Cat-eating Burmese Python

We know that America has wild animals that prey on domestic cats. It is one reason why far more Americans keep their cats inside all the time than in European countries. Perhaps the most common and dangerous predator to the outside domestic cat in America is the coyote but I don’t think any Americans have ever factored in the possibility of their cat being swallowed by a Burmese python!

Burmese Python Preying On Cats
Burmese Python Preying On Cats
Two useful tags. Click either to see the articles: Toxic to cats | Dangers to cats

It seems that the tendency for some Americans to keep exotic pets has resulted in a Burmese python escaping from its enclosure or it was released because it became too much of a handful. The place: Port St Lucie, St Lucie County, Florida, United States.

Someone called the police about a 12 foot, 120 pound Burmese python slithering around the undergrowth yesterday. The police Sgt arrived at an empty lot and found a dead cat. It appears that they made the presumption that the python had killed the cat but do we know how many other cats this python had swallowed? It sounds horrendous and it is not the sort of thing you would have in mind as a possible danger to your cat of is it? In Florida there appears to be an python population explosion and as a non-native species they are eating birds. Birds seem to be a favorite. The stomach contents of 85 pythons killed contained the contents of 25 different species of birds. This should be factored in when people complain about the domestic and feral cat preying on birds.

The police sergeant called for backup and they apprehended the python which gave in to superior forces and was taken to a person who had licence to look after it. It is interesting that they did not kill it. If a mountain lion had been wandering around the neighborhood it would have been shot.

The story comes from 12newnow.com. Is this the first case of a domestic cat being preyed upon by a python in America?

Another rather extraordinary example of wild predators preying on domestic cats was an eagle plucking a kitten from the balcony of an apartment and carrying it off (or was it something else?). The kitten was their one-minute and gone the next. You never know how safe or unsafe it can be outside for a cat in America. Owls can take cats too.

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27 thoughts on “Cat-eating Burmese Python”

  1. From what I’ve read about him, especially from the bird watchers he took on tours, he is brilliant in his knowledge about birds, but is crude, rude, and foul-mouthed most of the time.

    I think it’s a big leap for him to be civil.

    Reply
      • That he is and more so, Michael.
        I think I get it. It’s not so much that he hates cats (pythons or whatever). He’s driven by his obsession and love for birds. Anything that threatens them is his enemy. Unfortunately, that winds up to be much of the world. Hence, his hatred for those who care about anything that threatens his world. That’s where he directs his rage.
        It’s destructive but he can’t see it.
        He’s so swallowed up that he can’t even fake enough people skills to get along with peers.

        Reply
  2. Hey Michael? Have you ever played “balance a boiled-peanut on an alligator’s snout”? But it wasn’t really a challenge unless the ‘gator was over 15 ft. My trekking buddies and I played that when things got slow. How’s that cat-infested mommy’s-basement treating you? Still enjoying it? LOL!!!!!!!!!!

    Reply
  3. I lived deep in the Everglades for 3 years, studying the myriad species of animals and all their interactions. As far as pythons go, just like invasive species vermin cats, the only good python is a dead one. But I’ll make an exception in this case.

    GO PYTHONS!

    You should see the photos I have of a python swallowing a 15 ft. alligator. Cats are just snacks for pythons. I also loved it when someone’s yappy dog or cat wandered too close to the canals. Yum YUM! An alligator’s favorite lunchtime snack. Many a time I heard owners of those animals screaming as “Fluffy” or “Oodle Poodle” disappeared beneath the waters. LOL!!

    (btw: Cats get the same treatment that invasive species African Cichlids get in Florida. Destroy on site. You are not legally allowed to even transport a Cichlid to the other side of the road unless it is dead. Same for cats. Isn’t reality fun? LOL!!!!)

    Reply
    • I notice that in your comment you imply that you dislike dogs too because it makes you happy when they are eaten by alligators. You don’t like people who like cats which in America amounts to about 80 million people. So what the hell do you not hate? 😉

      Reply
      • You still don’t get it, do you. I hate neither cats nor dogs. They’re both great animals when kept by (now don’t miss this part, you always seem to …) RESPONSIBLE PET OWNERS.

        What I HATE, are criminally negligent and criminally IRRESPONSIBLE pet-owners. And they deserve to lose the life of their pet(s). You know, like those cunts that you support here who let cats roam free. ALL their cats need to die.

        Got it now? Did I use too-big of words for you again?

        Reply
        • Woody calm down. So tell us concisely what constitutes a responsible dog and cat owner? I guess you are for full-time indoor cats and dogs on leashes at all times. Should we extend that concept to some people? A lot of people behave very badly Woody. Why don’t we keep them on a leash or under house arrest permanently?

          Reply
    • Perhaps you led some tours through portions of the Everglades Jimbo and, by airboat I presume, rather than believing that you lived deep within.
      I don’t buy that.

      Reply
  4. A quote:

    “According to Smithsonian.com, Carla Dove, head of the National Museum of Natural History’s Feather Identification Lab, identified 25 species of birds from the stomach contents of 85 Burmese pythons in 2011, including endangered species like the limpkin and the wood stork, which stands more than three feet tall. “These snakes are growing bigger and eating bigger things,” said Dove. Not even alligators or deer are safe from snakes that can grow to 20 feet in length.”

    I think these reptiles love birds more than any cat.

    Reply
  5. Burmese pythons or any other constricting snakes are dangerous to animals and humans.

    There are many accounts of cats, dogs, birds, even babies being killed by these snakes.

    At last count, there was an estimated 150,000 Burmese pythons in the Florida Everglades alone.

    People acquiring these snakes for “pets” are as insane as the people keeping big wild cats in their homes.

    Pythons may even have a better sense of smell than a cat or dog and have no problem finding prey; and they don’t discriminate.

    It’s not just the U.S. either.
    Here is an article about a cat being killed in the U.K. about 5 years ago.

    Reply
    • I did not realise how common they were in Florida! God alive. They probably kill more birds than cats in some parts. In fact they almost certainly do kill more birds and wildlife than stray cats. Thanks for the info Dee.

      Reply

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