Yesterday while I was washing dishes. I looked out the window. I have a pretty clear view of the cats inside the enclosure. I noticed Ashley was sitting on one of the platforms. She didn’t look right to me. Her head was cocked down, and she was intently staring at something. Most of my cats will alert to even the tiniest ants, and they will go for the kill almost every time. Same goes for spiders and flies or anything that enters their domain.
There was something different about her behavior. She wasn’t attacking whatever she was focused on. Instead, she was watching very carefully. I could see this pretty large insect advancing on her and as it advanced on her, she would quickly back up. A few days ago, I realize that we have an underground yellowjacket nest on the other side of where our spirit tree used to be. I was concerned that it was a yellowjacket and she was going to get stung.
I quickly went outside, grabbing a long-handled hammer on the way. When I got into the cat enclosure I could see this big black insect. It seemed to be chasing her...
I quickly walked over and looked and saw the unmistakable red hourglass indicative of a black widow. Ashley had already vacated the platform. I took the hammer and I smashed this invader.
I have seen black widows here before, but generally, they are in the woodpiles, or the firewood. I’ve never seen one inside the cat enclosure. I checked Ashley up and down to make sure that she hadn’t been bitten and she showed no signs of it. She was acting perfectly normal. I am grateful that she had her survival instinct, fully engaged. This could’ve gone very badly for both of us.
Just to be on the safe side I kept a watch over her for a few hours and saw no symptoms. No tremors, no paralysis, no diarrhea, no vomiting this morning. She is alert and happy and alive and I’m grateful that I chose that certain time of the morning to wash my dishes.
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