Why Does My Cat Eat The Litter?

Pica is a behavior that occurs when there is a strong need to bite or ingest objects that have no nutritional value and can be suffered by all kinds of animals, including cats. It is important to detect it in order to act quickly and avoid health problems that may be temporary or serious. One of the most common forms of pica in domestic cats is ingested soil from the sandbox.

Why Does My Cat Eat The Litter?

There might be a few reasons why your cat eats the litter. So, let us discuss the reasons behind the problem

Is It Dangerous For A Cat To Eat Sand?

If you see that your feline companion one day has eaten a few stones from the sandbox nothing happens, especially if these are organic. On the other hand, if you see that he eats in one sitting a lot or that he does it daily, then yes you should worry and go to the vet since in that case it can be damaged. Since the sand in the litter box is really something that a cat should not eat, the specialist should do some tests, in addition to other tests such as X-rays and ultrasounds to find the underlying cause of the problem.

Some domestic cats, especially those that are still quite young, feel a great curiosity for everything around them. So, if you see that your small cat eats the litter in his box and he does it very occasionally or only once, do not worry since it is probably feline curiosity since they learn a lot by experimenting.

You will see that he takes the stones, chews them a little, and surely, even if he swallows some, he will spit them out. You should not give it more importance, surely it will not do it many more times and this behavior usually decreases or disappears with age.

Stress is guilty of many behavioral disorders and, of course, it also affects felines. If you see your pet doing different things and chewing on objects, think about whether there have been any changes that could create anxiety. For example, moving house, a new pet, or the loss of a companion are common reasons for discomfort in these animals.

For know, if your cat is stressed You should keep in mind that being nervous, and even depressed, will easily cause your furry friend to start chewing on things they wouldn’t normally eat.

A bored feline will not take long looking for a distraction. When boredom gets the better of these little animals and sleeping more hours does not help them, they do not hesitate to pick up a toy, scratch something, play with other pets, investigate nooks and crannies or, especially if they do not have the previous options easily, bite and eat things other than their food usual, just to try and do something different.

This usually happens when the animal spends too many hours alone at home or when they are at an age when they need a lot of attention. Being bored is not good for anyone, but if you see that your furry begins to have an itchy behavior with anything, act quickly and offer him fun or, have you thought about looking for a partner?

when an animal does not eat properlyeither due to scarcity of food or the poor quality of its nutrients, they may begin to lick or eat things that are not food in themselves, to try to get the missing nutrients.

Thus, if your pet starts licking or ingesting the stones in his litter box, especially if he does it often, it can be an alert that tells you that you are not feeding him well. Check how much food you give him and the quality of it, sometimes cheap is expensive, and try with good quality feed Or try supplementing his diet with food that you make for him and without salt.

Normally, when this behavior occurs, it is because the animal tries to supply the lack of some vitamins, minerals and trace elements. In the case of stones, it is usually a lack of iron, so in the analytics we will see that our cat has anemia.

Finally, in some cases it is possible that our furry companion is not being curious or trying to make up for some nutritional deficiency, but it may be that he is sick. There are some serious diseases that, among many other relevant symptoms, cause a feline to eat the litter in its box or other objects and, in these cases, it does so recurrently. Some diseases that make your pet eat stones They are:

As this land can cause allergies and various digestive system problems from wounds to obstructions, the most important thing will be to remove the stones of your reach. As soon as you notice this, remove it from the box without frightening it, yelling at it, or punishing it, and change the sand for pieces of diary paper or kitchen.

Then, you will have to think about if it could be something related to stress and, if so if you recognize what may be causing it, you will have to change that by creating a calm environment for him. If it is about boredom, you will have to offer him more possibilities to entertain himself when he is alone, for example with some fun exercises for cats such as circuits.

Also, you will have to take him to the vet for a review and also follow all their advice and the indicated treatment, especially if the origin is a disease. You can also replace the stones with shavings of plant materials such as corn or pine, or use paper.

If you liked knowing the answer to why does my cat eat the and you may also be interested in knowing why my cat does not sleep at night.

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