Cat question
I have 2 cats. Lenny is almost 2 1/2 and we've had him since he was 7 or 8 weeks old. He had a rough childhood (before coming to us!). He was born to a good mom, but they had a family dog that killed many of the siblings. And, he was also dropped at a young age. Just background, don't know if it is relevent or has affected him in any way. So that is why we got him so early, because they were afraid the dog might be able to get to him. He was rushed to us in the middle of the night...it was actually kind of funny when I think back. Got a phone call--Your cat is coming tonight. click. So he has always been a rather skittish cat, but not too skittish. Most people describe it as you have to earn his love and it is much more rewarding when he comes to sit on you than when our other cat comes to sit because she loves everyone and it is just her nature. He also likes to gnaw on things. Usually it has been shoelaces and wires/cords, things of that nature--stringy things. Well, lately, he has been out of control chewing on things. I laid out a skirt that I was going to wear that morning and went to take a shower. By the time I came out, he had chewed all the beading off the skirt (luckily not chewing into the skirt). Then, a few mornings ago, same thing, except with a sweater. I went to put it on and I felt the wrists were wet--and missing! He ate the wrists off of both sleeves...and ate them...in a matter of minutes. Then, I went to my closet and got a replacement sweater (hanging up) and put it on and looked down and those wrists were gone too! But dry, so he hadn't done these recently. It is driving me crazy. He is getting into all sorts of mischief--much more than usual--at least since not being a kitten. I woke up last night to him chewing on our new bedspread--it already has holes in it and we've only had it a little over a month! Anyone have any experiences like this and have any suggestions what is causing him to be this annoying or what we can do about it? We try to keep potential destruction out of his way, but he is finding new things to destroy... |
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| Sorry, no help here, Calvin never branched out from strings/wires/purse straps. He's almost 18 and still chews this kind of stuff occasionally. |
This is the troublemaker, by the way...
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| Steph, I dont know what to tell you as I dont have any cats...the only suggestion, which Im not sure will work is to keep him out of your room and closet....does he have enough kitty toys that he likes??? |
| <<<Me owner of some 27 cats over the years...big ones, newborns, old ones.... Currently have 4, sister has 5.
Oh I'm in love with Lenny!!!!!!!! Incredible soulful face what a sweetheart!!! Lenny's behavior may be possibly one of three things: Many kittens whom were taken away from their moms at too early an age continue to feel the need to suckle...either on people's hands, necks, sweaters, or other materials. It could be that..but seems as if this behavior has only increased if I'm reading your post correct. Dental Problem(s) This may be the cause of it...kinda like teething in a baby. MamaKat whom I first fostered for the Humane Society then adopted as her fate was doomed when they said she was going to be put down as she had bad teeth. Mama Kat it was discovered had abssesses and teeth that needed removal. She chewed continuously on papers left on the coffee table..so that parts were missing and numerous teeth bites could be seen. She did this with other things too. After dental surgery she no longer does this to the extent she did, and now I only find the rare item (paper) with little chew marks on it...maybe a habit from her previous gnawing. The vet said chewing on things usually indicates some dental problem. Anxiety- May be the culprit as perhaps the canine in the house is more rumbunctious than in the past? Due to previous experience with the death of his siblings..might be causing this anxiety? You can get Nature's Remedy to perhaps allieviate stress. You know Lenny better than anyone is there anything which he may feel more anxious about than usual? Good Luck with Lenny and keep us informed and hoped this helped. My bet is it may be dental related so a check up at the vets would be in order. Marianne and the girls |
| Thanks for the comments, Marianne.
He's always been a chewer to an extent--we actually got our other kitten because we thought that a lot of his chewing and destruction was boredom (our apartment was pretty small) so he especially loved to chew on the blinds and the blinds cord. That took out a chunk of our security deposit! We've been really good about keeping things that we thought he would chew away from him...we've had to replace many cords, though... Hmmm, he has recently seemingly become more friendly with Barney. Until we got Barney (last March) Lenny loved to be in the kitchen (he likes to dig through the drain--yuck!) and he likes to look out the back door. Well, Barney's domain is now the kitchen (tile floors!) so Lenny no longer would go in there. About a month or 2 ago Lenny started going into the kitchen when the dog was outside. The dog would come back in and chase the cat out of the kitchen (baby gates are at the doors). Soon, Lenny decided that sitting on top of either the microwave or fridge was good b/c the dog couldn't reach him. So he did that for a while. Then, it moved to him sitting on Barney's crate--taking swipes at the dog. Now, he'll go anywhere in the kitchen and just sit on the floor and the dog will mostly just lick his head. So that's the only new development that I can think of, environment-wise. He had a urinary tract infection this summer, but that was taken care of with medicine and a new diet (other kitten is NOT happy about diet food!) and he isn't showing signs that he has it again... He has plenty of toys...he chews on them...he chews on Kirby, our other kitten...I don't know...I guess we'll have to be even more careful than usual (although him chewing the comforter is frustrating...) At least he's cute! |
| It is called pica, and the cause for it is largely unknown. There are a few theories though, but I'm not sure of anything definitive.
Here is a link to the best site I could find in regards to this. http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/pica.htm |
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