Taz is eating his cat litter

[Taz_Zoee]

Has anyone ever heard of a cat doing this?
I called the vet last night and there was a relief doc on duty (both of the regular vets were in accidents around Mother's Day, one is back part time). She said it could be something with his GI tract. But she doesn't know his history. Dr Reens said she'd call me later this week to check on Taz. So I will ask her about it then.
The girl that answered the phone suggested I change litter since what I'm currently using is Tidy Cat clumping litter.

[happylabs]

Yikes! I have not heard of this before. I hope he is okay.

[lvpets2002]

Yes I have seen this before.. Yes there is usally something going on with the GI track.. Also it can be caused by the baby wanting a Mineral Content.. Just deter Taz from doing this.. Hopefully with yours & the Vets help Taz will stop it..

[Pinot's Mom]

Here's what I found: http://www.fleascontrol.com/cat-eating-litter.htm

Why is my cat eating litter?

There is probably something wrong, so you need to take your cat to the vet if you see it eating litter. Cats will usually only do this because of a nutritional deficiency of some sort, which can be caused either by their diet or by a severe disease. Most litter contains a lot of minerals - but it's not good for the cat to eat it, as it is usually on balance worse for the cat, especially clay litter. Eating litter is a prime symptom of feline anemia, for example, because that disease causes iron deficiencies - you should check on that page to see if your cat has any of the other symptoms. Another potential disease is chronic renal failure in cats - a shutdown in the kidneys that sometimes causes cats to eat litter in response.

Cats also eat litter in response to nutritional deficiency in their diets. Are you trying to make your cat a vegetarian? If you don't get an approved vegetarian cat food, your cat could have a taurine deficiency - a dangerous condition that leads to blindness and even death in some cases. Are you not feeding your cat enough? Or not giving your cat regular cat food? Or feeding your cat dog food? Or feeding your cat only "people food"? Those are also common problems that can cause this.

You might also check to see if your cat has eaten poisonous plants. Sometimes that can cause them to eat litter as well.

There are links within that space for each of the problems if you go to the page - keep us posted!

[Randi]

Well, I have seen Fister lick his litter right after I change it, he didn't actually seem to eat it, though. But, I will be sure to ask my vet about it.

Thanks for the info, so far!

[Taz_Zoee]

Thanks for you responses everyone.

Pinot's Mom's post was very helpful. Well, I guess it would be due to his renal failure. He got a shot of iron at the vet on Saturday, and I've never seen him do this before.
Of course I will try to stop him from doing this. But that's difficult when I'm at work and at night when I'm sleeping. I guess I'll have to see about changing his litter. I really don't want to do that, but if it will help then it will be done.

Thanks again!

[Medusa]

Eating litter is a prime symptom of feline anemia, for example, because that disease causes iron deficiencies - you should check on that page to see if your cat has any of the other symptoms. Another potential disease is chronic renal failure in cats - a shutdown in the kidneys that sometimes causes cats to eat litter in response.

Puddy did this when she became anemic. She also licked the cement floor in the basement and my vet told me that those are symptoms of both anemia and renal failure. Since you're giving Taz subq's, you already know that he's in CRF so that's no surprise but you should have some testing done to see if he's anemic, too. There is a course of treatment that you can start but your vet can go over all of that w/you. If you like, though, please feel free to PM me at any time. I'll help in any way that I can.

Btw, my vet feels that iron injections really don't help w/anemia. He was an equine vet for years and he said that it's ok for horses but not cats. I really didn't get into the pros and cons of it w/him, just merely passing on this info to you in case you might find it helpful.

[Taz_Zoee]

Thank you Mary. I'll have to ask the vet about anemia. I was so upset and stressed about doing the sub-q's I didn't absorb all the info I should have. Like why I'm giving him Maalox.
I think my vet is in tomorrow. I'm off work early so if she doesn't call me by the time I leave work I'll call her.

[Medusa]

Thank you Mary. I'll have to ask the vet about anemia. I was so upset and stressed about doing the sub-q's I didn't absorb all the info I should have. Like why I'm giving him Maalox.
I think my vet is in tomorrow. I'm off work early so if she doesn't call me by the time I leave work I'll call her.

Maalox will help his tummy because w/CRF, they have constant nausea. My vet had me give Puddy aluminum hydroxide gel, a phosphorous binder, which helps immensely w/cats in CRF. It was much easier to get it into her than Maalox. He told me that cats hate Maalox and man, he wasn't kiddin' but the aluminum hydroxide gel apparently is more palatable plus I kept it in the fridge to help somewhat w/the taste.

[Moesha]

Maybe he things it is one of those litter box cakes.

[Taz_Zoee]

Maalox will help his tummy because w/CRF, they have constant nausea. My vet had me give Puddy aluminum hydroxide gel, a phosphorous binder, which helps immensely w/cats in CRF. It was much easier to get it into her than Maalox. He told me that cats hate Maalox and man, he wasn't kiddin' but the aluminum hydroxide gel apparently is more palatable plus I kept it in the fridge to help somewhat w/the taste.

I got Strawberry flavored Maalox. Not that it makes a difference. I only had a choice between Strawberry or Cherry. They didn't even have the regular flavor. I'm getting it in him. It's not easy, but I'm doing it.

Maybe he things it is one of those litter box cakes.

LMAO!! That was good Moesha, I needed that laugh.

[catlover32648]

I've seened a kitten in the shelter i work in doing that , but he was very very young and after he got adopted he stopped .. maybe change the litter ?