Since adopting our boy kitty, Jayne, “What did he just eat??” has become a common refrain around our house. It doesn’t seem to matter how obsessive we are about locking up small items and vacuuming frequently, he somehow manages to find something inappropriate to eat. His definition of edible is anything that fits in his mouth. We’ve been lucky in his choices, so far, because we’ve only had to visit the vet once. She found small bits of fabric-like blue plastic. We still have no idea what it could have been.
When Jayne was a kitten, we were warned that most male kitties under 18 months eat things that aren’t traditionally considered food. We really looked forward to his growing out of it. Unfortunately, at three years old, we have to come to grips that it probably isn’t just a stage. So we keep the house clean, all small objects safely stowed, and warn everyone who comes into our house not to leave out anything small. Pretend he’s a toddler who stuffs everything in his mouth.
In doing a little research, we found out that the name for his compulsion is pica.
Most of the time, his behavior is harmless if bizarre. He lies on his back and kicks at the carpet on the stairs in our house. Then he eats the carpet fibers he’s kicked free. Our stairs are going bald. We have yet to figure out a way to stop him that works. Luckily, he seems to have a digestive system of steel. We’ll be replacing the carpet in our house with laminate as soon as we can.
Then there was the heart-stopping time he tried to eat a pin. I was working on a quilt, with the pieces pinned together. Jayne dashed up, snatched a pin right out of the quilt, and bolted from the room. I dropped everything and put Olympic sprinters to shame running him down. He actually fought me for the pin. Now all sewing is done safely behind closed doors.
For the most part, he’s a sweet and happy cat, but the pica is frustrating and occasionally scary.
Pica can be very dangerous to a cat. All it takes is a little ribbon, a hair tie, a string… It’s very important to keep these things out of reach of cats, as even cats without pica may eat them. Small toys should be played with only under supervision. If you wouldn’t give it to a three-year-old child, don’t give it to your cat. If you catch your cat eating something that will cause digestive troubles or poisoning, please take it to the vet as soon as possible.
While Jayne has been given a clean bill of health, pica can indicate underlying medical conditions. It’s a good idea to talk with your vet if your cat seems to have it.
In the meantime, it looks like it’s time for me to break out the vacuum again to pick up dislodged carpet fibers. It’s a good thing he’s sweet.
