What is cat and dog pica?
Pica in cats and dogs is a relatively common nutritional metabolic disease, which is manifested in cats and dogs falling in love with swallowing or licking foreign objects other than food.
Pica is caused by abnormal taste in cats and dogs due to environmental, genetic, nutritional, endocrine, metabolic disorders and other factors.
According to clinical studies, pica is not an independent disease. It is a comprehensive disease that is influenced by a variety of diseases, such as rickets, indigestion, and chronic parasites.
What are the dangers of pica in cats and dogs?
When cats and dogs lick or chew on food that cannot be used as food or has no nutritional value, many owners do not pay attention to these actions and simply think that these actions are just because cats and dogs are playful, and ignore them. The huge safety hazards brought by pica behind!
1. Cats and dogs lick sharp foreign objects, which can easily cause oral damage.
2. When there are undigested foreign bodies in the digestive tract of cats and dogs, cats and dogs will have symptoms such as anorexia, hunger strike or vomiting.
3. Cats and dogs swallow sharp foreign bodies, which can easily cause esophagus, stomach, intestinal obstruction or even perforation. In severe cases, life safety will be affected.
4. If cats and dogs accidentally eat the excrement of other animals, they are easily infected with parasites and other infectious diseases.
5. Long-term ingestion of foreign bodies in cats and dogs will easily lead to symptoms such as rough and dull skin, bowed waist, anemia, constipation, and progressive weight loss. In severe cases, cats and dogs may die due to organ failure.
What are the causes of pica in cats and dogs?
There are many factors that can lead to pica in cats and dogs. Owners need to figure out the causes of pica in cats and dogs before they can be effectively corrected and treated!
1. Mentality factor
Cats and dogs are very curious and like to lick and taste everything they see. There are also some cats and dogs, because the pet owner is often not around and lacks the pet owner’s care, in order to resolve the loneliness, they like to swallow foreign objects to kill time.
2. Environmental impact
When the breeding environment of cats and dogs is too high, the indoor air is not good, and the lighting time is insufficient, etc. This condition can lead to bad mood, depression, irritability, and excessive stress in cats and dogs, and the symptoms of swallowing foreign objects can be caused by this.
3. Nutritional intake
Clinical studies have shown that when cats and dogs are deficient in minerals, especially Insufficient sodium is likely to lead to pica.
If cats and dogs eat a single food for a long time, such as eating only meat, only rice, or eating unqualified staple food for a long time, the body is deficient in vitamins (especially B vitamins) and minerals. , cellulose, etc., can lead to malnutrition, developmental delay and pica in cats and dogs.
4. Disease problems
Stimuli produced by ectoparasites may trigger pica.
Intestinal parasites lead to the decline of intestinal digestion and absorption function, resulting in insufficient nutrients and pica.
There are also some endocrine diseases that can also cause pica.
How to prevent pica in cats and dogs?
1. Seek medical attention in time
When cats and dogs swallow foreign objects, they must seek medical attention in time.
On the one hand, it is necessary to check whether cats and dogs have swallowed sharp dangerous objects such as needles, threads, screws, etc., causing oral or gastrointestinal damage, or swallowing too many foreign objects and causing intestinal obstruction symptoms;
On the other hand, it is also necessary to find out the reasons why cats and dogs ingest foreign bodies. If the symptoms of foreign body eating are caused by disease factors, corresponding treatment is required.
2. Pay attention to dietary issues
Choose high-quality products with moderate hardness, good palatability and easy digestion Natural food to ensure a balanced diet for cats and dogs.
3. Supplementing trace elements
When cats and dogs suffer from pica due to lack of trace elements in their bodies, owners should pay attention to this Supplement trace elements for cats and dogs.
4. Correct behavioral habits
When the owner finds that cats and dogs bite or swallow foreign objects, they need to Immediately punish the whining, so that the cat or dog stops chewing or swallowing foreign objects. And let them realize the serious consequences of this behavior, and help cats and dogs to gradually quit bad habits.
5. Regular internal and external deworming
Internal and external parasites can cause metabolic disorders in cats and dogs and cause pica symptoms. Parasites not only affect the growth of pets, but also may pose a threat to human health. It is necessary to regularly deworm both in vitro and in vivo.
