Most spiders couldn't hurt you at all, like not even give you a little itchy welt if they tried their very best, if they could overcome their very realistic fear of your massive size and exoskeleton crushing feet.
That there are a few who get one over on us is the great exception. We are a terror to these little creatures.
@futurebird Yes this! I was bitten by a spider in bed once. I was annoyed until I found the poor guy’s tiny crushed body. Honest to God it must have bitten me as a last ditch effort to not get smooshed by a giant sleeping human. I’ll never look at them in the same way again.
@futurebird Note the furry* ones (I think you will probably not encounter these in North America) will probably hurt you if you touch them. But you can avoid this by just not trying to touch them.
@futurebird While that is absolutely true, there is something fear-inducing about spiders. I still find it hard to pick up huntsmans with my bare hands when I know full well that they cannot harm me, and will jump quite a distance if one runs up my arm during a botched capture and removal exercise.
@futurebird Yeah, could be. But I'd like to think that that wouldn't have a strong affect on me. I absolutely don't flinch with any other traditionally fear-inducing animal - love handling snakes and have always collected and played with beetles, bugs and other inverts. I know conventional rational wisdom would have it that these phobias are learned but it just feels so innate when a spider spooks me.
@futurebird I would like to add that spiders do not lay eggs inside people, or hang out in large numbers in confined spaces for a long time (without eating each other), and in general bugs do not want to be inside you as much as people think they do.
@futurebird I am absolutely team spider, but I do find that they poop/drool (?) on my art which is annoying but that’s what get for now clearing them out I guess
@futurebird@gretared I see what you mean. Most probably are pretty harmless. I always worry though. I've found black widows in my parents' basement and under my own house before, but none inside. Yet. We also have brown recluses in this area to watch out for and those scare me a lot more in regards to a cat eating it.
@nazokiyoubinbou@futurebird@gretared I seriously doubt any but the largest spiders could bite through a cat's fur, and spiders are not toxic to eat. A spider is lucky if it can defend itself even momentarily against a cat.
@nev@futurebird@gretared Well, I would imagine that stomach acids would negate a lot of venoms, but what about some of the trickier ones like the "brown recluse" spider? Their venom has that weird necrosis effect and I worry it could be dangerous even for a stomach.
@nazokiyoubinbou@futurebird@gretared Brown recluse venom is quite unique (virtually all other spider venom is just straightforwardly neurotoxic). The danger is in it being injected into the bloodstream or into skin cells; like don't quote me on this but I'm like 99% sure it won't do anything in a stomach.
@futurebird@gretared Does Pica have pica? Apparently that's a thing cats can have. I know someone with a cat that loves to eat many different things that are distinctly inedible.
She doesn't eat plastic just ants and spiders. Which is "natural behavior" the vet says. She did live on the street as a kitten and I think that's where her bear grylls act started.
@futurebird@vikxin@gretared Our old burmese loved large huntsman spiders (Sparassidae). She would sometimes walk around with them in her mouth with legs hanging out each side like an extra set of extra thick, jointed whiskers.
@futurebird@vikxin@gretared
most cats I've lived with have eaten spiders and a wide variety of insects. (They don't eat box elder bugs. Nothing eats eats box elder bugs.) My current cat is an exception in that she doesn't. But I think she's always had reduced mobility due to being hit by a car before she lived with me.