What reason could lead to them eating litter? Pica can occur in humans and other animals as well as cats. In cats, these items most often young cats are more likely to suffer from pica syndrome.Ĭat with Pica Disorder in Foster Home | Best Friends. The post Things Dogs Eat: The Problem With Pica in Pets appeared first on West Park Animal Hospital Blog.Also, weaning your kittens early may make them nurse on. West Park Animal Hospital is here for you! If you have questions about your pet eating foreign objects or want to discuss their behavior, please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. However, prevention is certainly preferable compared with life-threatening illness and emergency surgery (and recovery) to remove foreign material from your pet’s digestive tract. In most cases, the treatment and prevention of pica will be an ongoing project.
If your pet continues to eat foreign objects, consider a referral to a veterinary behaviorist who can help you get to the root of your pet’s behavior.Provide lots of safe toys and chewing objects that your pet can’t swallow.Try covering the objects with a bitter apple spray or cayenne pepper.Leash walk your dog and distract him from eating objects or poop with treats and praise.Consider training your dog to wear a basket muzzle, if she eats objects in the yard.Eliminate access to objects that your dog may eat.Consider environmental enrichment such as food puzzles, games, and a dog walker if you are away from home a lot to decrease boredom.Most dogs need at least 60 minutes of exercise per day – hunting and sporting breeds need much more. Ask us about your dog’s breed, age, and lifestyle for recommendations. Make sure your pet is getting plenty of exercise and mental stimulation.If there isn’t an underlying medical condition, the following measures can be taken to help prevent pica and treat the behavioral issue. It’s often a compulsive behavior, regardless of how it started or the reasons for it. In most cases, pica does not go away on it’s own. Fear of punishment (in the case of stool eating, eliminating the evidence of an accident in the house may help the dog avoid being punished).Once we know your pet is eating non food items for behavioral reasons, we can start to look at causes and prevention.Ĭommon behavioral reasons for pica include: Still, it’s important to rule out any medical conditions such as malnutrition, liver disease, anemia, and parasites. Most cases of pica in pets are behavioral in nature. Signs that your pet may be experiencing a GI blockage include: These items may either get tangled in the sensitive intestine, or be unable to pass, resulting in major illness followed by emergency surgery or endoscopy. The problem with pica is that the items consumed can cause serious blockage in the digestive tract. Cats are more likely to consume kitty litter, string, dental floss, and clothing. With pica, a pet eats inedible objects such as toys, rocks, grass, and sticks. West Park Animal Hospital gets questions about pica in pets often, so we thought we’d dig in (ahem) to this topic. Both coprophagia and pica in general can cause problems for pets, and sometimes are the result of an underlying medical condition. Coprophagy, the technical term for the eating of feces, is one of the most common forms of pica in dogs. Pica is the consumption of non-food substances. Unfortunately our pets just don’t seem to mind our protests, no matter how vehement! And most of the time, our reaction is one of dismay, bewilderment, or even disgust. Has your pet ever eaten anything you don’t consider to be edible? Those of us with dogs, and some cats, can attest to this activity.
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