Petting a cat is an amazing feeling. Despite your stress level, it will keep you happy by entertaining you with its mischievous activities. You can find a loyal and lovely friend in a cat, and thus you would never feel alone. After a point, you know that you cannot stop your pet anymore. The more you get attached to your pet, the more you will feel the need to be careful when it gets curious and become notorious.
It is not like you can watch your kitty all the time, or you have to carry it everywhere. Because your pet cat may pretend to be obedient, but it may perform bizarre in front of others. For instance, most pet owners ask, “What to do when my cat eats a fly?” First of all, we suggest you relax. It is not a surprise that your cat is eating the fly because cats go uncontrollably crazy and get easily distracted with any moving things in front of their eye.
We are not even exaggerating. Most owners have the same experience of cats having flies and think it’s bizarre. But to clear all your doubts, in the following article, you can find more information about what are the things to do when cats eat flies, what are the things that one has to worry about, and when you can stay relaxed.
Why cats eat flies?
Before you find any solution to your cat eating flies, you need to understand the depth of the problem. Understand that cats are never bothered whether it is a fly or a mosquito. Anything that moves makes them curious. You can also see that they will be chasing the ants and spiders too.
Therefore when they are kittens, they think it’s a playful activity and poke all kinds of insects around them. They even pounce quickly and ensure that they use their claws to push these insects to death and consume them eventually.
It is hard for cats to be quiet around these insects, and flies are not an exception. Whether they are alive or not, the next moment they find these insects moving, they eat them.
Are cats specific about the flies?
Cats eat flies instantly when compared to other insects because they think it as a part of the plant-hunt activity. Despite whether it is indoor or outdoor, they continue to hunt these flies naturally. According to them, hunting means not only capturing but killing them. Also, once they killed their prey, they have a ground rule to eat them. Hence, this is more like a process that is inside them because of the gene characteristics.
Even some owners claim that their feline pets also store the hunted flies under their sleeping mats or eating bowls. Thus we can even conclude that not all the killed prey are eaten or hunted prey are killed.
Do they like eating flies?
Cats usually consume flies because it is a delicacy for them. They are like a meat protein. In human terms, just like how you love to have French fries or hash browns along with the main course, it is bugs and flies for cats. Also, cats are carnivores, and they cannot resist things like meat snacks. Cats can thrive and survive with them.
According to some animal nutrition experts, these bugs and flies also help in boosting nutrition and immunity. It covers one-third of the diet for both wild and domestic cats.
Are these flies threats to their body?
As an owner, one thing you should understand is that there is no significant difference between domestic and wild cats, especially when it comes the instinctual habits. Like wild cats, domestic cats tend to eat these flies. Therefore the answer is very subjective of whether it is suitable for them or not.
Depending on what type of flies they are eating, it will matter. Not all flies are safe for your cats. Therefore, you may have to keep a tab on that. It is not harmful in general, but the following table will give you an overview of what insects may cause your pet cat’s problem.
What Insects can harm your cat?
Although cats are natural predators & a cat eating an insect is not something abnormal. In most cases, you need not worry if your cat is chasing and eating flies. But there are still scenarios you should take seriously.
Insects |
In what way does it affect your cat? |
What can you do about it? |
Fleas and ticks. |
Catching and eating these small insects are not mostly harmful to your cat. But these insects are carriers of many diseases. Tick-borne diseases are quite common. |
It is better to visit your vet if your cat shows any abnormal signs like vomiting, restlessness, etc. |
Flies |
Flies like botflies may sometimes lay eggs on your cat’s skin, causing a lump on its surface, which on maturing will bore a hole in its skin. |
Don’t try to remove it yourself; take to your vet to remove it safely and prevent your cat from any secondary infections. |
Mosquitoes |
Mosquitoes might transmit heartworm disease to your cat, which is lethal. |
Heartworm disease does not have any treatment at all. So, it is prescribed that you save your cat by preventing this. You can use cat safe mosquito repellants or any other method to keep mosquitoes off your feline. |
Beetles, crickets, and grasshoppers. |
These are insects with rough skin. If your cat consumes these, it might affect the oral health of your cat, and the hard exoskeleton on retaining in the gut would cause stomach upset as well. |
A regular deworming will be enough. But still, make sure your pet is away from these insects. |
Roaches |
Parasites may be present in the roaches. So, if your cat eats them, it might cause more worms in your pet’s tummy. |
Feeding deworming medication at regular intervals as prescribed by your vet will do the job. |
Ants |
