Conference misery::feline_v1

2081.0. "Fabric eating kitty" by GUIDUK::BROWER (Telsin Brower - Seattle) Tue Dec 20 1988 16:51

    We have two cats about 1 and a half years old, Gizmo and Frosty.
    Gizmo has this awful habit of eating fabric - any fabric.  She started
    with wool (I put my sweaters in the bathroom to dry and when I checked
    on them, they had holes all over).  It has gotten so bad that when
    I leave the house in the morning I have to strip the bed and store
    the pillows and sheets in a closed room.  Even after all this, the
    flat sheets have holes in them - I think she chews on it when my
    husband and are asleep at night.
    
    We have been to the vet and he says fabric eating is pretty rare.
    He thought it might have been a behavior problem - but I don't think
    so.  Gizmo and Frosty sleep with us and they have the run of the
    house when we are not at home (except for my sewing room).  In the 
    summer, we put their leashes on and they play in the back yard while 
    we do yard work.  Gizmo and Frosty (both girls) get along well 
    together.  They came from the same litter.  We had them spayed when 
    they were 8 months old.
    
    The vet had no other ideas.  So we just hide everthing that could
    possibly be edible.  Any suggestions to why she does this and what
    we can do about it?  

    My sister Jan (who is also a noter) has this same problem with her
    cat Bailey.  We have found that the only solution is to keep anything
    that might appeal to her taste buds (weird as her taste buds are)
    away from her.  Not only does this save your belongings, it also
    saves your cat since bits of fabric can cause a problem if they
    become lodged in her intestines or stomach.
    
    Rather than stripping your bed and putting everything away before
    you leave, have you considered confining your cat to a "safe" area
    of the house?  It might make it easier on you.
    
    I have heard this condition refered to as PICA by some vets, and
    the only other suggestion I can give is to consider writing to a
    cat psychologist like Carol Wilbourne who writes an article for
    Cat Fancy Magazine.  Maybe she has some ideas.  There was an article
    about PICA in Cat Fancy a few months ago.  Maybe someone out in
    note land can point you to the right issue.
    
    Jo

    Is there some safe toy that could be made that would satisfy this
    urge but not pose a danger, I wonder?
    
    Also, maybe some sort of cat vitamin supplement, in case it's a
    way of showing a dietary deficiency (the vet to the contrary)?