Help! My cat eats wood!

[nscarlson]

My 5 year old spayed female dsh eats plastic bags and wrappers and the shower curtain. Occasionally she will eat foil wrappers and styrofoam. I don't know why she does this, other than she is neurotic. I have also had problems with her urinating in places other than the litter box (including on the vet and in the carrier on the way to the vet's to check for a uti). I have tried amitryptilene (Elavil) which caused her to hide under the chair and not come out (very unusual behavior for her) and fluoxitene (Prozac) which she promptly threw up every time I gave it to her. I have talked to the vet about it because she has recently had small amounts of blood in her vomit along with whatever she has eaten and thrown up. The vet said she may have given herself an ulcer and to give her 1/4 tablet of Tagamet. I haven't tried this yet, but she hasn't been vomiting lately. I try to keep everything that she might eat out of reach, but she still seems to find things that I (or more often my husband) have overlooked.

In addition to my pica cat, I have a second cat, neutered male, approx. 5 years old, unrelated, who licks the shower curtain, plastic grocery bags and garbage bags, and himself when you pet him. Maybe they are just nuts because they have such easy lives!

[Catty1]

Maybe trying Feliway or another 'cat calmer' might be worth a try.

Good luck!

Catty1

[alexandra]

One of my cats eats elastic, rubber hoses, plastic carrier bags and her favourite, sellotape! She used to eat paper and cardboard, but seems to have gone off these. That was a nightmare as when she was a kitten, she used to climb up the backs of drawers and get into drawers from the back and eat photos and important documents. As both her and her brother can open doors, nothing was sacred wherever you put it! Her brother sometimes eats fluff and licks the carpet. As he is incapable of coughing up his own hairballs, he also has to have a laxative. They also used shred the curtains a lot (still do occasionally), and Smokey is so strong he used to pull the curtain rails straight out through the plaster. They have also destroyed a computor, a telephone, a mobile phone charger, a leather suite and 3 dining chairs. They are little monsters, but would not change them for the world, except perhaps the plastic and sellotape eating, as that does worry me. Believe me, you are not alone.....

[critters]

One of my cats eats elastic, rubber hoses, plastic carrier bags and her favourite, sellotape! She used to eat paper and cardboard, but seems to have gone off these. That was a nightmare as when she was a kitten, she used to climb up the backs of drawers and get into drawers from the back and eat photos and important documents. As both her and her brother can open doors, nothing was sacred wherever you put it! Her brother sometimes eats fluff and licks the carpet. As he is incapable of coughing up his own hairballs, he also has to have a laxative. They also used shred the curtains a lot (still do occasionally), and Smokey is so strong he used to pull the curtain rails straight out through the plaster. They have also destroyed a computor, a telephone, a mobile phone charger, a leather suite and 3 dining chairs. They are little monsters, but would not change them for the world, except perhaps the plastic and sellotape eating, as that does worry me. Believe me, you are not alone.....

*looks around to see if there's another human here* LOL, I thought I was the only one with such awful little monsters!! I have those that eat and/or shred cardboard, paper, plastic, and wires (no wood eaters at the moment). With mine, it's the mouthy ones, the ones that enjoy biting and licking stuff. Somehow, nobody's ever been electrocuted or otherwise damaged in any way, although, like you say, they've destroyed TONS of stuff!!

[Catlady711]

I have to be very careful what is laying around in my house. Most of my kitties seem to like chewing on things they shouldn't. Bear has an addiction to Q-tips and cardboard he will even tip over trash cans looking for them, Pooky goes for anything plastic (straws, bags, plastic silverwear etc.), Dusty goes only for paper clips and rubber bands, Cami will go for anything smelling remotely like human food, Jack is my good boy and doesn't seem to be addicted to anything weird. As you can imagine I have to keep stuff put away and closed up, I even had to buy all different trash cans with lids, but even at that, the foot peddle can in the bathroom, Bear has figured out how to open!! He weighs 16-17 lbs so he just sits on the peddle and POOF the can is open, so now we have to throw all Q-tips in a different can that he hasn't figured out how to open.....yet.