I'm posting this here as opposed to in the Health Forum because it's been addressed there and many people, like I did, think of it as a behavior problem.
Actually, it is a health problem. When we first noticed Tuxedo licking litter, I brought it up here. I got the advice to take him to the vet because it may be reflective of a nutritional deficiency. We did that - and the vet more or less "poo-poo"ed the idea. He said many people think that, but in his experience it was very rarely the case. Tuxedo's blood work didn't turn up anything.
However, Tuxedo later developed very serious anemia. Our vet ended up referring us to a specialist in feline internal medicine. We mentioned to the Specialist that Tuxedo used to lick litter and recently we'd noticed him more like eating it.
The specialist said that licking or eating litter is "almost always" a sign of anemia. If the bloodwork doesn't initially turn up an issue but the behavior continues, the cat should be monitored closely for a potential onset of anemia. Anemia can be a very serious situation for cats, so I thought it best that I share this info as I've found that many other people have had their vets "write-off" litter eating - only to find out later that their cats WERE, in fact, anemic. Apparently this isn't common knowledge even among vets, but the Specialist was not in the least surprised - in fact, almost expected - to learn that our very anemic kitty had been eating litter.
Actually, it is a health problem. When we first noticed Tuxedo licking litter, I brought it up here. I got the advice to take him to the vet because it may be reflective of a nutritional deficiency. We did that - and the vet more or less "poo-poo"ed the idea. He said many people think that, but in his experience it was very rarely the case. Tuxedo's blood work didn't turn up anything.
However, Tuxedo later developed very serious anemia. Our vet ended up referring us to a specialist in feline internal medicine. We mentioned to the Specialist that Tuxedo used to lick litter and recently we'd noticed him more like eating it.
The specialist said that licking or eating litter is "almost always" a sign of anemia. If the bloodwork doesn't initially turn up an issue but the behavior continues, the cat should be monitored closely for a potential onset of anemia. Anemia can be a very serious situation for cats, so I thought it best that I share this info as I've found that many other people have had their vets "write-off" litter eating - only to find out later that their cats WERE, in fact, anemic. Apparently this isn't common knowledge even among vets, but the Specialist was not in the least surprised - in fact, almost expected - to learn that our very anemic kitty had been eating litter.
