung by a scorpion, don’t panic. Instead, check for any signs we have listed for the first, if the scorpion dies, safely keep it for identification.
However, if you can positively identify it and is the black scorpion or any of the highly venomous ones, take your cat to an emergency clinic. Don’t attempt any home remedies without first consulting your vet.
More on scorpions
Despite some species being very deadly to humans and cats, especially those in the family Buthidae including Leiurus quinquestriatus, Androctonus spp., Arizona Bark Scorpion (Centruroides sculpturatus), and Hottentotta spp., people in Shandong eat them alive or after they grill, fry roast them. Cooking kills the venom effects.
Going to specifics, among the deadly scorpions to your cat include spitting thick-tail black scorpion, bark scorpion, Arabian fat-tailed scorpion, yellow fat-tail scorpion, Brazilian yellow scorpion, and deathstalker scorpion.
Additionally, many people keep scorpions as pets since they are easy to maintain, don’t require much space so long as you give them the right conditions (temperature and humidity) and the right food.
Finally, there is ongoing research on using their venom for medical purposes, with one trial ongoing on its possibility to treat a particular brain cancer type known as glioma.
How to keep them away?
If you live in a place with scorpions, you need to find ways to keep these arachnids away as they are a danger to your cats and dogs and you and your children. Some of the ways to keep them away include:
- Regularly check in your closets, cabinets, or any dark area in your house.
- Remove any debris, clear bushes, cut tall grasses, and keep any debris or firewood at least 30 meters away from your house.
- Eliminate crickets, insects, and other invertebrates that they usually feed on as they will attract them. Turning your lights off at night may help eliminate crickets.
- Seal any hollows, cracks, or crevices around doors or windows as they may give them access to your home.
- Place sticky traps
- Remove moisture and drain stagnant water
Other dangerous
Besides scorpions, many other bugs are toxic or dangerous to your kitty, which these animals will still hunt and at times eat that include:
- The brown recluse and black spider widow
- Hornet, bees, and wasps (they sting)
- Mosquitos – transmit heartworms
- Ticks – carry Lyme disease
- Fireflies (toxic)
- Monarch Butterflies
- Fire ants