It rained last night which causes earth worms to appear up on the patio. I just saw Grace examining one of the worms as it dangled from her mouth. I don't think she actually consumed the worms, but it was pretty funny to see, like she was eating spaghetti.

that's too funny. Diesel tries to eat bugs all the time and occasionally I find a bug "part" on the floor so I'm sure he gets some when we're not home. I'm sure he would try to eat a worm if he saw one.

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Dallas, TX USA
Diesel - snow Bengal born 09/01/2013 adopted Feb 2014
Tuck, Chloe, Buddy, Lewis & Tia - rescue kitties
Clyde, Bleu & Coal - Great Danes

Raiden likes to consume bugs, too! YUK!!!!! I understand you have been getting a ton of rain, Jill. That definitely brings all the insects and things to the surface so they don't drown! Worms are gross, too.

Lots of rain! Worms are gross and they smell too. At least lizard season is over. They were killing at least 3 a day for a while. I would smell something funky and find a killing field under the bathroom mat! They would always wind up bringing them in there and they would crawl under the mat and the cats would stomp on them.

YUK!!!!!!!

Yuk,

Tigger loves eating spiders.

Spiders can be dangerous! Many are poisonous. Raiden just chases them until I can kill them and dispose of them. If they are small, I can deal with them. If they are large, my husband has to do the deed.

We had an umbrella wasp in the house one day - we think he came in through the door when someone opened it - Diesel was the first to find it and chased it into one of the family room windows. He was trying to get into the blinds to get at it which is what caught our attention. When I saw what it was I immediately had hubby get some wasp spray and rags and I grabbed Diesel and took him to the other room. He was M.A.D. that was HIS bug and HE was going to get it! It was like fighting a wild cat off a fresh kill.

In the end we managed to kill the wasp and clean it all up without anyone getting stung.

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Dallas, TX USA
Diesel - snow Bengal born 09/01/2013 adopted Feb 2014
Tuck, Chloe, Buddy, Lewis & Tia - rescue kitties
Clyde, Bleu & Coal - Great Danes

Based on what I've read I would say Bengals are genetically predisposed to eating insects and small animals. The Asian leopard cat, which all bengals descend from, are smallish animals in the wild and hunt together in forests and trees. Most breeders breed for size from what I've read but TICA standard is much smaller. While my girl is only 5 pounds and while she is on the smaller side, the typical female should only top out around 8 pounds.

Bengals love climbing, right? Again, Asian leopard cats are small in the wild which allows them to climb trees and hunt birds. They are also scavenger hunters too. Birds, mice, rodents, bugs, and even lizards are all natural prey. I don't know about anybody else but when my girl gets ahold of da-bird she latches on and doesn't let go. Bengals won't typically "play" with their catches like other cats because something like a bird or a lizard is fast enough to get away if ever released.

I can't recommend encouraging the kills (I would), but I wouldn't scold my cat for eating an opportunistic protein source when they're genetically programmed to do it. Embrace it if nothing else as a quirk of living with a Bengal!

Someone asked on another forum whether to give their cat a live mouse! YUK!