Cat owners, is it normal...?

Demonoid_Limewire

My cats like to "go hunting". Especially at late night hours. They catch their fair share of mice, and i reward them, because they leave them as trophies in areas i am sure to pass through and notice right away! But alas, i noticed something really strange, borderline gross... I am not so sure if this behavior is to be considered natural, that is why i need to ask!

They stalk insects, specifically locusts and butterflies. They catch, play with them, dissect them... But instead of abandoning them right after, they simply... devour them! I feed them very well, and with good quality food (fish/meat leftovers, and many homemade, or cat-food, delicacies). I feed them VERY, very well, and i am pretty sure about it. Just why on earth, they "need" to eat that damn, disgusting locust, or that beautiful, colorful butterfly? Are these even edible for felines? Is this behavior normal for stray/wild cats? Ok about the hunting part, but what the hell is wrong and they treat their prey as food? Prey of this type, especially (pests, ewww)...!

Have you cat owners, ever found yourself before similar, disgusting shows? Should i discourage them somehow from eating that shite? Or should i just ignore all this, as natural behavior and all...?

FinneousPJ

Are you serious? Animals hunt for food, not fun. Of course insects are edible.

CaloNord

Yes perfectly normal. We had a rotty dog who used to run around the lawn chasing grass hoppers. . . he'd stalk them and casually sloooowly walk up behind them and kinda leap all fours onto them and eat them. He'd also eat lizards. :P
Cats do the same thing. They may be domesticated now but they are still natural born hunters. They like to keep their instincts sharp, mess with things and then eat them.

Hahaha but no perfectly normal!

Troodon80

My cats have also been known eat all sorts of insects. I'll feed the and they'll sleep on a chair or bed, but as soon as a fly starts buzzing around the room, they perk right up. Same with mice they find outside. I am almost certain that it's a form of sport. Similar to a ball they may scatter around for fun. I have found any number of dead mice or birds that have been played with but not devoured—meaning they are obviously not hungry.

JuliusBorisov

My cat doesn't always hunt at night but when it does it goes for Asparagus plant.

So, maybe you should try adding a few home plants to your house.

Of course, insects are not good but it's still better than to suddenly wake up at night when your cat catches your toes

Demonoid_Limewire

bengoshi said:

My cat doesn't always hunt at night but when it does it goes for Asparagus plant.

So, maybe you should try adding a few home plants to your house.

Of course, insects are not good but it's still better than to suddenly wake up at night when your cat catches your toes

Hm, dogs are also known to eat certain grass or plant parts. Maybe some supplement to their diet, i suppose...? My home garden is full of plants, both edible and decorative, yet i have never even once observed my two cats honing them, culinarily speaking...

mlnevese

Eating insects is absolutely normal. Even humans eat them

Mathsorcerer

This is normal behavior for cats. The common house cat is the *most* predatory species of cat--they will stalk, catch, and eat (or dismember and leave for you) *anything* smaller than they are. This is sometimes annoying, which I discovered after finding the third headless mouse in the kitchen back in college, but can also sometimes become disturbing, such as when a tom kills kittens (that didn't happen with my cat but it does happen).

LadyRhian

Yes, this is normal. Cats hunt for food- by leaving the bodies for you to find, it is attempting to feed you, as momma cat feeds her kittens.

scriver

Insects are like 100% protein. They're super nutritious, both for humans and cats, so there's absolutely nothing wrong with eating them.

As for carnivores eating grass, I don't think it's supplemental as much as it is for their digestion. However, I do know there are kinds of grass that are often kept for cats to eat from - my family grew such grass over the winters for our first cat.

Demonoid_Limewire

Eh, human's wouldn't eat insects. Besides being gross, they are named pests for a reason. And pesticides used generally also contaminate their body mass even further. I seriously doubt it is good/healthy, as a practice, even for my poor little beast! But since my cute little kitty is not the only one doing so, i am somewhat relieved as of now...

I have heard about men eating insects, but i consider this as just fake. Cannot believe it happens. It's so sick, repulsive, demented, gross, that i would never believe it happens, even if it did right next to me. I would force myself to believe i am hallucinating instead, so as to avoid the shock of the realization, and stuff...

FinneousPJ

@Demonoid_Limewire‌ I have to say the problem is 100 % in your head. Insects are perfectly good eats.

SapphireIce101

Its totally normal for cats to eat insects. My cat used to chase flies around all the time.

Also, its called Entomophagy. Yes, humans eat bugs. Its not fake. Its not something that people make up. It really does happen. It doesn't happen in first world countries very much, but if you go to India, Africa, and developing countries then you're going to see a lot of it. In fact, in some of those countries bugs are a delicacy. To be honest, I'm pretty sure humans have been eating bugs ever since we've existed.

