Cats are well-known as an animal who are nosey and will eat whatever they are curious eating about. You will be able to notice this when you bring them to the outside world. When you do this, their curiosity will rise, and will try to eat bugs and small prey along the way.
One of the creatures that they may try eating is an arthropod called millipede. They will do their best to ingest foreign animate objects like this because they are used to doing so when they are stuck at home. In this article, we’ll answer questions like, “Are millipedes poisonous to cats?” and the remedy you can resort to when it happens.
What Are Millipedes?
Before anything else, what are millipedes? They look like a combination of centipedes and worms because of how they look and the texture of their outer layer of skin. Scientifically, they are in line or significantly related to butterflies and spiders.
They are under the category of phylum arthropod. These creatures do not have claws or any other part that might harm your cat but some of them have poisonous gases. It is also believed that millipedes are the first creatures that set foot on earth hundreds of millions of years ago.
What Happens if My Cat Eats a Millipede?
So what will happen if your cat eats a millipede? Below are some of the consequences of such action:
Upset Stomach
To set things straight, millipedes are not poisonous to cats and do not contain toxins like scorpions that can kill a cat. However, these creatures may cause an upset stomach to your furry friend. They are composed of a variety of things that are foreign to you and your cat’s digestive system.
Vomiting
When a new food is introduced to your cat’s system, the first thing that it will do is to puke it all out. When your cat ate a millipede or two on your walk in the park, you will be expecting a lot of cries for help while vomiting when you go back home.
Skin Irritation
This is not the usual effect of eating millipedes for cats but sometimes, these creatures release gases that might irritate the skin of your felines. You need to bring them to the nearest veterinary clinic when this happens depending on how grave the irritation is.
Loss of Appetite
Lastly, because of the intentional eating of millipede by your cat, they might lose their appetite and will skip a meal or two because of the feelings in their stomach that they can’t explain. You will often see them at the corner of your house trying to control the reaction of their bodies to the thing they did.
Can a Millipede Bite My Cat?
Millipede cannot and will not bite your cat. They are harmless creatures that crawl on the soil and when a predator approaches them they can’t do anything aside from curling up. They do not have arms that can defend themselves nor a mouth that can bite animals like your nosey cat.
However, it is still not safe for your cat to play with such creatures mainly because of the substance in the gas produced by millipedes. Even if they are not poisonous, there are still somehow harmful effects that they can bring to your cat when the latter ate them.
What Should I Do When My Cat Ate a Millipede?
Let’s say, your cat ate millipedes on your way home from the park, what should you do?
Do Not Panic
You need to know that millipedes are not poisonous to cats and will not harm your cats in the things you think of. Do not panic. You need to calm down and make sure that your cat will be able to puke the millipedes out of their body properly.
Hydrate Your Cat
You need to flush down what your cat just ate to prevent future medical conditions if any. But of course, you still need to remember that overhydrating your cat is not healthy as well.
Read also: Can Cats Drink Distilled Water?
Give Them Treats
Last but not least, you need to feed your cats food that is good for them. This is to ensure that they will poop out the millipedes the next day or within the day if they are lucky. Feed them healthy food to erase the possible side effects of eating those arthropods.
Read also: 5 Best Calming Treats for Cats on a Budget
Wrapping Up
Are millipedes poisonous to cats? No, they are not. These creatures are harmless to cats and will not bite nor scratch them because of their lack of capacity to do so. However, you should still prevent your feline friend from approaching these millipedes because of the possible gases they can spray that might bring harm to your cat’s eyes, mouths, or skin. When bringing them to a walk, avoid going to areas that have large bushes and stay in the flat greens.
