If you’ve ever found yourself wondering if a squirrel would attack a cat, you’re not the only one. We’ve all seen squirrels scurrying up trees and across power lines, always on the lookout for their next meal. It’s that instinctual drive to find food that makes many of us wonder if a squirrel would attack a cat.
In this article, we’ll explore what a squirrel is really like and how they behave in the wild so you can get an idea of whether or not a squirrel would attack your cat. Read on to learn more about these furry little friends of ours.
Squirrels and cats are known for being natural enemies. They compete for the same prey, are both predators, and have very similar body types. So just from a quick overview, it’s easy to see that these two creatures have a lot in common.
But you may be wondering why a squirrel would attack your cat or how they would do it in the first place. It’s really not as difficult as you’d think if you were to witness it in person.
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Would a squirrel attack a cat?
Now, would a squirrel attack a cat in your home? This is where it gets hard to say. There are so many variables involved when it comes to the squirrels around your house. You may have heard stories about baby squirrels being kept as pets and being tame, but that’s only true if they are raised since birth.
If you see baby squirrels in the wild and try to keep them as pets, there’s a good chance that you’ll need to let them go because they will never be domesticated and will always be feral.
This is why a lot of people who want squirrels as pets actually get raccoons, which are similar in build to the squirrel (but not the same, of course) and can be trained and tamed.
But we still haven’t answered the question of whether or not a squirrel would attack a cat. Would it? Sure! There’s nothing stopping a squirrel from attacking your cat if it needs to feed itself. Even if it’s not trying to eat your cat, there’s still a good chance that it will bite your feline friend just because he or she is there.
A squirrel is nocturnal, after all, and its main goal in life is to find a food source and protect it. Your cat is a predator, as we said earlier. So even if your pet cat’s intentions are really good, the squirrel doesn’t know that. And it isn’t going to stand around and wait for your cat to turn away or stop staring at it.
It’s going to do what it needs to do in order to stay alive. It’s simple survival, and it’s just the way things work.
Now, the fact that a squirrel would attack your cat is no reason to get out those mothballs! Okay, so we can’t blame you for being a little skeptical after reading all this information. But if you’ve been wondering if squirrels would attack a cat, then check out our next section and learn more about this amazing creature.
Let’s get one thing straight. You’re probably asking yourself why a squirrel would attack your cat, but it’s not because they want to eat it.
It’s all about defending their territory. As we stated earlier, a squirrel is an animal that lives and breathes by the same rule as most other creatures on Earth: you must do everything you can to survive.
Squirrels attack cats because it’s what they have to do in order to live. It’s the only way for them to get the food that they need and keep themselves alive. Our suggestion is that if you see a squirrel outside with your cat, it’s best not to approach them, especially with a pet in your hand.
This will only put your cat in danger, and there’s no telling what will happen next or how far things may go from there.
In the end, squirrels will attack cats and vice versa. If you have a cat, you can’t let your pet outside without supervision since there’s a good chance that it will get into an altercation with a wild squirrel.
And if you have a squirrel in your attic or somewhere else in your home, there’s also a chance that it will attack your cat. Just be aware of where the animals are around your house so that no harm comes to anyone involved!
How would a squirrel attack a cat?
If you’ve ever seen a squirrel in action, then you know that they are small animals with large mouths. They are very nimble creatures, and have razor sharp teeth as well as claws to hold on tight. So if a squirrel were to attack your cat in your home, it probably wouldn’t take long before the battle was over and one of them was killed or severely injured.
Now, would a squirrel attack a cat outside? This is more likely to happen than inside because outside is where food is more likely to be found. In a way, even outside is where it could get its paws on something, but we’re talking about something that’s actually edible. It’s likely that your cat will be sitting there just waiting for the squirrel to come by and then make a dash for it.
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But what if the squirrel is too quick for your cat? It might try to bite your cat and keep going. Or it might charge at your cat from above, from the tree branch to which it has climbed.
If this is happening outside of a home, chances are that you’ll probably need some poison or some other type of deterrent so you don’t have to worry about those sneaky little critters sneaking indoors at night.
In short, a squirrel is more of a threat to your cat than it is to you. They’re just being what they need to be in order to live a good life. If they don’t have anything to eat, they can’t pass their days and nights without catching prey or sheltering themselves during the night.
If you have a cat and you’ve come across a small animal that’s acting suspiciously in your yard, it may very well be natural predatory behavior. You might want to take note of what type of creature it is so that you could call animal control services in case your pet gets into trouble.
5 reasons why a squirrel would attack a cat
If you’ve ever been curious as to what kind of creature a squirrel might be, then here are five of the common reasons why a squirrel would decide to attack your cat.
- They’re hungry:
As we mentioned earlier, the squirrel is an animal that lives and breathes by survival of the fittest. As such, it’s not going to sit around your house looking for food when it sees a cat by itself. It will probably try to take down its meal any way that it can and be on its way. - They want to protect their territory:
Just like any other creature, a squirrel is territorial and doesn’t appreciate other animals taking its territory away from it. In fact, it probably sees your cat as competition for food and shelter. So if the squirrel has to defend itself from your cat or another animal that may be taking over its home, it could lose a lot of teeth in the process. - Your cat’s too scary for them:
Squirrels have very acute senses of sight and hearing, so they’ll definitely notice if something’s out of place in the area around them. For example, a cat is definitely something that’s ‘out of place’ for a squirrel to see, so it will probably be more than happy to confront your pet cat to defend its territory from the threat of being eaten. - Their food source is under attack:
We went over this in the previous paragraph, but if a squirrel spots your cat by itself and it’s the only food source around, then it will probably defend itself from your cat. This could be just as dangerous for your cat as it is for the squirrel if they end up fighting over a meal. - Your cat’s ferocious:
If you’re the type of person who loves to watch nature shows, then you know that the squirrel is one of the most tenacious animals on Earth. If a squirrel sees a cat that’s capable of fighting back and winning, then it will probably find itself in a bad situation and not know what to do.
The assailant could be your cat, or it could be another animal from outside or inside that’s hunting your pet to eat.
Conclusion
We know that squirrels and cats aren’t too fond of each other, but they’re both just trying to do what they need to in order to live.
If you find a squirrel outside or inside your house, you can make sure that the situation doesn’t get out of hand by making sure that your cat is somewhere safe while the attack happens. If they’re in a tree branch and you have a bird feeder up there, then make sure that you’ve hung it far away from your cat so there’s no where for the squirrel to perch itself.
If it’s a small bird feeder, you might need to make sure that you put the squirrel in the middle of it and not too close to either side. That way, if it does decide to go for your cat, the bird won’t be harmed from the attack.
There are also traps you can buy to catch squirrels so you don’t have to worry about them attacking your cat. If this happens outside, though, we’d recommend calling an animal control company and getting rid of the squirrel before that happens.
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