How dangerous (in general) are spiders to cats?

Asked by yankeetooter (9651

) November 1st, 2013

Tonight when I got home from grocery shopping and dinner with my Mom (I know, I know, my life is too exciting) I called the cats into the bedroom to give them some treats. (I always give them a few treats before bed, so I was keeping things consistent with the location.) When my boy cat Bruno jumped up on the bed, he suddenly jumped as if startled and jumped off the bed. I figured something just freaked him out for a second (my cats have always been jumpy since I brought them home from the shelter last February.)

Except this was more severe. He was so spooked that he didn’t want to get back up on the bed…and to say he loves treats, etc. would be putting it mildly. His favorite activity is eating, lol! He kept acting as if something was on the blanket, and would not get back up. Finally, his love of treats won out, and I coaxed him back up on the bed and he had some treats. When we were done, I shook out the blankets, but didn’t see anything.

I was carrying two pieces of clothing that had been on the bed into the other room to do laundry. Suddenly I saw a medium size spider on the floor, with its legs sort of gathered up. (It wasn’t moving). I don’t know where it came from, although I wonder if it had fell out of the clothes. I sucked it up with the vacuum cleaner and kept an eye on my cat for a little bit. He seems fine, and was chasing the laser pointer around like normal, but it got me to thinking…

All spiders are venomous, but of course the majority are no threat to humans (except maybe giving us heart attacks when they appear out of nowhere). I would assume the more dangerous species (the widows and recluses, etc.) would also be harmful to pets, and, given their relatively smaller size, any ill effects would probably act sooner. But if a run-of-the-mill spider bites a cat or dog, that should be okay, right?

(Sorry for the long story).

pets
spiders

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5 Answers

Spider bites hurt like hell. I would be off a bit if one got me.

Adirondackwannabe (36713

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I’ve had cats all my life. I have never been aware of any spider bites. My guess is however, that in all that time someone must have been bit. Since I haven’t known of any problems, I would say they are pretty harmless.

anniereborn (15511

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I;m sure cats can be spider bite victims, I have never had an issue, as far as I know.
However, I did have the amazing experience withmy big male Ragdoll cat ” Myles” getting bitten by a huge Rattlesnake under my deck in July of 2012. He survived but the swelling in his paw was beyond amazing. His leg swelled to the size of my forearm and he was on Oxy-cat-on for days for the pain. lol

FYI cats seem to do better with snakebites, are somewhat immune, compared to dogs, but…it all depends on the bite site. Cats get them on their paws from swatting, dogs on their face, nose. from sniffing. If either take a body hit, especially near the heart or in the neck it can be much worse.
What an education I had!

Coloma (47190

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Cats actually aren’t as stupid as I look. There are some very venomous spiders like the brown recluse and the black widow. Cats have evolved to know this, because even though they have 9 lives, they have an innate interest in anything that moves, so their brains have been hardwired to avoid poisonous spiders. It’s possible your Bruno landed on a particularly venomous spider by accident in his rush to get a treat, and he got a painful bite even though the impact of his paw killed the wicked arachnid. But for the most part, cats are wise enough to know what moving things to play with and which to avoid, and they are no more likely to get a dangerous spider bite than we humans are.

ETpro (34605

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Only two types of spiders are capable of causing severe injury to your cat: the female black widow and the brown recluse. The little ‘house spiders or garden spiders’ are pretty harmless. The fangs of most spiders are too weak to penetrate thick animal skin. Their “bite” will most likely just cause localized irritation and itch.

Smitha (5778

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