Might Pesca Have Pica?

[Antonio65]

Since mid-July I have a new kitten at home.

She was found among the waste bins and garbage when she was about 5 weeks old. I'm sure she was abandoned before a holiday, she's sweet and used to humans and home.
We named her Pesca, meaning Peach in Italian, because she was as small and round when I took her home.
Now she's 3 months old.

Since the first days, I noticed she liked to bite and chew on strange things, like cardboard boxes and kitchen tissue rolls, and I thought it was just a kitten play.

Now I noticed that things are getting... worse?
She has already chewed on the window curtains (a tiny piece is missing, I noticed). I stopped her by rubbing a cut Key lime on the lower part of all the curtains.
She managed to chew on the sofa cushions padding.
I caught her trying to eat some small slivers of brick/plaster, parts of her toys, the PC cables (only once).
She eats (or tries to eat) whatever she finds on the floor, even if it's the dust I have just swept with the broom.
She also bites my hands and feet (sometimes they are quite painful bites), and chin and nose tip too, but with less strength, luckily. At first I thought it was love bites, but now, looking at them from a wider perspective, I think they're part of the same problem.

I wonder if this could explain her soft (and sometimes runny) poop. Eating weird stuff might upset her bowel.

Do I have to think she has pica?
If so, I foresee a long and troubled cohabitation...
Any experience? Thanks!

 

[tabbytom]

Some cats like to chew on stuffs but they may grow out of it.

But I guess that your kitty going through a phase of changing kitten teeth to adult teeth since she's 3 months old now. During this phase, their mouth gets the discomfort feeling as new teeth are pushing their way out and therefore chew on things.

By 7 months, all the adult teeth will be in. In the meanwhile, give her some soft towels of toys to chew on and you may even find sone teeth lodge on it at a later stage. Some will be probably swallowed during meals. If you do find them, keep them.

 

[Antonio65]

Hi tabbytom , yes, I know that teeth changing can cause discomfort, but this behavior of hers started almost since the first days with us, when she was younger than 2 months.

I forgot to add that she seems more stubborn on this habit when she's hungry, and she's almost always hungry

Yes, of course I will keep the teeth I will find. Twenty years ago I had a kitten who changed her teeth and I found one of them stuck to her fur. I kept it!

 

[She's a witch]

Kitten her age should have unlimited food access, if she doesn’t, being hungry may be the reason for chewing stuff.

 

[Antonio65]

Should I leave her food indefinitely would have her eat non stop!!!
I feed her several times a day, and she eats more than she should. And drinks lots of water!!!

Well, another thing, she sucks and kneads on my elbows.

 

[tabbytom]

but this behavior of hers started almost since the first days with us, when she was younger than 2 months.

Yes, a kitten that has not stayed with its mother for the first 12 weeks has not learn the basic manners which the mother would teach them when they are at that age.

An abandoned kitten at 5 weeks will display such behavior. Just like my boy, he was all by himself when he was rescued around that age and when he came home with us, he did all the biting and chewing of things too and we have to teach him not to bite or chew at things we don't want him to chew on.

A kitten that age eats lots so feed her as much as she can eat.

 

[maggie101]

Lots of chew toys. When my cat was 3 months old she would chew carpet!

 

[Antonio65]

Kitten her age should have unlimited food access, if she doesn’t, being hungry may be the reason for chewing stuff.

Her appetite, unfortunately, knows no limit, so an unlimited access to food might be not the ideal solution.
I had kittens this age before, but I had never seen such an appetite. She rarely sleeps, she just runs, jumps, squeaks, plays, bites, eats and... Repeat...

 

[Antonio65]

An abandoned kitten at 5 weeks will display such behavior. Just like my boy, he was all by himself when he was rescued around that age and when he came home with us, he did all the biting and chewing of things too and we have to teach him not to bite or chew at things we don't want him to chew on.

And how did you teach him?

A kitten that age eats lots so feed her as much as she can eat.

Her appetite is immense. I can't leave food all day, she would eat it all in a few minutes.
I had kittens before, and more than once, but I had never experienced anything like that.
She eats a lot.
She drinks a lot.
And produces lots of... waste... Scooping her litter box is a full time job!

 

[maggie101]

Sounds like my cat Maggie now 6 yrs old so not as hyper. Would trixie puzzles help calm her down? Or aripple rug with lots of chew toys underneath.

 

[She's a witch]

Her appetite, unfortunately, knows no limit, so an unlimited access to food might be not the ideal solution.
I had kittens this age before, but I had never seen such an appetite. She rarely sleeps, she just runs, jumps, squeaks, plays, bites, eats and... Repeat...

I had a kitten like that, she was restless and always playing. She never slept during a day, in fact, 2 years later she hardly sleeps. We got her another kitten and managing her has become much much easier. Kittens do best in pairs, especially those who did not have a chance to develop with another cats.

As for food, I don’t know. Did she ever overeat? Does she vomit when she eats too much? She for sure needs unlimited calories if she’s so restless.

 

[maggie101]

Also catnip. It really mellows out my cats though some opposite

 

[maggie101]

Incase you've never seen one, this is a ripple rug and a trixie puzzle. She loved the ripple rug but I decided I dont have room for it

 

[tabbytom]

And how did you teach him?



