I have a Ragdoll 7 years old and around 18 to 20 lbs. On Christmas holiday I got a grapefruit sized rock from a river bed in the mountains & brought it home with us. I have it sitting on a low glass shelf in the L/R and have found my cat licking the stone on many occasions. He licks it until it is covered in saliva. What would make a cat do this? Could he be deficient in some mineral or something?
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rock licking???
- Thread starter bodhisattva
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My cat loves to lick the envelopes after I open them. I wonder if that's ok.. I could give him a job!
That's what I've always heard....horses and cows do it for the minerals (salt,etc.)...why not cats?
what are you currently feeding ?
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It can be that your cat is anemic, rock licking, licking cement, or asphalt can be one of the earlier signs of anemia.
Is it from a salty area? Cats love the taste of salt.
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Feeding Max Cat Adult Cat Food. Maybe I should get a supplement. Thanks for the input.
Please take your kitty to the vet and have a blood test done. As hissy pointed out, this is often a sign of anemia, and it can be very serious.
One of our kitties was eating litter. Our first vet said "Oh, it doesn't mean anything." We got a second opinion. "Oh, it doesn't mean anything."
Several months later and our kitty was almost dead from severe anemia. His is due to an autoimmune disease. We (and he) fought for two years to save his life, and he came very, very close to losing it twice.
Cats can usually receive a blood transfusion only once. Their blood is more complicated than human blood, and after that first transfusion their bodies identify the "new" blood and it coagulates - preventing transfusion.
So please do not wait until your kitty's gums are white instead of red and he's just lying around doing nothing, because at that point it might be too late to save his life.
Laurie
One of our kitties was eating litter. Our first vet said "Oh, it doesn't mean anything." We got a second opinion. "Oh, it doesn't mean anything."
Several months later and our kitty was almost dead from severe anemia. His is due to an autoimmune disease. We (and he) fought for two years to save his life, and he came very, very close to losing it twice.
Cats can usually receive a blood transfusion only once. Their blood is more complicated than human blood, and after that first transfusion their bodies identify the "new" blood and it coagulates - preventing transfusion.
So please do not wait until your kitty's gums are white instead of red and he's just lying around doing nothing, because at that point it might be too late to save his life.
Laurie
