eating clothing...

[auchick]

Has anybody else's cat ever ate clothing or fabric? I'm seriously at a loss here. A few weeks ago, I noticed someone had eaten all the yarn that comes off the end of a rug, overnight. I thought well, it's yarn... Didn't seem to have any complications. A few days later, I found Mia eating the end of an old towel that also had yarn strings coming off it. Again, I thought it was yarn etc.

Well tonight I was laying down trying to fall asleep when I hear knawing. I turn on the light and Mia is eating a shirt I had in a storage box under my bed. I took the shirt out of the box and it's completely ruined, and it wasn't all done just now. One of the sides has a huge hole halfway up the side, the other side goes up 2 inches from the bottom. There's 4 holes on the bottom seams and 4 holes in the actual material, 2 front and 2 back. Does anybody know anything about this behavior? Vitamin deficiency?? Anxiety?? Toothache??

 

[ghostuser]

Wow.. that's one busy kitty! I'm not really sure why she'd do it.. but one of my family's dogs eats fabric, too. His favorites are underwear and socks (especially brand new ones, so it's not the scent!). He also recently tried to munch on his leash while I was bringing him home from the groomer's. Oh, and he demolished a pair of the shorts I sleep in.. so I'm a bit curious of the answers here, too.

 

[momofmany]

What are the materials in the cloth that she is eating? I did have a cat once that used to chew on wool and cotton garments.

 

[barbb]

Here is an interesting article from UC Davis about what could be behind cats eating non-food items. It is called Pica.

http://www.vmth.ucdavis.edu/home/beh...vior/pica.html

 

[coaster]

Yes, pica is immediately what came to mind when I read the thread topic title.

 

[auchick]

I looked in the clothing box to see if she had destroyed any other articles of clothing. Luckily there was only damage to one other shirt with a hole 1.5 inches in diameter. Both were mostly nylon/polyester.

I looked at the list of possible reasons. I think boredom is most likely the reason why. She's been getting into EVERYTHING lately...knocking over trashcans multiple times, crawling into my dresser, crawling through a pair of shorts, picking fights with her sister... She's almost 7 mo old and gets into more stuff than she did when she was a little baby! What a little toot! I just hope one day she doesn't get an obstruction. Maybe I should invest in pet insurance.

 

[trouts mom]

Fabric seems weird to me..I'm thinking maybe Pica as well.

Trout eats plastic bags if I leave them out, and she ate flowers last year and almost died because of it.

I always keep plastic bags locked away now and DO NOT ever buy flowers and she is fine.

I have read that there is some sort of fish oil in plastic bags that they can crave, and for the flowers, I know they crave greenery too. Fabric seems strange to me though

 

[coaster]

Originally Posted by auchick

...I looked at the list of possible reasons. I think boredom is most likely the reason why....I just hope one day she doesn't get an obstruction.

Maybe you're right; maybe it is boredom. But it sounds like your're ignoring the advice you're getting that it could be pica. Denial won't make that problem go away; it'll just get worse and maybe sometime you WILL have to pay for surgery to remove an obstruction. Not to mention all the clothing you'll have to replace. Pica is a behavioral problem and it is treatable through diet, behavior modification, and medication. I suggest you take your cat to your vet and talk it over with him rather than guessing at reasons.

 

[auchick]

Originally Posted by coaster

Maybe you're right; maybe it is boredom. But it sounds like your're ignoring the advice you're getting that it could be pica. Denial won't make that problem go away; it'll just get worse and maybe sometime you WILL have to pay for surgery to remove an obstruction. Not to mention all the clothing you'll have to replace. Pica is a behavioral problem and it is treatable through diet, behavior modification, and medication. I suggest you take your cat to your vet and talk it over with him rather than guessing at reasons.

Wow ok that was a little harsh. I prefer not to rush out to the vet and shell out $$$ if I may be able to intervene at home by playing with her more and removing clothing from the floor. If she continues to eat/chew things, then yes, a vet visit is in order but at this point I don't want to put her (and her sister) on a special diet and medication until I'm convinced she really needs it.

 

[coaster]

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be harsh, just to get your attention. It just seemed to me that you ignored the several posters who suggested pica -- you didn't respond to any of them. BarbB might have spent some time finding the best article to give you. If I were her, I'd be disappointed if I thought my time was wasted because my link wasn't checked out.

So, if you had explained yourself like in the first place like you did in your last post, so we knew you got the information and was taking it into consideration, I would have said something like this instead: "I don't think waiting is a good idea because if it is pica it's going to be counterproductive. If it is pica then it might be a fairly simple treatment, but if you wait then the behavior is reinforced and harder to treat, not to mention she might cause herself an obstruction. So you could end up spending even more money. But in the meantime, by all means, do pick up those clothes and put them out of harm's way."

Granted, it's not something you have to absolutely rush to the vet for. It might even be just a phase at this age. But by your account it's already been going on for a few weeks -- maybe even getting worse? I think most people would be thinking about a vet visit by now.

 

[auchick]

Ok so I'd like to apologize/thank Coaster... My little intervention has not worked as I caught her chewing and eating on one of my favorite blankets today.

I've made an appointment at their vet in my home town 3 hours away (college student) for Wednesday evening. I will let everybody know what happens!

 

[coaster]

No problem.

I hope all goes well and Mia gets over her appetite for fabrics real soon.