Her appetite is immense. I can't leave food all day, she would eat it all in a few minutes.
I had kittens before, and more than once, but I had never experienced anything like that.
She eats a lot.
She drinks a lot.
And produces lots of... waste... Scooping her litter box is a full time job!

Everytime he bites or chew, I'll tell him firmly no and give him one of his toys to distract him from chewing and biting. You nay also want to have catnip toys for him or get those catnip spray and spray on his soft toys.

It takes awhile for him to get the idea but with persistency, he gets the idea. Now when my boy chew on something, I just say in a firm voice 'Hey, no!' and he'll mumble and run away


As for the feeding, best is to feed your kitty wet food. As wet food is full of nutrients and proteins and it keeps the cat hydrated and the cat stay fuller longer than eating dry food. Dry food are full of carbs.

Kittens eat a lot at their growing age and need to be fed at least 4 times a day as they need to be kept up with the calories needed for each day as they are very active.
They sleep and play a lot and burn off energy very quickly and they pee and poo more often as they cannot control since their muscles to control are not strong enough yet.

Feed your kitten with food made specially for kittens as kitten food are meant to help them in their formative yers or feed them with food labeled 'For All Life Stages' as you can continue with this even as wet turn into adult cats and no need to change food unlike the from kitty's food to adult food.

 

[marmoset]

I have a cat with pica. He's on prozac for it and it does help. I think the difference between behavioral chewing and hunger chewing is that cats with pica actually are driven to eat non-food items irregardless of getting enough play time or food. It not just that they chew them up. My cat will rip pieces of tape, cardboard, upholstery, wires etc and swallow them and go back for more. We can't have rubber bands, twist ties, plastic (anything), pens, pencils, screws- really anything small and chewable around at all. Zero tolerance policy for leaving junk out because he will swallow it.

I have a two cats that are chewers but not eaters. Pica is a very serious health issue. I can't say if your cat has pica or not. You mentioned her being 3 months old. How old is she now? Teething cats will chew on everything and that can go on for 6 months. Eating silly random stuff like tufts of hair or small pieces of paper towel is not unusual for young cats but it doesn't mean pica. Chewing holes through a paper towel roll doesn't mean pica but making meals out of cardboard, tape, carpeting, wooden cabinetry etc could be pica.

 

[Antonio65]

I had a kitten like that, she was restless and always playing. She never slept during a day, in fact, 2 years later she hardly sleeps. We got her another kitten and managing her has become much much easier. Kittens do best in pairs, especially those who did not have a chance to develop with another cats.

At the moment, I don't think that getting a second kitten is a viable option. I hardly managed to have my wife accept this one...

As for food, I don’t know. Did she ever overeat? Does she vomit when she eats too much? She for sure needs unlimited calories if she’s so restless.

I don't know if she's overeating.
She surely eats more than the tables on the cans tell, and this happened from day 1. I have to give her more helpings of food during the day, I fear that leaving the food out and always available in her dishes could push her to eat it all in one time!

 

[Antonio65]

Also catnip. It really mellows out my cats though some opposite

My cats Lola and Pallina would love catnip toys, but those toys would make them crazy rather than calm them down. And only for about 10 minutes, then they would ignore them.
I could try, though.

 

[Antonio65]

View attachment 298656

This seems interesting.
The carpet is too large for the room we have.

 

[Antonio65]

Everytime he bites or chew, I'll tell him firmly no and give him one of his toys to distract him from chewing and biting. You nay also want to have catnip toys for him or get those catnip spray and spray on his soft toys.

Yes, this is what I do. It seems, though, that sometimes she doesn't even hear me

As for the feeding, best is to feed your kitty wet food. As wet food is full of nutrients and proteins and it keeps the cat hydrated and the cat stay fuller longer than eating dry food. Dry food are full of carbs.

The vet adviced me to give her some kibbles, so I chose something that is grain-free, I'm using Orijen Cat and Kitten.
The wet food is 80% of her diet, it's Royal Canin BabyCat.

They sleep and play a lot and burn off energy very quickly and they pee and poo more often as they cannot control since their muscles to control are not strong enough yet.

I know that, unfortunately...
Kitten Peeing Too Much?
Now she's peeing a bit less, she's peeing 7-8 times a day, even large clumps.
The max she peed was 15 times a day in early August.
Now she's pooing a lot too. Up to 5 times a day, but now she's doing very soft or runny poop. She's on probiotics, but no luck so far.

 

[Antonio65]

I have a cat with pica. He's on prozac for it and it does help. I think the difference between behavioral chewing and hunger chewing is that cats with pica actually are driven to eat non-food items irregardless of getting enough play time or food. It not just that they chew them up.

Most of the times she just chews on materials.
But some bits are missing (like the curtain corner), so they are been swallowed. When I realized of the missing piece of curtain, I had her US scanned and nothing was found inside, though, so it might have passed.

You mentioned her being 3 months old. How old is she now?

She's 3 months old
I rescued her on July 11, the vet said she was 5-6 weeks old at that time, so we thought she was born on June 1st, and now she's just turned 3 months