I have a small black cat named Coalette. She recently started eating spider webs (and presumably, the spiders within their webs). The first time I saw her do it, I was in the bathroom where (for reasons unclear) she has always followed me with great interest. There was a largish cobweb in one corner near the baseboard, and I watched her in fascination as she enthusiastically tucked in. Wow, I thought. Is this a cat thing? Until fairly recently, I've only had dogs, so it seems I am always observing new curious, uniquely feline behaviors. But then a dark thought occurred: some spiders are poisonous. Coalette is a mighty small cat, and probably couldn't take much poison in her system.
So I yelled. Let’s just say that I was in a compromised position (you’ll recall I was in the bathroom at the time), and yelling was the only option available if I was to save her life. Experienced cat people just chuckled as they read that sentence. Yelling at cats is about as effective as shouting “turn off!” at a running faucet. As soon as I was able, I scooped her up and away from her new culinary delight. Little gossamer strands stuck to her whiskers and she purred in contentment.
Disturbingly, this became a pattern. Coalette follows me into the bathroom, seeks and destroys all spider webs by ingesting them. I try to convince myself that it must not be harmful, because she seems hale and hearty enough. But then… maybe she just hasn't happened on one of the poisonous spiders yet. I am thankful, though confused, by the fact that she only eats webs in bathrooms. What does it all mean??
Over the course of a few days the situation has become stressful enough to me that I thoroughly de-web all three bathrooms. With a certain amount of smugness, I watch her the next time she prowls a bathroom, looking for her new favorite snack food. She makes a few circuits of the room, and then settles into a corner and begins to lick the baseboards free of dust. It isn't idle tasting mind you, she is licking the baseboards as though it were her job.
*sigh*
Call in the team of kitty psychiatrists.
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..."an ill-favoured thing, sir, but mine own"
Shakespeare. As You Like It. Act v. Sc. 4
2 comments:
The stories about your cat just keep getting better and better. I'm glad that some of the imaginary posts are becoming un-imaginary. You must get a photo of Coalette on here. Hey, can I borrow her? Spiders are constantly out to get me. I could use a spider eating cat around the house.
My cat is shaved like a lion and eats spyder webs and acts like her sister a little blue chauiwawa not sure the spelling but I'm stoned anYway. And shes a Russian blue they Look related. The dog does cat acts and cat does ding acts and the dog loves to hump her stuffed lion boyfriend she bangs it like a horny teenager . Is it normal
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