Finding out that your cat has a condition that you've probably never heard of before can leave you feeling overwhelmed and full of questions. This disorder, which triggers cats to try and eat things that aren't food, can strike with a wide variety of objects and items in your home. Make sure that you're mindful of these three things to ensure that your kitty doesn't end up getting very sick by eating something that it shouldn't.
Power Cables
Horrifyingly, power cables are one of those things that cats with pica often enjoy chewing on. This doesn't just spell trouble for your electronics, which could become useless if they can't draw electricity. It opens up the possibility of your cat becoming electrocuted if they manage to bite through the cable while it's plugged in and drawing energy.
To avoid this, consider wrapping and lifting cables so that they're up off the ground and out of reach of your cat. When not in use, they should be tightly coiled and put away where your cat can't get to them at all. Make sure to take a quick glance at your cables when you use them before plugging them in to look for bite marks. This will help you to prevent shorting out your electronics, and you can find out if your cat is still chewing and needs more help.
Hair
Hair is another big problem for cats. You would think that since cats groom themselves every day that their bodies could handle digesting hair, but that's not actually true. Hair usually passes through the digestive system undigested, but your cat's body can't handle large amounts of it all at once. If your cat is picking up hair from other cats, or even from you, they can potentially end up with a gastrointestinal obstruction in their body. These usually have to be surgically removed and can be traumatizing for the pet and the pet owner.
Make sure that your garbage cans are covered and that if there's any stray hair lying around on the floor, or on something like a comb, that it gets dealt with promptly before your cat can get a hold of it.
Bite-Sized Objects
Finally, look around for anything that you would consider to be a hazard for toddlers if they put it in their mouth. This means anything that's bite sized that could also fit into a cat's mouth. Yup, it's unfortunate, but cats often like these things, too.
Do what you can to keep as many of these objects away from your cat as possible. Coins, earplugs, small nick-knacks, and so on should be kept away from your cat at all costs. If they're decorations, consider using museum putty or another adhesive to prevent your cat from pulling them off of display and eating them.
Cats can live long healthy lives with pica if their pet parents do what they can to protect them. Ask your veterinarian at the animal hospital for medication to help control the pica urge and do these things at home to keep your pet safer.
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