Is it safe for my cat to eat household cockroaches or soil from plants?

Mmmm, protein! Catching insects is all part of a cat's prey drive, and it is normal for them to hunt and eat their prey, even creepy-crawlies. If she eats too many cockroaches at one time, it is possible that she could get an upset stomach. I would also be a little concerned if the cockroaches have been exposed to any pesticides, so use of pet-safe cockroach traps would be smarter than a spray or chemical.

If ingested in high doses, indoxacarb can lead to seizures in cats. However, this medication has a relatively high margin of safety in both dogs and cats. I do not know how many indoxacarb-containing cockroaches would constitute a toxic dose., but it is unlikely that eating an infected cockroach or two will cause significant problems. Obviously try to avoid ingestion of any cockroaches if at all possible. Ideally consider kenneling Fox or sending him to a friend's house while you are treating your home for cockroaches to avoid exposure.

Hello, sorry to hear about Parvo. Cats are naturally hunters and thus this behavior may be part of her instinct. However, this may also be caused from a dietary insufficiency. I would recommend that you make sure Paro is being offered a well balanced commercial diet. Eating lizards may predispose her to some parasites, but these vary by region so your local veterinarian may be able to offer better advise on what risk Paro may be at if she continues to eat these lizards. Monitor for any signs of vomiting, decreased appetite, diarrhea, and yellow tinged gums. If you note any, then contact your veterinarian to have her evaluated. Hope this helps and best of luck.

I just checked out the information on the Combat website, and this is what is says: "The active ingredients in Combat products are either fipronil or hydramethylnon. These ingredients are fatal to insects, such as ants and roaches, but have been shown to have a very low toxicity in humans and domestic animals." I would rinse your cats's mouth out with warm water in case there is any gel left in there. I would monitor your cat to be safe. If you see any signs of vomiting, diarrhea, muscles tremors, convulsions, or lethargy, those can be signs of a reaction to the poison, and then I would take him into the vet immediately. There is no specific antidote, but he may need supportive treatment for his symptoms. You would see a reaction to this ingestion within a couple of hours, so if he's still acting normal by tomorrow, he will be fine.

Hello. Without knowing the product used for the debugging it is hard to answer your question specifically, however in general toxins that will kill bugs can be toxic to cats. Watch carefully for tremors, seizures, hyperactivity, wobbliness, or any other concerns. MOST of the products are neuro-toxins so you are looking for clinical signs such as these. If you know for sure that your cat ate some of the cockroaches then you can have her to the vet to get some activated charcoal, however this may not help and does have risks of aspiration pneumonia. If you are going to be with your cat for the next 6-12 hours then I would just monitor very carefully and if any clinical signs present then take her right to a vet. Good luck with Ryuk.

The problem with potting soil of any kind is that cats love to dig in it. There can be harmful ingredients in the potting soil such a chemical fertilizers added to make the plant grow and insecticides to kill pests. Given this potting soil feeds plants for up to six months, I would assume that it contains chemical fertilizers that can potentially hurt your cat. To prevent her from having any chance of getting into this potting soil, I would hang your plants from the walls or ceiling. That would keep her from getting into them. As for toxic signs, it depends on the ingredients in the soil, but you could see neurological signs (difficulty walking, seizures, tremors), vomiting, anorexic, and extreme lethargy. I would hang your plants from the ceiling to keep your cat from getting into the soil at all. You can also create greenhouselike terrariums with lids to keep her out of the plants.

Some parasites and insects can be carriers of bacteria as well as other infectious agents. However this is not an uncommon behavior in cats and certainly not every cat that eats a bug will get sick. Keeping Pearl on a flea/tick preventative will help prevent some of the more common infections. Be careful about applying any agent to prevent bugs as they can be toxic to cats.