If the snake is hungry and the cat is small enough, the snake may follow the ‘waste not, want not’ principle. However, eastern and western diamondbacks are large enough to consider smaller cats or juvenile and sub-adult cats prey.Ī curious cat may antagonize a rattlesnake, triggering a defensive response. However, there’s little evidence of rattlesnakes actively preying upon cats. There are dozens of reported cases where a cat has been bitten by one of these deadly pit vipers.
Diamondback RattlesnakesĪ diamondback rattlesnake is the largest venomous snake in the U.S. It will then latch onto its prey before wrapping the animal in its powerful coils.Ĭonstriction can kill a cat in a matter of minutes. A python will lay in wait for a meal to cross its path, and it targets its meal using its strong sense of smell and heat-sensing pits. Encounters with this snake aren’t uncommon, and there are concerns about the snake population spreading beyond the Everglades. Research published in Biological Invasions notes that Burmese pythons are established in Florida. Many large, nonvenomous snakes in the U.S., such as boa constrictors, started off life as domestic pets.Īlso, the Burmese python will prey upon cats. The types of snakes that eat cats include: Pythons and BoasĮven though pythons are nonvenomous, members of the Pythonidae family still pose a danger to cats.Īny snake that’s large enough to prey upon small mammals will consider cats prey.
The majority of snake species wouldn’t consider an adult cat to be a food source. Snakes are found throughout most of America, so encounters with snakes are common. This predators’ list is primarily made up of strict carnivores. Also, omnivores practice predation on plants and animals. For example, insectivores (animals that primarily prey on and eat insects) are a carnivore sub-type. Parasitism can impact or even kill the host, and this means that the parasite deprives the host of essential nutrients to the point where its health declines.Įach of the above types of predators can be further broken down into more detailed and specific categories. An example is the bacteria that live in the digestive tract. Mutualism is when this smaller organism lives in harmony with its host and causes no harm. For example, flatworms living within a domestic cat. The final two types of predators involve small, sometimes microscopic, organisms living within another animal. Herbivorous predators, like krill, horses, and porcupines, consume autotrophs (plants and algae). There are many carnivorous predators, including wolves, cougars, owls, and snakes. Carnivorous predators are broken up into two further types: those that primarily scavenge carcasses and those that hunt and kill prey independently. The four main types of predators are carnivorous, herbivorous, parasitic, and mutualistic.Ī carnivorous predator must hunt and kill its prey. The different types of predators are defined by what the predator eats and how it harvests that food. 2.9 Related Articles: Do Cats Have Natural Predators?
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