Pet Disorders
 

While I was flipping through one of the 'Cat Fancy' magazines that came in the mail an article caught my eye. It's title was "What are you Eating?" It talked about an eating disorder cats have.

Scan of the article

The article made me think of my own cat, Zeke. He is ALWAYS eating plastic, and if he can, cotton.

Most people think that something like this is cute, but is in fact very dangerous to the animal.

The plastic he eats varies from the handles off the garbage bags, plastic wrappers he pulls out of the trash, and scotch/packaging tape. The cotton he eats is the cotton off of Qu-tips. We haven't had cotton balls since before we had him but I am sure he'd eat those too. I know it's not a "He doesn't have food" thing because after he eats some of his food, he goes to the cases of spring water and eat the plastic that holds the bottles into the box.

According to the article and research I have done, my cat has the disorder known as 'Pica.'

The best course of action is take Zeke to a vet and/or an Animal Behaviorist. Doing that costs money, money that I don't have. Which is really frustrating.

Other articles I've read helps give idea's and ways to get the cat from stop eating non-nutritional food, that is if the condition is behavioral and not medical. A medical condition that causes this could be fatal if left untreated. a behavioral condition, while fatal if left alone, can be treated by giving the pet attention, new and tastier things to chew on, and doing your best by keeping the things they chew on away from them.

My only hope for Zeke is that it is a behavioral problem, seeing as he doesn't seem to have other symptoms. Most of his actions show that he is attention seeking. I hope that this is all it is and will do my best to give him more attention then I normally do.


Tips are really helpful. You can also post about your own pet if it has or had a disorder. I hope that your pet's disorder was treated and fixed.

a Pic of Zeke for those who wish to know what he looks like.
American Shorthair

Zeke looks like one of my cats ><

muffin eats random junk like that all the time and shes a skitzo, honestly i think we should just let them do it like kids chew their nails and then do at adulthood but we dont stop them :s

letting them continue could cause serious problems though =(

You can't watch a pet 24/7

But there are things to try. Like when they try to chew on something....distract with another chew toy and give a treat after/when they chew on something appropriate. Or a spray bottle though that may not deter an animal .-.

Or try to put some of the things out of reach of them (like behind a door or whatever)

being in a small apartment butting the garbage bags behind a door wouldn't work and water doesn't work on zeke. =(

with shortage of money more cat toys are also out of the question sadly =(

how cute, looks like my cat^^


actually pica is a people issue too, mostly in women and children it seems, there was a doctor whose proffesion was fishing out non-food items from the throats lungs and stomaches of people

it's an uncurable disorder in people but i don't know about pets

Find someone who still has teething rings, but their kid is no longer teething?

my only chance at that moved away xp

hopefully i can get the family friend to buy me some stuff for zeke today. he normally buys me games when he comes over but this month i am going for stuff for zeke

I'm gonna go for toys with cat nip.. he loves cat nip.. and hopefully i can get a catnip plant or something to grow

Cat nip is always good....since cats like it.

Oh...if you have tin foil....put it around things you don't want him to chew and the like? Cats normally don't like tin foil...or orange peels....I think.

And orange peels smell good too so if they don't work....your place will smell nice for awhile?

that is a bad idea, ripping out his insideds won't help him get over his eating issues, it'll just mean more vet visits

Cats hate the sound of tin foil.

The sound is the deterrent.

mine doesn't and if her cat really has pica then there is not enough foil on the roll to diswuade him

That's why it's a suggestion instead of a YOU MUST DO THIS THING!

There's a possibility it may work.....just with anything else. There's also a chance it won't....same with everything else.

i'd just she'd rather be safe, foil really can do a lot of damage, i have an american shorthair too and while he is not a plastic eater he has no issues against tin foil especially if there is something on the other side he really wants to eat if a woman will pucture her gut /knowing/ pins are unsafe what would a cat wit no grasp on the dangers be willing to injest?

if i could put tin foil around the draw stings of a garbage bag or a thrown away wrapper i could.. xD

I might spray vinegar at the garbage bags and cans.. i know cats don't like that smell.. we use it to keep him away from the xmas tree.. totally forgot about it though :3 thanks

When my dog angel was alive, she did eat some of the bedbox that she chewed through. I got scared, but she was fine up until that dog/cat food poisoning. :(

Orange oil, spread on the things he likes will deter him. Most cats hate the smell of orange with a passion , plus it tastes foul.
It acts like the nasty varnish they put on kids nails to stop them chewing.

My cat Mouse, is somewhat weird and has an expensive taste. She never like chicken or fish. She likes STEAK and nothing else. We gave her a fish head and just played around with it a little and didn't eat it.

This is actually more common than I think even the article realizes. It's MAINLY a vitamin thing. If you're going to buy Zeke anything get him better food and/or some vitamin supplements. Obviously this is if it's nutritional based. Most 'common' cat foods are really not good for your cat, so unless you're feeding something that doesn't have a cute cartoon kitty on the front you're probably not feeding him good stuff.

