Pica in cats free#

Podcast also available on iTunes, Spotify, Stitcher, Amazon podcasts, and Audible. They welcome questions (at Sit back and enjoy the conversations that we hope will deepen your knowledge and affection for all cats. Mikel discuss all manner of feline issues so you can better understand and appreciate your own feline family members. She was co-author with Jackson Galaxy of the “Total Cat Mojo” and wrote the forthcoming book “Play with Your Cat!” Mikel Maria Delgado of Feline Minds Cat Behavior Consulting, who has a PhD in Psychology from UC Berkeley, where she studied animal behavior and human-pet relationships, followed by postdoctoral research at the UC Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Her mission is to entertain, educate and inspire cat lovers so they can give their kitty cats the best possible life in nutrition, affection, and environmental enrichment. Tracie wrote THE CAT BIBLE: Everything Your Cat Expects You to Know and hosted Cat Chat ® as a live call-in show for nearly 8 years on the Martha Stewart channel of Sirius/XM. Elsey, who created the #1 litter in the country to keep cats in their loving homes (helping to avoid Out of Litter Box problems, the #1 reason people abandon their kitties). Elsey’s, the private company owned by Dr. If possible, build a “catio”, a safe outdoor enclosure where your cat can prowl, sit or curl up in a cat bed while keeping an inquisitive eye on the activities of the world outside.īut if, despite these efforts, your cat continues to eat inedible and indigestible items, seek out the advice of a certified applied animal behaviorist (CAAB).Welcome to the new CAT CHAT ® brought to you by Dr.

Not only is playing together (from using cat wands and feather toys to interactive games and simple tricks) an essential bonding time for you both, but it also keeps your cat mentally stimulated and physically satisfied.Ĭonsider training your cat to wear a harness, then go on walks together.

Pica in cats free#

Remove, hide or store the items your cat loves to eat and keep all play areas free of tempting and chewable “clutter.” Consider it a form of constructive housecleaning.Īpply a pungent, non-toxic substance such as Bandguard or Bitter Apple to electrical and power cords to turn them from appealing to UNappealing.ĭivert your cat’s need to chew on and swallow dangerous objects by providing safer, more appropriate alternatives such as cat toys with inside pockets to hide tasty, edible treats.ĭiscard all toxic houseplants (refer to the ASPCA web site) or place a few small pots of grass or catnip on a ledge or other low surfaces for plant-eating cats to nibble on, while carefully monitoring their intake.Ĭreate a consistent routine of active playtime with your cat to remove boredom or loneliness from the equation. If the source is NOT medical, animal behaviorists suggest the following: To learn whether YOUR cat is suffering from a medical or mood disorder, begin by visiting your vet. /Applied Animal Behaviour Science 52 (1997) 373-379 Cases of pica in domestic cats usually involve the ingestion of wool, although the cat may progress to other fabrics (Houpt and Wolski, 1982). Eating foreign objects is one method some cats use in order to overcome their anxiety. “Compulsive pica”, on the other hand, results from boredom due to a lack of physical and mental stimulation or is used by some cats as an attention-seeking mechanism. Pica is a recognized symptom of stress in cats. Genetic predisposition: Wool “sucking”, sometimes a precursor to pica, is seen more often in Siamese, Burmese and other “Oriental” cats. Medical problems: Often associated with FeLV (feline leukemia) and FIV (feline immunodeficiency virus), pica may also be triggered by such conditions as diabetes or brain tumors. (This habit is also dangerous because many houseplants are either poisonous to cats or can cause them severe gastrointestinal upset). And while eating SOME grass is normal for cats, eating large quantities of grass or the leaves of houseplants may indicate that something is missing from their diet. Why? Because indigestible items can cause intestinal blockages that can be both extremely costly and potentially deadly.Īccording to feline specialists, the suspected physical causes of pica include:ĭietary deficiencies: When suffering from anemia, some cats may eat their kitty litter.

The ingestion of inedible and indigestible items is indeed cause for concern. But when SUCKING progresses to EATING such items as shoelaces, string, paper, plastic (from grocery bags to shower curtains), elastic bands and electrical cords, then there’s a pussycat problem. Many cats may “nurse” on fuzzy items like wool, fleece and stuffed animals due to being weaned from their mothers too early, while others may “nurse” on their owners’ arms, earlobes or hair instead. And although it appears most frequently in young cats, it can affect older cats as well.

Pica (from the Latin term “magpie”) is the term for a feline’s affinity for eating anything that isn’t FOOD.