Beware of spooky spiders year round

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Just because Halloween is a time for frightening things, like ghosts, monsters, and spiders, a bite from a black widow spider can be more than frightening for a pet or pet owner. Despite many encounters being reported, diagnosing whether or not the pet was actually bit by a spider can be difficult.

“Although spiders are front and center during Halloween, they are a danger throughout the year,” said Renee Schmid, DVM, DABT, DABVT, a senior veterinary toxicologist and director of veterinary medicine at Pet Poison Helpline, in an organizational release.¹ “Most people think that spiders disappear in cold locations, when in fact they go into a state known as overwintering. It is similar to when a bear hibernates. Your pets can still find them in barns, sheds and other hiding places, or even your home. If your pet comes in contact with a venomous spider, they can be in danger and you should contact your veterinarian or Pet Poison Helpline immediately.”

Pet Poison Helpline received a call from a pet owner in the Reno-area for her cat Elsy. She told the line that she knew her cat had encountered an arachnid because there was physical evidence. It turns out that Elsy had ingested the spider and then vomited it back up. Luckily, the spider’s body was intact so it could easily be identified. Elsy was being treated as if he was bitten, but the team thinks that the cat ate the spider before it had a chance to bite him.

If Elsy was bitten by the spider, multiple factors would determine the severity of clinical signs, such as how much venom is received, size of the spider, time of year, bite location, size and age of the dog, and if the pet has any concurrent health problems. The treatment for pets is largely based on supportive care including IV fluids to maintain hydration, muscle relaxers, anti-nausea and pain medications, and medication to treat tremors and seizures.²

“Although severe reactions to black widow spider bites are relatively rare in humans, pets can be more adversely affected, especially cats,” said Schmid. “With the thick hair most pets have, it is difficult to find an actual bite wound, and so your veterinarian often has to base the diagnosis on symptoms, rather than knowing an actual cause.

“This is not just limited to spider bites. Because our pets can’t tell us what’s wrong with them or how they feel, we often develop a treatment plan based on the symptoms we’re able to observe along with information regarding the pet’s environment and history rather than a confirmed diagnosis,” she continued.¹

Pet Poison Helpline also shared that pets that are diagnosed with a spider bite sometimes find out later on that their symptoms had another cause. When bit by a spider, pets will present with multiple symptoms such as swellings, inflammation, pain, necrosis of the skin, bruising, vomiting, abnormal clotting, fever, and even organ failure. In a severe case, a pet can die in result from a spider bite.

“My cat Ice Cream crawled under a shed in my yard, and when she came out, she was unsteady and was having difficulty breathing,” said John Ellsworth of Vancouver, Canada. “They initially thought she was bitten by a black widow spider and started treatment. After further examination, however, they 100% ruled out a spider bite because they found a stinger in her throat. It was probably a hornet or bee.”

Pet Poison Helpline's Toxin Tails series educates pet owners and veterinary professionals with poisonings that can happen inside and out of their home. All the pets included in the series have been successfully treated for the poisoning and fully recovered.

References

1. Spiders Can Do More Than Spook This Halloween. News release. Pet Poison Helpline. October 16, 2024. Accessed October 31, 2024. https://www.petpoisonhelpline.com/toxintails/spiders-can-do-more-than-spook-this-halloween/
2. Higgs V. Black Widow Spider Bite Poisoning in Dogs. PetMD. Published February 13, 2023. Accessed October 31, 2024. https://www.petmd.com/black-widow-spider-bite-poisoning-dogs