However, resist the urge to tell her off as this may only make matters worse.Īlso, experts advise us not remove the object of her pica (such as a woolly jumper) without giving her a safe alternative to chew. When you have a cat with pica you may constantly worry she’ll swallow something and hurt herself. However, if after blood tests and faecal analysis the cat is given a clean bill of health, then her pica may well be behavioural. It’s important your vet runs diagnostic tests to try and pinpoint any medical triggers for pica, because correcting that problem should sort out the pica. RELATED: How to Keep Your Cat Cool This Summer Diarrhoea (and all its causes such as parasites, dietary allergy, infections).Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency (a lack of certain digestive enzymes).Abnormal loss of nutrients from the body:. To illustrate just how many conditions are linked to pica, let’s take a look at some examples. Even simple things like dehydration can cause a shift in electrolyte levels in the blood, which in some cases triggers pica. When the body is out of balance, she does her best to correct things. If a large lump of wool gets stuck in the intestine, it acts like a cork in a bottle with some very serious consequences.Īnd even if the cat doesn’t get a bowel obstruction, the cat guardian needs to take notice of their cat’s behaviour in case the pica is a cry for help because the cat has a health issue that needs treatment. The reasons to worry about pica are that (1) the cat eats and swallows something that causes a bowel blockage and (2) the pica is a clue the cat has a medical problem.īy the very nature of the condition, they eat non-food items, which in turn mean they aren’t digestible. wool! Amongst feline patients referred to behaviourists for pica, 93% were addicted to wool. Streets ahead in the popularity stakes for pica are. Medical problems: A health problem may lead to a deficiency in a particular nutrient which prompts the cat to try weird and wonderful ways to find some.Īs to the strange things cats eat this includes cotton, wool, synthetic material, plastic, rubber, paper, cardboard, baby bottle teats, string, thread, electrical cords, wallpaper.Genetic programming: The Oriental breeds, such as wool-sucking Siamese, are notorious for pica, because of a hereditary factor.This is especially true if a game of chase ensues in order to get the offending object out of the cat’s mouth. Accidentally trained: If the cat guardian shouts at their cat for eating wool, the cat may read this attention as rewarding the behaviour, and be encouraged rather than discouraged.A mechanism for coping with stress: In a similar way to a child sucking their thumb, chewing on non-food items may be a release from stress.Persistent kittenish behaviour: The Peter Pan of the cat world, a cat that grows up – but not out – of their kittenish habits.Expanding on this, there are various explanations as to why cats would develop a taste for non-nutritious objects. There may be some deep subconscious drive to pick things up and chew them, in a similar way that kittens learn about their world by exploring with their mouth. In truth, even the experts are left guessing as to exactly why pica happens. Coping with Pica of Behavioural Origin Why Does Pica Happen?.
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