Can cats eat cockroaches? Cats, after all, love to eat and chew on things that we humans think are disgusting. If you’re anything like me, chances are pretty good that you consider your cat a part of the family. In many ways, they’re like a kid to us. So it makes sense that you would want to be sure that what your cat is putting in it’s mouth is gonna be okay for them and not harm them in any way.
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Can a Cockroach Hurt My Cat?
For the most part, a cockroach should not be able to hurt your cat. In fact, the mere sight of a cat will have the cockroach hiding very quickly in the nearest and smallest space it can find. The reason for this is because a cockroach will look at your cat like any other predator. This is definitely a situation in which size makes a difference.
One exception to this might be if you have an unusually large cockroach infestation. This can lead to cockroaches possibly contaminating your cat’s food and water bowl with bacteria. An infestation of roaches can also increase the likelihood that your cat gets bit by one of these nasty creatures. This is very rare, but has been known to happen.
Do Cats Kill Cockroaches?
Your cat will more than likely just poke, prod, and play around with a cockroach. Cats are hunters so the thrill is in the actual hunt and not necessarily the kill. Not all cats are the same, though, so they may just happen to eat the disgusting little cockroach for no reason whatsoever.
If your cat is super hungry, they may decide that hunting and playing with the roach is not enough and because they are hungry, they might eat it. If your cat eats a cockroach every now and then, it is nothing to be too concerned about.
However, if you find your cat is constantly eating cockroaches, it may be rough on their digestive system. The reason for this is because cockroaches have exoskeletons which can be really hard for your cat to chew, so they may just end up swallowing it whole.
Another thing to be aware of is if you are using chemicals to treat a roach infestation. A cockroach may have just ingested some of the poison before being attacked or eaten by your cat. This is known to be rare, but there have been cases of this happening.
Can Cats Hear Cockroaches?
As you may already know, your cat has excellent hearing. Your cat’s external ear can rotate 180 degrees to locate the smallest and faintest of sounds. Cats can also hear further away than we can which makes their ears a really important asset on their feline body.
Cockroaches themselves do actually make noise, but more than likely it isn’t them walking around that your cat will hear. Roaches are known to make hissing or chirping sounds and that is what your cat will most likely hear first.
Are Cockroaches Attracted to Cat Litter?
If you have a cockroach problem in your house, you may want to stick to using clay-based or silica-based cat litter varieties. As long as you keep the litter clean, it will help stave off roaches – which brings me to my next point.
Another reason that cockroaches may be attracted to your cat’s litter box is it’s general cleanliness. Cockroaches love a dirty mess and an unkept litter box is no exception. A simple way to avoid this is to make it a habit to clean out your cat’s litter box and use new litter on a regular basis. There are even special deodorizers that you can add to your cat’s litter to help keep it smelling clean and fresh.
How to Kill Cockroaches Without Harming Your Cat
So if you have a cockroach problem, you might be wondering how to get rid of these pesky and disgusting insects without causing any harm to your beloved feline.
In my opinion, the safest way to get rid of cockroaches is by using food-grade diatomaceous earth, which is a sand-like substance made from fossilized sea algae and other sea organisms. Diatomaceous earth will kill most insects and is also non-toxic to animals.
Make sure to sprinkle diatomaceous earth in all the areas that you are seeing the cockroaches. Also be sure to sprinkle this stuff under your sink, behind furniture, inside shelving – basically any crevice or tight spot that a roach can hide at.
It also goes without saying that you should try to keep your home as clean as possible. After all, something within your home attracted these nasty bugs in the first place. Do you constantly have dirty dishes piling up in your kitchen sink? Or perhaps there is a food mess somewhere in your home that you may be unaware of. These are just some of the things that may have caused the roach problem to begin with.
Final Thoughts
Your feline companion is a big part of your life but cockroaches don’t have to be. I personally would never let my cats eat a roach, because I just think it’s plain nasty. And if you’re anything like me, you probably give your cat little kisses everyday. I don’t know about you, but I’d rather not kiss my cat after it’s had a cockroach in its mouth.
Chances are, if you’ve found one cockroach, there are probably many just like it hiding in your house somewhere. That’s creepy and gross isn’t it? The minute you see one of those nasty things, the best thing you can do is find the place that they are entering into your home and sprinkle diatomaceous earth in and around that area.
