Kitten Eating Litter.. Why?
You have just got this little precious home and you notice that it is eating cat litter. You obviously freaked out a little bit and are now worried about its health. In such a case, you should first notice how regularly is the kitten eating the cat litter?
There can be many reasons why your cat is behaving in such a way, we have listed them all down below.
Most Important Thing About Your Kitten Eating Litter First
If you are using clumping cat litter, it is very important that you remove it immediately. Clumping cat litter is not recommended with a kitten. Since kittens are not used to this kind of behavior and are very curious at such early stage clumping cat litter can be the bad for them.
Clumping cat litter, hardens when it comes in contact with moisture. For e.g when your cat pees on it, the litter absorbs it and becomes hard so it is easier to clean. The whole purpose of clumping cat litter is that it is easier to clean. Same happens with feces.
Since it’s main point is to become hard when in contact with moisture, if your kitten swallows it can become hard inside the kitten and cause serious blockage.
It can be anything to intestinal blockage, bloodstream blockage to difficulties in defecating. Which is why it is always a good idea to not use clumping cat litter with kittens.
If you cat has already eaten clumping cat litter it is a good idea to take your kitten to a vet immediately.
Now if you are not using clumping cat litter here are few reasons why that could be possible.
Curiosity
Since the whole concept of using a litter box and litter is so new to them, it is possible that they are just curious. Kittens can be testing out there new poop station and in there curiosity could have decided that they maybe want to taste the litter.
If it does not happen occasionally then you don’t need to worry. They are just trying to figure out what is food and what is junk. If you find your kitten regularly eating litter stop him and take it out of there mouth to teach to him that it is wrong behavior.
Abandoned By The mother
Kittens are trained on how to do there business and getting rid of it by there mother. If your kitten was abandoned by her mother too soon, she might not have learnt the necessary skills to survive. In turn, your kitten does not know that it is not suppose to eat it.
You must train your kitten to not eat the litter.
Anemia
Anemia is a cats disease and it occurs when the body is not producing enough red blood cells and that can cause some problems for your cat. Some symptoms include pale skin and white gums. Check your cat regularly to see it does not have these symptoms.
If your kitten is eating litter on a regular basis even after you have trained this might be a signal of something very wrong and you must take your kitten to the vet as soon as possible.
Renal Failure
This very rare in kittens as it is more of a older cats issue but it can be a serious if not noticed early. Eating cat litter could be a sign of shutdown of kidneys also known as chronic renal failure. It is very rarely the cause of kitten eating litter but you must get your cat checked out by a vet as soon as possible.
To know more about Anemia and Renal Failure you can read here.
If your kitten is eating litter on a regular basis it is a must that you take your cat to a vet as it can be a sign of an underlying issue.
