Cat eating cat litter

hilary1

My cat Daisy is 13 and has recently started munching small amounts of cat litter (clean litter).

Anyone know why she would do this? Is it similar to cats eating grass sometimes?

Very worried about her now

tankgirl1

hi- can't say i have ever heard of this before, but the first thing that springs to mind is perhaps she has some sort of deficiency in her diet, which she is attempting to rectify..... what is she fed on?? what state are her teeth in? does she have any other symptoms or conditions?

from another point of view, i would consider changing the type of litter you use to discourage her from chomping, as cat litter is indigestible, and could block up her intestines- ive seen this in puppies and dogs who have been eating cat litter, and they do sometimes need surgery, so i would definatley do all you can to discourage her. keep a very close eye on her motions- if she isnt going to the loo, seems to be in discomfort, or starts vomiting, get her down to the vets asap. i dont want to scare you - she'll probably be fine, but i just want to let you know what could happen.

hilary1

She eats Whiskas and all other cat food daily and has her biscuits which she manages to eat even though she doesnt have many teeth left. And her motions appear normal, doesnt have constipation or anything.

I'll change her litter though to see if it stops her.

tankgirl1

good luck- hope she stops it!

if you at all worried though, getting her seen by a vet is the best idea

let us know how she gets on

TG x

wigginsmum

The cat litter is likely to have a large amount of chalk or similar materials in it; does she drink milk? She could be craving calcium.

hilary1

wigginsmum wrote:

The cat litter is likely to have a large amount of chalk or similar materials in it; does she drink milk? She could be craving calcium.

She doesnt like milk so mayber thats it, as shes getting older now. i'll try some cats milk drink for her.

wigginsmum

Would she eat the odd bit of cheese or scrambled egg?

hilary1

I'll try her tonight. She does like cheese but I've never tried egg.

kenshaz

stop useing cat litter,could damage her ,use sand or soil as a temporary measure

hilary1

I am very sad to say that I had to have Daisy put to sleep on the 24th August. I know its a couple of weeks ago but I've been too upset to post about her.

She had a spontanious callapse in her lungs (due to age the vet said) and then they found a tumour. I asked the vet about her eating tiny bits of litter and she said she probably knew she was ill and when they know that they very often start to eat strange things. Its the worst thing I have ever had to do and was with her when she went to sleep.

We had her cremated and please dont think I am sad or weird, but I havent been able to bury her little box yet.

The day before she went out all day until 10.30 at night, which she never ever did before then that night she jumped on the bed and licked me then jumped off and went to lay under a radiator. She knew what was happening I think.

I still expect to see her and will miss her for a long time.

robwend

sorry hilary that you,ve had such a horrible oucome, i do hope you feel better soon, just remember all the fab times you had with her xxxx