? Why do cats lick or ingest cat litter all the sudden?

Why do cats lick or ingest cat litter all the sudden? Fluffy is 17yrs and just started licking litter. Not certain he is ingesting it but I've seen him do this a few times recently. He's had FD for exactly 1 year now. Urine test shows negative for keytones.

Any ideas?

@Suzanne & Darcy
@tiffmaxee
@Bandit's Mom
@Diane Tyler's Mom
@Wendy&Neko
@Chris & China (GA)
@Bron and Sheba (GA)

 

It is one of the symptoms of anaemia. When did you get her labs done last?
http://felinecrf.org/anaemia.htm#symptoms_risks

 

What kind of litter are you using? Mine snacked on corn litter when she was hungry. I changed the litter, problem went away.

 

are you using a corn based litter?

 

No. I use Chewy's brand...
Premium Choice Carefree Unscented Clumping Clay Cat Litter

@Wendy&Neko

 

Labs were done Apr 2022

 

The labs are almost a year old, might be worth getting another set of blood work done, to see if anything has changed. I can't see why a cat would be eating clay litter for munchies.

 

Hi all, I am Howard, and my kitty's name is Puppy (Not my idea, he's a follower). Anyway, I read here about pine pellet litter. I tried every type of litter available in search of the ideal material, and pine pellets are an absolute godsend for me, and my boy. It doesn't clump between his little furry toes, which I am sure made walking painful, and not only does it make box cleanup effortless, and ODORLESS, it stops him from licking, and ingesting, that clay garbage, which probably clumps just as well in kitty's innards. Chewy has it for 18 bux for 40 pounds,, so its available everywhere, but I found pine pellet bedding (Same thing) at Big R for $5 for a 40 pound bag! Any farm supply type place, Tractor Supply, etc. , will have it as well. Please, for your friend's sake, stop using those expensive clay products. You will thank posters on this board, as I do, for giving you this miracle information. Bless you all, and your kitties. Howard

 

Thank you Howard for your reply. Actually, I have several litter boxes and 2 are filled with the pellets I get at TS. Some cats use the pellet boxes (and it took a while to get them to do so) and some never touch it! But I still use it too offset the cost of clump litter as I have 7 fur babies, all seniors except my 6 yr old.

 

No problem. 7 kitties? WOW! :=)

 

Can you update your spreadsheet sheet when you get achance & possibly do a curve soon. I don't know if he's dropping low & that may also cause him to be munching on the litter...you never know cats there's not much of a picture/puzzle of numbers to go by...lots of UPS & DOWNS.

 

@JanetNJ
How are you Janet?

 

I am good. thanks for asking

 

Since my long-haired cat became diabetic litter will stick to his hair because the sugar in his urine gets on his fur. In fact when he first became ill he got pancreatitis and had a lot of gi issues and I think it was from ingesting the clumping litter I use (Boxiecat). Now that his diabetes is better controlled it is not as much as an issue but i try to wipe off any sticking litter when i see it (which he hates me doing)

 

Our dog used to lick the drywall because of either a potassium or calcium deficiency, it was a long time ago, I can't remember which. When a pregnant mother craves some oddball food it's because her body is trying to tell her something. How this translates to cats eating vomit and litter or dogs eating poop I have no idea but I've seen it all. Some refer to the cat thing as 'cement paws', a good thing to know when you're quickly scanning threads.
In the thread about why some have it so hard trimming a cat's claws
https://www.felinediabetes.com/FDMB/threads/nail-cutting.276133/
you can see why trying to clean a cat's paws of litter can be so hard. Our Andrew swallowed a staple, Daniel has megacolon, Noah had cement paws. They're going to kick and scream but it has to come off. I knew a couple who were fanatics about using cedar chips as litter but nothing clumps and you have to dump the entire litter box weekly. We can send that to the county as compost alongside recycling but not everyone will be so lucky.