Okay, so my cat, Mittens, started doing this weird thing. She’s been digging in her litter box, which is normal, but then… she started, like, tasting the litter. Yeah, gross, I know. I was totally freaked out!
First thing I did was watch her like a hawk. Was she just sniffing? Was she actually eating it? Turns out, yep, she was definitely nibbling on those little clay pebbles. Not just once, but a few times a day.
So, naturally, I went into full-on panic mode. I’ve heard of cats doing weird stuff, like eating cardboard, plants, and rubber bands. But litter? I was worried!
Trying to Figure It Out
- Observation: I made sure to keep an eye on her, to see when it happened and if she showed any other strange symptoms. Like, was she throwing up? Was her poop okay? Nothing else seemed out of the ordinary, just the litter-eating.
- Internet rabbit hole: I hit the search bar on the internet like a wild west showdown, I’m looking for stuff, trying to figure out what’s happening, but it’s all just suggestions, nothing solid.
After I checked on the internet, I gave the vet a call. I didn’t want to mess around with this. After talking to the vet, she gave me a clear answer.
The vet said this whole thing is called “pica” and it happened a lot with young cats. They added that eating litter might signal that there’s a physical issue, or even something mentally or behaviorally wrong with a cat. That was enough for me to want to take her in.
After I took her in, they did some tests and ruled out a few things. No major illnesses, thankfully. The vet said it could be a few things. The first thing to check would be her diet.
Possible Solutions and Changes
- Diet Change: I was so fixated on the litter that I hadn’t even thought about this. My vet said that sometime a cat does something weird like eating litter because something in their diet is missing. So now I switched up her food, to something with a bit more, well, everything. I’m hoping a higher-quality food might make her less interested in snacking on clay.
It’s still early days, but I’m keeping a close eye on Mittens. Hopefully, with the new food, she’ll forget all about her weird litter-eating habit. Fingers crossed!
