Feline Pica

Key Points
Pica in cats is usually related to the consumption of fabric as part of wool sucking behaviour This may start early in life in cats that are inappropriately weaned. Wool-sucking usually ceases spontaneously before the age of 6 months. It can be treated using a combination of environmental enrichment, redirection of the behaviour and psychoactive medication.

Pica & Wool-Sucking

Some reports indicate that chewing or sucking of woolly items is most common in early-weaned oriental breed cats, that continue to display suckling behaviour but transfer it to clothing and bedding. Typically the cat sucks on and chews the owner’s clothes whilst being held. Cats usually stop ‘wool-sucking’ before the age of 6 months. The precise reason for this delay in weaning from oral suckling behaviour is not understood but such juvenile behaviour is not considered to be compulsive and does not necessarily lead onto adult 'compulsion'.

If the behaviour persists beyond the age of 6 months, then it may be considered abnormal. Usually the cats show a specific preference for a material but this may generalise or change over time especially if the owner attempts to stop the cat from sucking or chewing the items that it currently favours. Wool is often the first target with progression from that to cotton and and other fabrics over time. Cats may also start to suck and chew leather, cardboard and other items.

The behaviour is usually restricted to chewing or mouthing the material, but in some cases can involve ingestion. The risk this presents depends upon the type of material being swallowed. Unlike dogs, cats do not deliberately swallow items to carry them between locations, and they are also less inclined to steal and retain objects as a means of gaining attention. However, cats with existing attachment problems, especially oriental breeds, may steal and chew objects to get attention.

Investigation

Wool-sucking is characterised by rhythmic repetitive mouthing and sucking of woolly objects and has therefore been classed as a compulsive disorder. However, the aetiology of the problem is not understood. Cats with pica consistently choose to chew and swallow the same kind of non-food items, rather than simply engaging in oral investigation of a range of different items and materials, which is relatively normal in immature cats.

Differentials

There are a number of differentials for compulsive pica or wool-sucking, including:

• Repetitive chewing to relieve oral pain.
• Consumption of non-food items to induce vomiting (which can also occur repeatedly if a previous foreign body remains lodged in the stomach).
• Stealing and chewing objects as a means of getting attention from the owner.
• Cats with severe CNS pathology or senility may sometimes attempt to eat non-food items because they may perceive them as food.
• Conditions causing polyphagia may encourage cats to investigate and consume borderline non-food items such as food packaging that retains food odour.

Cats with pica should be thoroughly medically investigated before commencing a behavioural investigation.

Treatment

Young cats that wool-suck before the age of 6 months will probably stop spontaneously, but should be provided with an enriched environment and access only to safe objects to chew. Food that is chewy may also help to redirect the behaviour. Hide-based dog chews are too hard for cats, and have little flavour, but they can be softened by soaking in warm water. They can also be flavoured to make them more appealing, for example with a few drops of fish sauce added to the water used to soften the chew. The pieces must be sufficiently large so that they cannot be swallowed whole. Other alternatives include dental hygiene dried cat food, which comes in large pieces, or meat jerky sold for human consumption.

The same diversionary tactic can be tried with adult-onset cases of pica and the texture of the chewing substitute should be matched to the cat’s existing preferences. These cats should also be provided with general environmental enrichment and any specific underlying environmental or social stressors should be dealt with. Psychoactive medication may be used. Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SRI) and Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitor (SSRI) drugs can produce significant improvement in both juvenile post-weaning and adult-onset cases of pica. Clomipramine should be given at low-end initial dose, rising to a higher dose if there is insufficient response after 4-6 weeks.

Drug therapy should be continued until a period of 6-8 weeks without pica has elapsed, and the cat is chewing the alternatives provided.

Treatment Summary

• Investigate and treat underlying social or environmental maintaining factors.
• Provide environmental enrichment to use up the cat’s time and activity budget: activity feeding, play, increased access to height, and a range of additional toys and feeding sites.
• Provide substitutes to chew and consider feeding a chewy dental diet.
• Psychoactive medication; Clomipramine or Fluoxetine are first choices.

Prognosis

Cats with pica represent a serious risk to themselves, as ingested material may cause gastrointestinal obstruction. Withdrawal of successful therapy may cause further potentially life-threatening bouts of pica, so the aim is to maintain a stable and low-stress environment compatible with producing the minimum amount of abnormal behaviour. In some cases long-term medication may be needed.

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The creation of this content was made possible by Ceva Santé Animale as part of the feline behaviour project.

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