How in world do you keep a pika cat alive?

How do you guys do it with children and multiple cats in a big house? I just have a small apartment and single cat and no matter how paranoid I be its never enough. I must have honestly thrown out half of my apartment, tube shielded, out of reached the rest of the mandatory things I just couldnt toss. Christmas items just plain stay in boxes now.
Every few months its something new you never think of, plastic potato bag, getting into the mail, chipping at the walls, etc. I found him with a black staple sticking out of his mouth this morning, nearly had a heart attack but a minute before I seen him playing under my computer chair so it didnt take me long to turn it over and see that he pried loss some big tight staple that keeps the material on. I counted a dozen times and I see no missing staple spot other then the one I caught so I have to assume nothing is ripping his stomach to shreds right now. Not that I can afford another $300 xray/emergency appt right now anyhow.
So now my computer chair is in the car, there is no way to remove all the staples without ruining it nor can I sleep at night with it inside now that he did that once. So now I have to hopefully find one that doesn't do that. The chair is only a year old, a few months back he took of the little black cover circles that hide the nuts and bolts on it, so I tossed those immediately. Not sure how much longer I can keep this cat alive, you would think just playing with him would wear out these tendencies. I can only hope the older he gets the less he is inclined to do this since he will not be two until may.

hunched over typer

I've heard of cats with Pica eating litter; which is common in cats with anemia but didn't realize the extent of it until seeing your post and reading the following 2 interesting articles all about it:

http://www.vmth.ucdavis.edu/home/beh...vior/pica.html

http://www.messybeast.com/pica.htm

Has your kitty always been like this?

What do you feed kitty?

Ever considered getting another kitty, for company? It seems sometimes cats w/ Pica exhibit this behavior due to boredom. cats are companion animals and generally do a lot better with a buddy.

Have you already ruled out any health-based cause?

For your chair, would it be feasible to cover the staples with duct tape or will he pull that off and eat it too? Seti eats weird things but he's not quite this bad thankfully but I do know what you mean about worrying yourself sick! Good luck!

My cat eats material, especially shoe strings, string, blanket parts.

I know someone who has to keep her pica cat in a spare room, he has everything he needs in there, but its all cat-safe (still doesnt stop him chewing the litterbox but he is doing better). If you dont have that kind of space, perhaps using screening to keep him in one area when not supervised?

Have you ruled out hyperthyrodism and FeLV?

Have you tried using something like Bitter Apple to keep him from chewing on things? Maybe it could work on your computer chair. Or you could glue some cardboard onto the bottom of the chair to prevent him from getting to the staples?

I would agree with the other posters who said to have him checked by a vet for a cause to his Pica. Your vet may also be able to recommend some medication to help him?

Good luck, keep us posted!

If he doesn't have a physiological reason for it... like lacking nutrients or a disease... perhaps a dab of anti anxiety drug would work? Not a big fan of psycho-pharmaceuticals for animals... but you never know.

In any regard, seems a thorough work up is in order.