CBS3 Pet Project: Why Do Some Cats Eat Strange Objects?
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- Have you heard of or maybe had a cat that is obsessed with rubber bands, cardboard boxes, the bottom of shoes or eating, ingesting and sucking on crazy things?
Why doesn't every cat do it?
Apparently, according to the veterinary behaviorists at Tufts University, this kind of behavior comes from when a cat was orphaned and bottle-fed as kittens. So they never got to nurse from mother and have redirected their suckling drive on to clothes, boxes and rubber bands.
One vet said that one way to handle it is that some vets transition these cats to high fiber food and they give it to them free choice but that doesn't always work.
So what they also do for cats that are really affected by this desire to ingest rubber bands and all sorts of crazy things, is putting them on anti-obsession medicine like Prozac.
Ingesting crazy things can be very bad and cause intestinal obstructions and you would definitely want to get that checked out.
Your cat is not doing it just to misbehave, it is more likely than not that they were bottle-fed and just redirected all drives on to something inedible.
At the other end of the cat age spectrum, we go to arthritis. A study was done and x-rays showed that 90% of cats over the age of 12 showed signs of arthritis-like limping and pain when touched.
They reduce their activity and that's the clearest sign that they've got arthritis.
They're less able to jump and sometimes it's very hard for them even to get in and out of the litter box.
Vets can prescribe something for the symptoms, sometimes short-acting things to help them or long-acting things.
But the other thing the study talked about was supplements that people always want to give. Things like glucosamine but vets say there is very little evidence that this works.
But that the study showed that Omega-3 fatty acids actually do improve joint health and arthritic cats owners report that their pet was feeling better and jumping better.
So, you know, omega-3 is what you may want to try but check everything out with your vet.
MORE ON CBSPHILLY.COM
Delaware National Guard Corporal, Maryland Man Identified As Two Killed In I-95 Multi-Vehicle Crash
Police: Marijuana, Backpack With Cash Found At Scene Of Deadly Shooting In Kensington
