![]() ![]() The choices for chewing and eating are interesting to me – we still don’t know why things like plastic and fabric are so darn attractive to cats. ![]() This manuscript opens up interesting research questions about the behavioral signs of gastrointestinal disease, but also suggests that pica is not (at least in all cats) necessarily a stress-related or compulsive disorder caused by indoor housing. Does having food freely available redirect some of that chewing behavior toward food?įinally, more vomiting was found in the pica cats – but we have a chicken and egg problem in that we don’t know if the vomiting is caused by the chewing, or the chewing is an attempt to relieve nausea. This was only true for 30% of the pica cats, even though there were no differences in feline hunger ratings by owners between the two groups. Although pica in cats has often been blamed on being kept indoors and bored, in this study, the pica cats were MORE likely to have access to the outdoors.įifty-one percent of the control cats had “ad libitum” access to food – meaning that food was freely available. Three variables were prominently related to the presence of pica – the first was access to the outdoors. Plastic, paper, rubber, and wood were the chew-toys of choice for the cats who were chewing on items. Other interesting choices included toilet paper, soap, ear plugs, kitty litter, and sponges. What do cats with pica like to “eat?” Perhaps not surprisingly, shoelaces, plastic, and fabrics were all in the top three. Twenty one out of thirty-five of the control cats (that’s 60%) also chewed on things that aren’t really chewables! Photo “Cat on a strong” by Stefan Tell via Creative CommonsĪll cats in the pica group ingested non-food items, with 79 of them also chewing (but not swallowing) other things on a regular basis. Some cats are attracted to eating strings and shoelaces. Finally, they asked questions about potential gastrointestinal signs, such as vomiting and diarrhea. They also included questions about the environment (including types of enrichment available, other people and animals in the house, and access to the outdoors). The researchers asked questions about basic kitty demographics, including age, breed, sex, medical history. This study surveyed 91 pet owners with cats who ingested non-foods, and included a control group of 35 cats who did not. However, once all breeds (including the domestic shorthair) were included in studies, it became apparent that this behavior isn’t limited to the meezers in any way.Ī new study, Characterization of pica and chewing behaviors in privately owned cats: a case control study, sought to better understand factors that might predict pica in cats, in the hopes of helping the veterinary community in developing effective treatments. This behavior in cats was first noticed in Siamese cats, who are prone to sucking and eating woolen items. It’s unclear why some animals eat things that aren’t food – some guesses include stress and nutritional deficiencies. ![]() Pica, or the ingestion of non-food items, is found in species as varied as parrots, humans, and domestic cats. ![]()
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