Our house tigers are hunters by nature and love any kind of "catch - toy". Whether fishing with various tags - as offered at Balou Petshop - or small mice or balls. Many toys are furthermore decorated with feathers or shaggy pieces of cotton or sisal. As long as the cat is healthy and after repeated observation no abnormalities regarding the play behavior of the cat can be determined, the toy can continue to be used without hesitation.
Quelle: Pixabay.com
However, there is a problem for a special and often unnoticed disease: PICA syndrome.
Cats are normally extremely cautious when it comes to eating. Everything is carefully examined in advance and what seems even slightly suspicious to the little house tigers is usually consistently refused.
However, PICA syndrome (derived from picacism and formerly associated with strange eating habits of pregnant women) overrides the innate feeding instinct. It refers to a rare eating disorder of our kitties. Here the cat eats not only her daily wet and dry food, but also everything else she gets in her little paws. Thus, sand, soil, paper, wool, plastic, feces, chalk, hair, etc. is also on their daily menu. Unnoticed, the cat can be exposed to great danger due to the syndrome. Sometimes, accompanying or as a consequence, certain nutritional deficiencies can be detected.
The cause of the behavior is unclear. It is conceivable that stress causes the behavioral disorder, for example during a move, as a result of a change of owner or during a visit. An inherited mother-child disorder may also lead to the disease.
As soon as a strange eating habit is noticed in your cat, you should urgently go to the vet for a preventive treatment plan. At the same time, you should immediately make sure that your four-legged friend does not have access to the objects that he keeps nibbling and eating.
At BALOU Petshop, we also care deeply about the health of all kitties. We always call for cats to be observed regularly while playing. Since even we cannot know if your cat may have PICA, you should never leave them alone with small toys (balls, mice, etc.). There is always and at any time danger of swallowing and death.
Author: Balou Petshop / Karina Hollain
Balou Petshop stands for sustainable cat toys and sustainable cat products.
Date: 18.10.2021
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