My cat is one of those delicate, dainty kitties. You know the kitties who walk gracefully light and hardly cause any kind of disturbance or noise. And one day I watched my faithful kitty pounce on a walking stick and then started eating the long bodied insect, legs and all. I was so entirely grossed out. I guess my cat eats bugs like walking sticks because they are tasty and innocent enough. The National Geographic said there are more than 3,000 species of walking stick bugs all over the world. But to watch my graceful kitty standing there with a long leg curling out of her mouth was to much to bear.
In all actuality, bugs and grubs have lots of protein, and some people say they have a fairly good taste to them. I would never eat them myself, but my cat would not pass up such a tasty morsel like a bug. The bug snacks that are listed here will most likely not cause your cat harm if she decides to chomp and eat a bug, but you might cringe at the legs wiggling in your cat’s mouth like I do.
Why do cats eat bugs? Simple, cats have a predator and prey instict. They like to play and hunt objects because the concept is inborn inside of them. They love playing with moving things such as bugs and mice because they are predators.
The 5 Bugs My Cat Likes to Eat are:
1. Cicadas – I have no idea why a cat would eat to eat bugs and winged insects except for the predator factor, but the texture would make me think 50 times before eating one myself. Cicadas are large, roundish bugs with elongated bodies with large veined wings. These largish bugs are harmless and do not bit people or sting, but they will eat the sap out of trees. The male cicadas do produce a extremely loud noise and are considered one of the loudest insects in the world. Cat probably consider cicadas to have a sweet taste depending on the type of sap the cicada last feasted on.
2. Walking Sticks – Walking Sticks are characterized as having a body that looks like a small twig, long legs, a small head and generally have either a brown or greenish brown body. Walking sticks are herbavores and only eat plants and leaves, so they probably taste a bit sweet and bitter. I would imagine a walking stick probably tastes crunchy to a cat. A cat might eat a bug like this because it tastes like a potato chip.
3. Grass Hoppers and Crickets – I know someone who ate a living grass hopper before. And he said they tasted sweet. Of course I was shocked to see the whole event like this. But maybe these bugs are a cats way of eating sweets just like we eat candy or cookies.
4. Big Squishy Moths – We have gigantic moths flying around at night. You know when the back porch light is left on for longer than 5 minutes a swarm of moths and flying insects congregate around the luminous orb. But my cat delights in jumping and swatting at the large Luna moths. And then after the battle is won, she gobbles down the delectable bug.
5. House Spiders and Daddy Long Legs – Another long legged insect is the Daddy Long leg spider. Why on earth a cat will eat a long legged creature like this, I have no concept. They do not have a large enough body to really give any proteins or taste. But my cat loves to chase them and eat these creatures. I guess the chase is what attracts her to these spiders.