My Cat Has An Oral Fixation And Wants To Eat Everything!

[kalebkat]

Anyone else have a cat like this?

I have to be so careful with what is on the floor and it makes me really paranoid because who knows what could be behind the heavy furniture. Something small I'm sure!

With the summer on its way and spring in it's full effect there is pollen everywhere. I don't mind letting Kaleb just out front while I'm out there but everytime we are he has to eat those little strands of pollen on the ground. Also the ones I carry in on my feet!

Today I saw him searching the floor for more of it!

I guess I don't need to be worried yet but I'll for sure be checking his bowel movements. Gosh, he makes me nervous!!!

 

[abyeb]

Sounds like he has pica. Charlie has this too; he tries to eat strings, paper, buttons, and anything made of plastic. I just have to be careful with his toys, which basically means cutting strings off of everything. Ping pong balls should be okay for him to play with, they're too big to swallow, and don't have anything attached to them that Kaleb could try to chew off. Some pica cats also like to eat carpet, so if you want a cat tree, you may want to invest in noncarpeted one: Banish the Ugly Beige Carpet: Check Out These Cool Cat Trees | Catster. Sisal rope scratching posts should be fine, though. You should also put plastic chord protectors over any exposed electrical chords. If you suspect that your cat has ingested string at any point, he needs to go to the emergency vet ASAP, as linear foreign invaders can easily get lodged in the intestines, which is a life threatening condition! Ask a Vet: What Should I Do if My Cat Eats String? | Catster

 

[Ardina]

My cat has pica too. She eats cloth in particular, but will also go for hair ties, string, and pretty much anything she can fit in her mouth.

I joke that she's the reason my apartment is so clean and tidy.

Abyeb has lots of good advice. I've had a lot of success with a bitter apple spray to protect electric cords, shoe laces, cushion corners, etc. Definitely be careful with soft toys. The only toys that Saipha is allowed to have are feathers, balls too big to swallow, and one extremely tough soft dog toy made for problem chewers so she can have something to bunny kick and bite.

But the biggest takeaway is to cat-proof well and always be on the lookout for signs of GI obstruction.

 

[kalebkat]

thank you abyeb and ardina! I watch him when I can. I know strings and things like that can be REALLY bad! So far he hasn't exhibited any strange behavior. One thing that is new is he is climbing on the kitchen counter and I don't know how to discourage it yet. There are chairs and a desk he gets up on. We are thinking of moving the chairs. Not sure what to do about the desk yet. I'm going to try to search the forum for answers on this.

Now I've heard Pica mentioned but I can't remember to well what I learned. I think I read it's a disease but non degenerative and non harmful, but it will cause your cat to have the urge to eat a lot of things?

 

[abyeb]

thank you abyeb and ardina! I watch him when I can. I know strings and things like that can be REALLY bad! So far he hasn't exhibited any strange behavior. One thing that is new is he is climbing on the kitchen counter and I don't know how to discourage it yet. There are chairs and a desk he gets up on. We are thinking of moving the chairs. Not sure what to do about the desk yet. I'm going to try to search the forum for answers on this.

Now I've heard Pica mentioned but I can't remember to well what I learned. I think I read it's a disease but non degenerative and non harmful, but it will cause your cat to have the urge to eat a lot of things?

That's all pica is, the propensity to eat non-food items. Humans sometimes have pica too... people on My Strange Addiction eat drywall and other oddities.

 

[kalebkat]

Oooo....I saw some people on Dr phil who ate Vicks