Oh, and a little tidbit, some of the food that you eat, say like peanut butter and chocolate, have insect parts in it.

Not the best of sources, but here's the Wikipedia page for it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entomophagy

mlnevese

I never tried one but I know some ants can be quite tasty actually.

meagloth

Two things:
1.
And 2. I would be more worried that he's not sharing. Bugs are very tasty, and I'm sure you raised him better than that.

meagloth

Oh, yea, one more thing. If you don't like the way they look, there is a way around that:
http://t.candywarehouse.com/products/chocolate-covered-insects-packs-24-piece-box/

scriver

Demonoid_Limewire said:

Eh, human's wouldn't eat insects. Besides being gross, they are named pests for a reason. And pesticides used generally also contaminate their body mass even further. I seriously doubt it is good/healthy, as a practice, even for my poor little beast!

They're called pests because they eat our food, not because they're disgusting. And if they haven't got enough pesticide on/in them to kill the insects themselves, it's not going to harm a cat either. If you're worried about ingesting pesticides you should probably be more concerned about eating the fruits and grains they put it on, anyway

SapphireIce101 said:

To be honest, I'm pretty sure humans have been eating bugs ever since we've existed.

I'd say so too. Heh, since we evolved from insect-eating animals, you might even say we've been eating bugs since before we existed :P

SapphireIce101 said:

Oh, and a little tidbit, some of the food that you eat, say like peanut butter and chocolate, have insect parts in it.

Not to mention that common red food colouring made from lice - basically all red candy is made with that one, and I can't see why it wouldn't be as common in other coloured food as well.

But yeah, let's not gross Demonoid_Limewire‌ too much. We should stop before somebody happens to mention the medical practice of using maggots to clean wounds!

...Oops, too late.

Demonoid_Limewire

Bleaaargh... Please, stop that. Besides, my worries and concerns, had initially been, about my pet cat eating them. Not human. Bleaaargh...

elminster

LadyRhian said:

Yes, this is normal. Cats hunt for food- by leaving the bodies for you to find, it is attempting to feed you, as momma cat feeds her kittens.

You sure its not actually saying "you're next"?

meagloth

elminster said:

LadyRhian said:

Yes, this is normal. Cats hunt for food- by leaving the bodies for you to find, it is attempting to feed you, as momma cat feeds her kittens.

You sure its not actually saying "you're next"?

It depends.

meagloth

@scriver‌ Not lice. Female Cochineal(Dactylopius coccus) carcasses. It's a South American scale insect. It's ground up and used to make carmine.
From Wikipedia:

"To prepare carmine, the powdered scale insect bodies are boiled in ammonia or a sodium carbonate solution, the insoluble matter is removed by filtering, and alum is added to the clear salt solution of carminic acid to precipitate the red aluminium salt, called "carmine lake" or "crimson lake." Purity of color is ensured by the absence of iron. Stannous chloride, citric acid, borax, or gelatin may be added to regulate the formation of the precipitate. For shades of purple, lime is added to the alum; thus, the traditional crimson color is guaranteed not only by carminic acid but also by choice of its chelating metal salt ion."

And link.

NaturalBornKieler

My cat chases and eats insects too but I never worried about that. I just feel a little sad when she carries a bird home and eats it. (I was able to save the lives of a couple of birds though because sometimes they are still alive when she brings them. The trick is to grab the cat, not the bird ...)

scriver

@meagloth - In Swedish, that's a louse

meagloth

scriver said:

@meagloth - In Swedish, that's a louse

Right.

scriver

We call them "plant lice".

meagloth

scriver said:

We call them "plant lice".

Of course.

molloy

Hmmm, tasty!

edit: edited out youtube link of insect market because of grossness (but you can find such videos yourself easily enough) - and the point is, although I find it disgusting and don't wanna see it in my post, it's still perfectly normal

kaguana

Yup it normal, my cat like to hunt insects as well as mice, birds and big ugly cockroach that he like to leave around the house ick. He can sit one moment and in the next to start jumping and run after an insect and when he does get it he play with it till he is ready to eat it.

CaloNord

mlnevese said:

Eating insects is absolutely normal. Even humans eat them

Umm. It's funny you should mention this. My mother once asked the Doctor if it was normal for children (me) to eat insects. Because I may have hunted down and eaten several grasshoppers.

It's a past time I haven't felt like revisiting but didn't seem to hurt me.

My brother also fed me dog biscuits.

They're nicer then you think.

TheGraveDigger

I've eaten ants, crickets, fried worms, maggots, and even nibbled a slug, and I never felt ill afterwards. My dog eats rabbit droppings when we go out, but he's too soft to kill a live rabbit or squirrel, and he's had several chances. I reckon a cat would kill anything for fun.

scriver

@CaloNord confirmed for gnoll.