Though these little creatures seem to be harmless, there are certain species of ants like fire ants that are extremely dangerous to your cat as they would transmit venom. It will lead to anaphylaxis in your cat. |
Make sure you don’t use chemicals to get rid of the ants. Also, ensure that your cat does not get exposed to those chemicals as they will harm your cat. Better visit a vet if your cat seems to be abnormal for more than a day. |
Scorpions and centipedes |
We know that these two are very dangerous to humans themselves. Do you think your little cat could survive their sting? Even if your cat eats them, the stomach acids might cancel the venom in the best possible way, but a string will be very dangerous. It will be painful for your cat and will cause localized allergies alone. But if the venom is more severe, it might even be lethal. |
If you find that your cat is exposed to these creatures, visit your vet without further delay and save your cat from a severe illness. |
Butterflies, moths, and caterpillars |
These creatures are harmless. However, large and exotic species like the garden tiger moth will cause toxicity to your cat. |
Just because you want to get rid of these insects, don’t use chemical mothball, which will affect your cat too. Better keep your cat away from them. If you still feel that they caught your cat, pay a visit to your vet. |
Spiders |
The majority of spiders are harmless, but bites by poisonous spiders like a black widow would definitely harm your pet and cause wounds. Sometimes, this might even be very toxic, leading to puking, diarrhea, paralysis, ataxic gait, etc. |
Keep your place clean so that these creatures stay away from your cat’s way. However, in case of any abnormality in your cat’s behavior requires a vet visit. |
Bees and wasps |
These insects are known for their strong stings. Just like humans, cats too will suffer if these insects sting them. Your cat will lick or scratch a region that is being stung repeatedly. |
Differentiate keenly between grooming and itching and take your kitty to the vet if it is as in the latter case. |
We hope now you would have an idea of what things you need to keep your cat away from.
Can cats get sick of eating flies?
As you know, flies feed on any waste materials, food items, and other excreted waste from anywhere. To be more precise, the fly’s mouth area is designed so that it can ingest the liquid food to be digested. While consuming the food, the fly uses its saliva to liquefy the food and take it in. Although while doing this, there are chances that pathogens like bacteria or viruses are also sucked upon while feeding.
A fly is also proven to carry 130 pathogens in their body usually, including some fatal bacteria that have resistance of antimicrobials. Thus, it can become a real danger for any animal to consume the flies. It creates a lot of tension when your kittens have low immunity and are sensitive to this abnormal food.
In the following table, you can find the health impacts your cats will have if they eat the infected flies.
Health issues that might occur due to eating insects:
Health issue |
What may be the reason? |
What can I do about that? |
Anxiety and Restlessness |
Eating little harmless insects is completely normal in cats. But overeating is not a good thing to be pursued because this will lead to indigestion and a minor stomach upset. |
You can simply reduce the quantity of 2 or 3 successive meals and also hand feed them with wet foods. But make your kitten drink more and more water. Observe for a day and visit your vet if the symptoms persist. |
Vomiting and diarrhea |
These symptoms are to be considered quite seriously. It might be because your cat has eaten some strong skulled insects, which are most likely poisonous spiders. It will cause indigestion and might also cause toxicity in your cat. Mind that. These can’t be taken very quickly as this might be the first set of symptoms for more severe illnesses. |
If you find your cat puking and defecating way more than usual and also abnormally, take it to the vet, and he would prescribe you the necessary medications. |
Sedation and anaphylaxis |
So, here is something you should be extremely concerned about. Although cats are super dozers, make sure your cat is just sleeping, or it has fainted as a result of stings by venomous creatures like centipedes, scorpions, or even it might have got a heartworm infection. |
Better rush to your vet if you find your cat unconscious or ataxic. Because any intervention as early as possible is much needed to save your cat’s life. But it is better to prevent it actually. Make sure your cat’s area is clean and devoid of such insects. |
What ways are there to prevent cats from eating flies?
Whether you agree or not, cats will be cats. You can’t stop or prevent them entirely from having the flies. All you can do is show that you are unhappy and disappointed with your cats’ behavior of eating flies. They will understand when their masters are upset, and that’s when we can stop this completely.
However, to be on the safer side, you can also offer FortiFlora Stomach supplements, which are highly effective and can remove all the worms or substance that disturbs cat’s stomach. Also, be smart enough to use insect repellents so that insects do not come near the pet cats.
Conclusion
If chasing the fly is an occasional pastime for your cat, then leave it as it is. Consider it is as a good exercise for your cat. It helps in the circulation of the body and stimulates the brain. But keeping these aside, if you feel that your pet cat is eating flies more often, then you need to step in to control it as soon as possible.
