Feather eater...

My cat is a feather eater. She just ate one next to me!

The only toy she really loves is the cat teasers with feathers on the end, and sometimes sparkle strips. It doesn't take long for at least one feather to fall out. Pretty soon half are gone, and I know we didn't pick them all up...

I don't want her eating feathers, it can't be very healthy. I have no idea how many she actually eats and how many I pick up. Probably not too many end up in her tummy. I just tried to pull one out of her mouth, but she swallowed too fast! Is it very bad for her?

Whether it causes a problem probably depends on the size of the feathers. Cats may eat small feathers from their prey in the wild, so those should pass normally. The larger feathers that are used in toys may not. I typically put away my feather teasers or monitor Zek around them, since he's been known to eat feathers. If your cat does eat a large feather, monitor his eating and litter box habits for a few days to make sure everything passes through normally. I would also be wary of the dyed feathers, as I don't know what the dyes are made from.