Tarantula venom and cats

[D Sherlod]

How dare you underestimate the almighty felis catus.

Cats possess reflexes and senses rivaled by none. They have thick skin and some a thick coat of hair. Their immune system is better than our own. Their skin, hair and reflexes make a full envenomation bite or sting very rare and if tagged it's not likely to be full on wet. Places most likely to get bit/stung are lacking in meaty tissue, lower leg, paw, skull and that also lowers the chances of a wet bite/sting.

Have you ever watched your cat hunt and kill? Ever seen a video of cat vs venomous snake, cat vs S. subspinipes, cat vs scorpion, cat vs anything? Sadistic ninjas they are walking away with a new snack every time.

My friend lives in a secluded part of Arizona where the wildlife is abundant at night. His cats are always dragging home rattlesnakes, C. sculpturatus, Aphonopelma sp and whatever they can hunt down. The only thing he worries about is the coyotes. (My cats do the same just less prey in my area)

All in all I wouldn't worry about it unless you lack adequate caging, catch cup skills, proper rehousing protocol and or your cat is retarded and lacking it's natural instincts.

If for some unforeseen tragedy were to take place and my AF obt, or my 7" P. regalis or full grown S. dehaani got out I'd put my money on my cats everytime.

That' all well and good but I've had a cat that needed a serious trip to the vet from a bite by a pet gerbil. No venom and a bite is a bite, add venom and anything can happen.

 

[Ericka]

Thanks. It was horrific not to be able to do much for this kitten which was 1 month old. For older cats and dogs I used to give them Benadryl if bitten by scorpions or tarantulas. They all survived.
It was quite dark, so I am not sure if it was either a Brachypelma vagans or Brachypelma epicureanum.

 

[Dennis Nedry]

Thanks. It was horrific not to be able to do much for this kitten which was 1 month old. For older cats and dogs I used to give them Benadryl if bitten by scorpions or tarantulas. They all survived.
It was quite dark, so I am not sure if it was either a Brachypelma vagans or Brachypelma epicureanum.

I have no doubt that if a brachy can kill a kitten then a psalmo could probably kill or severely injure an adult cat

 

[Andrea82]

Thanks. It was horrific not to be able to do much for this kitten which was 1 month old. For older cats and dogs I used to give them Benadryl if bitten by scorpions or tarantulas. They all survived.
It was quite dark, so I am not sure if it was either a Brachypelma vagans or Brachypelma epicureanum.

Did one of yours bite the cat? Or were you on holiday somewhere?

 

[Whitelightning777]

I was wondering if Australian tarantulas were as fatal to cats as they are to dogs.

My cat Nyx was bitten by a centipede that broke into my last apartment.

She had swelling upon her lower jaw and upon her paw. Sadly enough, I don't know what species.

The girlfriend found it and swore that the pede was over 7 inches long which makes it a non native species in Baltimore MD. She got rid of the remains before I got home.

That apartment also had a roach problem with roaches that looked similar to B lats but could've been the usual German ones.

It's a shame because the Australian ones are quite interesting, not at all just drab brown spiders either.

I already have some NW and other OW ones. I use good cages that are cat proof to the greatest degree that anything is anyway.

That's one reason I now live in my own condo.

I wonder if Australia has any arboreal tarantulas or if those are all huntsman spiders.

More research is needed.

 

[Dennis Nedry]

I was wondering if Australian tarantulas were as fatal to cats as they are to dogs.

My cat Nyx was bitten by a centipede that broke into my last apartment.

She had swelling upon her lower jaw and upon her paw. Sadly enough, I don't know what species.

The girlfriend found it and swore that the pede was over 7 inches long which makes it a non native species in Baltimore MD. She got rid of the remains before I got home.

That apartment also had a roach problem with roaches that looked similar to B lats but could've been the usual German ones.

It's a shame because the Australian ones are quite interesting, not at all just drab brown spiders either.

I already have some NW and other OW ones. I use good cages that are cat proof to the greatest degree that anything is anyway.

That's one reason I now live in my own condo.

I wonder if Australia has any arboreal tarantulas or if those are all huntsman spiders.

More research is needed.

Who knows if they're as venomous to cats as they are to dogs, they're probably fatal to dogs because dingos hunt them. If it can hospitalise a person and kill a dog I don't see why a bite couldn't kill a cat

Australia has arboreals, but they're not in the hobby. I believe it was Steve nunn who found them. Unfortunately all 5 collected specimens matured into males and died. Not sure if they were preserved, they're still unrecognised in science like most of our Ts. Huntsmen aren't the only aboreal spiders here, we've also got arboreal funnel webs among others

 

[Dave Jay]

I was wondering if Australian tarantulas were as fatal to cats as they are to dogs.

My cat Nyx was bitten by a centipede that broke into my last apartment.

She had swelling upon her lower jaw and upon her paw. Sadly enough, I don't know what species.

The girlfriend found it and swore that the pede was over 7 inches long which makes it a non native species in Baltimore MD. She got rid of the remains before I got home.

That apartment also had a roach problem with roaches that looked similar to B lats but could've been the usual German ones.

It's a shame because the Australian ones are quite interesting, not at all just drab brown spiders either.

I already have some NW and other OW ones. I use good cages that are cat proof to the greatest degree that anything is anyway.

That's one reason I now live in my own condo.

I wonder if Australia has any arboreal tarantulas or if those are all huntsman spiders.

More research is needed.

I can't find records of confirmed tarantula bites to cats (apart from just now in this thread), just dogs and rodents , 100% fatal with them. I've been searching for info on Australian Tarantula toxicology specifically though.

 

[Whitelightning777]

It's also worth noting the point of origin for all of our cats, first domesticated in Egypt from wild cats which live there.

I'm actually less concerned about baboon tarantulas & cats then ones from areas where felis domesticus/catus never lived in the wild.

The Australian ones, NWs and so on are probably more of a threat to cats.

The best way to address this is using good high quality high visible enclosures. You can see where the T is, exactly what it's doing, and they are solid enough to withstand a cat sleeping on it or rubbing against it without falling.

 

[Paul1126]

I have better idea than cat proofing your cages, Why not just keep the Ts in a room and shut the door so the cats cannot access it.

My mind is truly boggled right now.

 

[Andrea82]

I have better idea than cat proofing your cages, Why not just keep the Ts in a room and shut the door so the cats cannot access it.

My mind is truly boggled right now.

This is my solution as well. However, people don't always have a spare room available, and/or prefer to see the spiders in their living room.

 

[Paul1126]

This is my solution as well. However, people don't always have a spare room available, and/or prefer to see the spiders in their living room.

Unless you live in a box I don't see how it you can't keep a cat out of a tarantula room.
Another solution to that is don't get a cat or keep the spiders in a glass cabinet.

 

[Andrea82]

Unless you live in a box I don't see how it you can't keep a cat out of a tarantula room.
Another solution to that is don't get a cat or keep the spiders in a glass cabinet.

Maybe a language thingy, but i don't understand your reply to my post...are you saying that people with small housing shouldn't have spiders or...?

 

[Paul1126]

Maybe a language thingy, but i don't understand your reply to my post...are you saying that people with small housing shouldn't have spiders or...?

Not at all, I live in a tiny flat... I think I could manage keeping a cat away from the spiders enclosures by simply shutting a door.

 

[Whitelightning777]

Letting Nyx out of the central room if the home where the kitchen, the TV and so on is not workable.

The cages are basically cat proof and on shelves where Nyx can't wiggle in on top of them. She generally doesn't go near the cages. She'll watch them, but at a safe distance.

Justina, my L klugi kinda scares her a little. If she was going to try something, it would've happened.