There it was, her stomach and intestinal tract all full of gas – when I brought that up, the vet said that nope – that wasn’t a blockage. I immediately take her to the ER, who tells me she isn’t blocked, and has gastritis – they want to keep her IV and antibiotics. Three months later, on, Blanket passes another thing-ball and starts throwing up. Since she went to the vet very early, she spent all day on fluids and getting X-rays to see the progression of the blockage – she finally passed it, and we dodged a major bullet. Off to the vet we go – X-rays are done, which show a pattern of gas, but are somewhat inconclusive. From that point on, she wouldn’t keep food down anymore, and would just keep vomiting. She started hacking and threw up what I came to call a “thing-ball” (Thing-balls were much like hairballs, but made up of things instead of hair). I also did the best I could to redirect her chewing to Lamb Ears chews – while she DID love that, I wasn’t able to make her chew on that 24x7.īlanket’s first hospital stay with a blockage was on – she was 16 moths old. I did that, and I thought it was helping…. Some people found help by adding lanolin oil to their food, as in some cats this seems to be what is called “Wool suckling pica”, and by replacing this component of the wool – lanolin, you might be able to help to curb the craving. There were theories about how kitties that are abandoned by their moms can develop PICA…. Good because of course you want a healthy baby! Bad because medically there wasn’t anything I could do. Vet trips were done, but there was absolutely nothing wrong with her – she was the picture of health… Which was both good and bad news…. There wasn’t a way to “keep things away from her” – because that meant not having a bed, a couch, clothes, mats, or even walls. But she also ate my wall, the wooden cat tree, my mattress. Little by little she started to eat everything – her favorites were cloth items – blankets, sheets, couch, towels, pants, shirts…. She had already made a huge hole in it and was already munching on the stuffing! That’s when I caught Blanket eating my couch – yep – the couch. One day, when she was a little over one year old, I went out of town and upon my return I noticed that my blanket (how’s that for “well” chosen name?!) had holes in it! LOTS of holes! I didn’t know what had happened, and started watching all my cats like a hawk. She grew into a gorgeous, healthy little kitty! She was quickly transitioned to EZComplete and had a voracious appetite. It didn’t take much to get her going though – aside from tiny, she wasn’t ill, and good food would bring her to great health. Might have been worth it.īlanket was found on the streets, either abandoned by her mom, or someone, but either way – she came to me as a malnourished soon to be bottle baby – itty bitty, and full of spunk! I decided to write this post as up to now, I really hadn’t heard of a permanent solution, a “cure” for feline PICA… But then a small miracle happened – or was it? We beat it! And I feel I must share our experience as if we can help even one kitty out there…. Unlike any other, there is nothing you can do to prevent or foresee it – it can happen anytime, with horrible consequences. Only those who have a cat with PICA know how devastating this disease is. We usually write articles about nutrition and health, but this one is personal – this is the story of my own journey against this horrible disease. If a person with pica has an intellectual disability or mental health condition, medications for managing behavioral problems may also help reduce or eliminate their desire to eat nonnutritive items.Dear friends, this is a different blog post…. A 2000 study published in the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis suggested that a simple multivitamin supplement may be an effective treatment in some cases. Until recently, research hasn’t focused on medications to help people with pica. Depending on your diagnosis, they may prescribe medications, therapy, or both. Your doctor may also order a psychological evaluation to determine if you have OCD or another mental health condition. For example, they’ll recommend taking regular iron supplements if you’re diagnosed with iron deficiency anemia. If your doctor thinks your pica is caused by nutrient imbalances, they may prescribe vitamin or mineral supplements. This medication may be taken by mouth, or your doctor may prescribe intravenous chelation medications for lead poisoning, such as ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid (EDTA). This will allow you to excrete the lead in your urine. In this procedure, you’ll be given medication that binds with lead. For example, if you have severe lead poisoning from eating paint chips, your doctor may prescribe chelation therapy. Your doctor will probably begin by treating any complications you’ve acquired from eating nonfood items.
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