DO NOT cover everything in tin foil, as some cats love eating it and or chewing on it that can result in dental issues. I've never had a cat actively dislike oranges, BUT you can use clove oil to good effect and or mothballs(or just stuff that smells like camphor).

If, as you suspect, it's behaviour and mostly due to attention then you need to train YOURSELF first, then the cat. As of right now you're giving him lots of attention when he's going after things he shouldn't. So this means if he wants you to pay attention he does what he knows will get you over there STAT.

Instead give him loads of attention when he's doing something ELSE and IGNORE when he's going after plastic. If he suddenly finds that he gets more attention for something simple, like chasing a wadded up peice of paper(cheap cat toy) he'll do that rather than go after your six pack holder. It's hard to ignore bad behaviour, but we in effect CAUSE it by yelling/swatting/correcting it. So, when he DOES go after a qtip, break out a mangled paper clip and skitter it across the floor. As soon as he starts playing with it praise him and give ear skirtches.

Unlike dogs cats rarely go for 'up front' training, you have to be subtle about it, and it can take them longer because they KNOW that with time you'll revert to old behaviours. It's even harder when there's multiple people in a household that are doing it.

If Zeke is in the habit of chewing plastic before he eats, it could be that his stomach is bothering him in some way. I've heard of things like cat grass that might help for that, or at least give him something more attractive to chew on than plastic.

Unfortunately, quality pet food can generally be related to price, but there are little things you can do to help thing along. I know more about dogs than cats, but some research might find things for you. For instance, my dog needed more fibre in his diet but the food the vet wanted me to use was higher fibre but not nutritional enough. He'd need to eat all day to keep his weight up. On the other hand, a spoonful of plain pumkpin or sweet potato on his regular kibble would accomplish the same thing and be cheaper.

Just some thoughts.

Actually it could be more then just a vitamin thing.

there are Numbers of reasons for pets to do this and so far zeke only seems to show symtoms of the one where he wants more attention

That sounds like it would be easier to deal with, but that's relative I suppose.

My sister's dog was obsessed with wood it seemed. He chewed anything wood, and she reasoned that it was due to his past being chained to a tree (he was a rescue) and sticks being his only toys. With some new toys he's gotten over his wood fetish it seems, though not necessarily the chewing.

I've read a few Vet made websites on the subject.

it could be countless things

Quiet, that sounds like a behavioral one. I'm glad he got over it.


so far when we notice he's going for something plastic we just call him over to us and he comes running.. I wasn't able to get him any toys yesterday =( but just keeping him entertained when he goes for something seems to be helping

That's good to know. That means it's not obsessive. He sounds like a very social cat. :)

social.. YES xD he LOVES attention. door bell rings he goes to greet the person and beg for some love

Heh. A friend of mine has a "lap cat" that likes to sprawl on whomever is around that will pat him.

i wish zeke were a lapcat.. =p

I wouldn't call that unusual eating material. It's sounds like it's just a naughty cat. ;)

Stray cats learn that to survive in the out doors. the eat bones cause they still have the meat taste on them. My late cat Tom, he would do that. He used to be an abandoned cat. when my mom and i lived with my one ex, his mom let Tom out, he got mange and was really sick and she refused to take him to the vet. D<

Bones can still have marrow in them, though not sure if your average house cat has jaws good enough to crack them open. Marrow is easily as good at meat and there are species like a vulture and even humans that can live off of it.

that.. doesn't sound to tasty xD

I just know cats and dogs can choke to death on bones so its best to wrap them up in something before throwing them away

They can. Cooked bones, especially chicken, can be a problem because they can splinter and puncture their insides. I would give my small dog beef ribs and he would be okay (keeping an eye on him of course) but raw bones are best.

Lots of people like marrow. It can be used for soup and TBone steaks often has a bit of marrow in the large portion of the bone that gets called the "treat."

I am NEVER eating a TBone steak again.. a small bone was on a piece of meat that i ate and it cracked my tooth then i had to get it pulled months later when i realized that it really was a crack D<

anyway.. I'll stick with feeding my cat its own food =w=, he seems to hate human food anyway.. other then green olive juice and beef jerky >.>,

Can't aren't meant to eat anything but meat, unlike dogs that can have vegetables and fruit as well, to a point. Makes sense. They aren't supposed to have grains but my dog loved his muffins anyway. :)

Tom cat would eat almost everything x.x he got into my powered dounuts once. ate my pepperoni.. my pizza.. ._. bread.. he ate everything he could after he finished his cat food...


Is it normal for cats to have a phobia of closed doors? xD

I'd ask the cat if I could. Maybe he's worried about them because they open suddenly, like how my brother's dog doesn't like crossing door thresholds because doors can close suddenly. Unless the door is open really wide he doesn't like to go through. Kitty may have been sandwiched between a door and a wall one to many times.

they don't open suddenly.. he hates that they are closed and wants them open and to stay open its weird xD

He a territorial cat? It may be that he just doesn't like not being able to see what might be on the other side of the door.

I dont think he is territorial.. any other time another cat came in Zeke would try to play with it. only time he hissed was when the other cat started a fight