We’ve gotten a couple of questions recently about how to manage cats that nurse on everything in sight, so this week’s post is about cats that suck! First, Candace asks: My 4-month-old calico has been sucking the sheepskin in the window. She is the seventh cat in my lifetime and none have ever done this before. Her poop [...]
View Article chewing and biting, nursing, wool sucking
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: My 5-year-old Siberian cat has a very bad habit: he eats whatever he finds and seems to have a taste for non-food items. It started out with eating stuffed animals (plush toys, for those of you in the UK), usually chewing off their arms, feet, ears and faces. After [...]
View Article chewing and biting, eating non-food items, pica
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: I just got a kitten three weeks ago. She’s normal in every way except that sometimes she will lay down and chew or suck on her tail. Apparently she likes it — she purrs while she does it and it puts her to sleep — but I’m a little [...]
View Article chewing and biting, kittens, nursing behaviorDear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: My 8-month-old cat has eaten polymer clay a whole half including plastic! Is polymer clay toxic to a cat? How can I keep her from eating clay and all kinds of other non-food stuff including wires, shoe laces, plastic, paint brush tips, junk on the floor, bird food, fish [...]
View Article chewing and biting, food issues, trainingDear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: My 3-year-old cat has been chronically chewing her tail for two years. Initially the vet said the chewing was due to allergies and treated her with steroid injections. Now he says she has so much nerve damage in her tail she has little sensation, only tingling. He said the [...]
View Article chewing and biting, feline hyperesthesia syndrome