Licking the Walls!??!

artfer01

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I have a 1 year Male long hair kitty that for some reason is constanly licking every and any type of wall surface in out house. He is particularly fond of licking our painted walls.

This is a relatively new behavior that showed up about 3 months ago.We have taken him to the vet on a couple of occasions regarding this and it has been suggested that this may be due to stress. However, this has been going on for well over three months now with little if any changes to the environment (no new pets, no change to our routine, etc).

My wife and I are trying to figure out why our cat has decided to lick the walls like it was a giant ice cream cone. Although we a little concerned about damage from the licking, we are more concerned about what may be causing this behavior or if this might be linked to a possible health problem.

Does anyone else have experience with this type of situation?
 

solaritybengals

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I have a long-haired male who also likes to lick things but I'm not sure if its as excessive as what your saying. With him its like a smooth surface fetish or something. Like the phone or wood table-tops. But I kind of think its some kidn of salt he's tasting.

Maybe he's bored?

I hope someone has something better to say than me
.
 

zak&rocky

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Perhaps a form of OCD? Mine occ lick the dry side of the shower curtain, and the shades. I would be concerned if there is any lead in the paint?
 

galt

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Maybe his diet is deficient in some sort of nutrient? My Kitty would lick the asphalt sidewalk everytime she was outside, and we learned later that her body was severely lacking in iron and other things, because of a disease she had, so I assume that is why she was licking the asphalt. Could your cat needs something more in his diet, which would cause him to lick the walls?
 

ryn

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Milla does the same exact thing. No nutrient deficiencies or kidney problems in this case (it's a possibility, ask your vet whet s/he thinks), I suppose she just likes the taste of the painted wall (I tried that out of curiosity, not bad at all, kind of salty.
). I worry about the paint being toxic in the long run, so I wipe the walls within her reach with lemonjuice.
 

stampit3d

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We have one that likes to lick the windows....only after i`ve just washed them!
(Think it`s the windex flavor...or is he just out to dirty up my windows again?)
Linda
 

rockcat

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Oliver started licking the cabinets and other surfaces years ago after my MIL (now ex-MIL) juiced oranges. Bless her heart she has severe vision problems and got juice all over the kitchen. I think Oliver is still looking for a taste.
 

sibohan2005

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If you live in an older house you may want to make sure you don't have lead based paint on the walls.
Maybe your cat is missing somthing in it's diet vitamine and mineral wise?
 

solaritybengals

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Ooooh thats a good point! My neighbor had this happen to her cats. One took very ill. But it wasn't just that, the owners hair started falling out and they realized it wasn't just the walls the pipes were lead too! Ugh. She almost lost one of the kitties to lead poisoning, but it made it through ok.
 
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