Pet Diaries: When Cats Eat Their Kitty Litter

I recently “adopted” a cat.

(In reality, it forced it’s way inside our home… and our hearts, haha)

His name is George.

(More about his story here)

2014-06-04-20.56
George is a very sweet, clingy cat, who will follow you everywhere and stare at you… ALL DAY.

As part of being an indoor cat, we wanted him to learn how to use the litter box.

Unfortunately, he never took to the litter box and the only thing I noticed was that he kept eating the litter!

I actually got alarmed with this behaviour as I also noticed that he started eating soil, too, when we’d let him out of the house to pee and poop.

I googled “my cat eats litter” right away and I discovered that it could be a behavioural thing (like curiousity) or there could be an underlying medical condition – usually anemia.

When I read that, I decided that a trip to the vet was definitely in order.

So today, we went to Vets in Practice in Alabang.

The vet gave him an x-ray and a blood test.

2014-06-10-14.35
This was George’s x-ray. As you can see, he’s quite backed up! Eating the litter did a number on his digestive system.

The vet was quite alarmed with what the x-ray showed. This is how a cat’s x-ray should normally look like.

2014-06-10-14.45.23
Not George. This is an x-ray of another cat with no stomach problems. The scan is relatively clear.

Because of George’s scan, the vet ordered that an enema be done. (I’m so sorry, George!)

As for the blood test, it confirmed that George is indeed an anemic cat and was prescribed antibiotics and a B-complex medication.

2014-06-10-18.24.49
He was also prescribed a laxative to help him poop for the next few days. Not looking forward to that.

As for the litter problem, our vet suggested that we use newspaper first as litter while treating his anemia. Hopefully when the anemia is cured, we can try litter training again.

I also want the anemia to be cured as soon as possible so that I can have George neutered, too.

Neutering and spaying your pets have many benefits and it’s a good idea to have them neutered or spayed when they reach 6 months.

2014-06-10-15.05
I suppose this means George is officially our cat – George Lopez.
2014-06-10-15.55
Just got home and George is licking himself dry and probably his wounded ego, too.

So that’s it for this entry of my Pet Diaries!

XOXO,

XOXO

Lia
, ,

6 responses to “Pet Diaries: When Cats Eat Their Kitty Litter”

  1. Nix Avatar
    Nix

    I switched to newspaper for my cat Sungit Boy Ya after he developed UTI from licking litter sand off his paws. I never shifted back to litter sand since newspaper is a cheaper and safer alternative.

  2. Lia Espina Lopez Avatar
    Lia Espina Lopez

    Hi Nix! Thanks for taking time to read 🙂 Do you still shred the newspaper or you just fold and wrap it inside the litter box? 🙂

  3. Hazel Avatar
    Hazel

    When I had cats, I used this pine-based litter called Feline Fresh. It’s a bit more expensive than sand litter, but I like that it smells fresh (a bit woodsy) and you can flush the whole thing down the toilet. 😀 Could be a good alternative to sand litter after you’re done with newspapers.

  4. Lia Espina Lopez Avatar
    Lia Espina Lopez

    I like the flushing down the toilet bit. Where do you get it?

  5. Hazel Avatar
    Hazel

    Bow & Wow! I think they still carry the brand today. 🙂

  6. cez young Avatar
    cez young

    awww.. poor george.. GET WELL SOON! 🙂

Leave a comment