4 reasons why a cat eats soil and why it is dangerous

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Why a cat eats soil worries the owner if he suddenly sees such strange behavior of his pet. Many people are often very scared, believing that such a phenomenon may indicate that the cat is dying and will soon be separated from the pet. In reality, this is not the case, and eating soil does not indicate the cat's approaching death. A cat can eat soil both in the garden, during a walk, and by getting it from a flower pot. The latter is quite dangerous, since there is usually a lot of fertilizer in the soil for indoor plants, which can cause poisoning of the animal.

A kitten may suffer more severely from fertilizers. Adult cats quietly receive mild poisonings for a long time, which appear at the moment when the internal organs begin to fail seriously. The veterinarian is not always able to help in such a situation. The first thing that occurs when eating store soil is gastritis.

Finding out the reasons

There are some beliefs that say that a cat consumes soil because it is about to die. There are more logical explanations for such things, so you should not believe everything you hear from older generations or acquaintances. However, you can’t put the brakes on such a meal for your furry friend, since the soil can be toxic, which will lead to poisoning of the animal.

The reasons for this behavior have not yet been fully studied, but it can be said with confidence that the purpose of an animal eating land is not at all the desire to play dirty tricks. Pets knock over indoor flowers and eat soil outside not because they want to upset their owner. The etiology is not fully understood, but more plausible explanations exist.
For example, some animals understand and feel their body so well that they try to cleanse their stomach and intestines in this way. They consume soil, then induce vomiting to cleanse themselves. This starts digestion and the animal feels much better.
This category also includes psychological disorders. If an animal has been stressed for a long time due to certain circumstances, it will begin to behave differently than usual. The cause of a disorder in the psycho-emotional environment is usually bullying, the departure of a family member, the appearance of a new pet in the house, etc.
Next comes the reason, which hides some danger. When infected with certain types of helminths, cats feel that their body works differently. They try with all their might to drive out parasites by eating the soil.
Of course, we cannot exclude such a common and well-known cause as a lack of vitamins and minerals. If your pet lacks iodine, magnesium, potassium, phosphorus, etc., it is likely that he will start having fun by eating algae or soil.

The cat has lost her appetite: why and what to do?

Mental disorder

Unfortunately, animals cannot talk about their experiences and emotional states, which is why there is little research on psychiatry in the veterinary field.
But even basic observations helped establish that pets may suffer from phobias, depression or other somatic disorders.

Even the most experienced veterinarian is unlikely to be able to name the exact psychological reason why a cat eats soil. There are no analyzes showing the internal experiences of the animal, so one can only speculate about the motives for such behavior.

The most famous psychological reason for a cat eating the ground is hunger.

If a situation arose that a domestic cat got lost and lived on the street for some time, then it may develop an abnormal appetite.

When a pet finds itself outside, it hides, and the only thing that can drive it out of hiding is the desire to eat. Unfortunately, the psyche of many animals cannot tolerate such stress and the cat is literally exhausted from hunger, but does not leave the shelter.

Even if the pet was found, calmed, and fed a few days or weeks later, the pre-death memories remain fresh for a long time. The stress experienced leads to a psychosomatic disorder, which can result in eating soil or one’s own feces.

READ How to remove worms from a cat at home, all methods

The second possible reason is also related to the experience of hunger, but at a very young age. Abandoned kittens or orphaned street kids die of starvation within 3-4 days.

Even if during this time the kitten was rescued and sheltered, it will still have a weak psyche. There is a possibility that a pet with such a past will always remember hunger and suffer from “gluttony” all his life.

Let your pets prefer sausage and sweets rather than “strange” treats.

Why does a cat eat soil - 5 possible reasons and ways to eliminate them

If a cat eats soil, this may be a manifestation of illness, lack of vitamins, psychological disorders, stress, as well as out of curiosity or to cleanse the stomach. Consumption of soil is dangerous due to the entry of pathogenic bacteria, small glass fragments, and toxic impurities into the body. If the owner notices changes in the pet's taste preferences, he should be shown to the veterinarian. The specialist will conduct a diagnosis and recommend what to do to rid the animal of the bad habit.

According to the observation of veterinarian N. Inyakina, eating disorders are more common in Burmese and Siamese breeds.

Perverted Preferences

This situation most often occurs in exclusively domestic cats that do not go outside. Behavior belongs to the category of mental problems and there are many reasons for this:

early separation from mother;
long absence of the owner;
fiber deficiency;
stressful events;
depression;
moving;
extreme conditions (being on the street);
discomfort or unsanitary conditions;
lack of personal shelter;
constant noise;
competition with your own kind.

In most cases, a cat develops an addiction to one thing or substance. Attachment is possible to feces, litter, paper, cardboard and even fur.

Or some paper to eat?

Perverted eating habits are diagnosed in all individuals, regardless of breed. However, there is also a tendency to deviate: it is noted among Siamese and Burmese representatives of the cat world. A number of researchers claim that all eastern cat species are prone to the disorder. This is due to living in closed and cramped spaces that protect guests from the attacks of robbers.

Pica due to stress begins at 6-8 months and is resolved with increased care. In severe cases, the veterinarian will prescribe a course of sedatives and sedatives.

Mental disorder

We discussed above that one of the reasons for animals eating land is psycho-emotional disorders. If a cat is stressed or depressed, it will change its behavior. Each animal is individual, and the reaction will be different. A special role is played by the breed, the situation in the house, the age and even the gender of the pet.
If your four-legged pet did not experience a lack of attention, affection and love, ate high-quality food, and did not remain in the background, then there should be no negative consequences, including stress. However, animals with an unfavorable fate, forced to live on the street or in a family where they are not loved, are constantly in a state of stress.
A mental disorder can be detected in an adult animal due to some shocks in childhood. For example, if at a young age a cat suffered from hunger and almost died, he may have certain difficulties in the future. Of course, this condition may be due to other aspects.
This includes moving, changing ownership, lack of food, and being alone for a long time without people. Also, competition for the owner’s attention between other animals living in the house cannot be ruled out. The animal becomes depressed due to lack of communication with the owner.
All of the above may lead to changes in your nutrition plan. It is important to understand that the root cause must first be eliminated. If you know for sure that the cat is feeling unwell and is experiencing stress, get rid of the irritating factor. Give your pet more time so that he does not have a lack of communication. In extremely difficult cases, the veterinarian prescribes antidepressants for the animal.

grass for cats and kittens - purpose and cultivation

Exploring the world around us

Both children and kittens actively explore their environment. The desire to taste inedible objects, including plants and soil, can lead to negative consequences for your pet. Toxic finishing materials and poisonous flowers often lead to poisoning and death of the animal.

If you notice your cat's increased attention to dangerous objects, you should interest her in new toys or plants specially grown for chewing. You can germinate wheat, oats, and lawn grass in a pot. Edible toys will keep the kitten occupied for a long time and dangerous sabotage will not become a habit.

An animal can also start using a pot with soil as a toilet. Scattered soil and a damaged plant will bring little joy to any owner. Therefore, if you cannot distract your pet from a container with soil, then it is better to move the flowerpot to an inaccessible place.

Why is eating soil dangerous?

There may be glass fragments in the soil, which can easily damage your pet’s internal organs. Veterinarians warn that if a cat eats sand on the street, it provokes the following complications:

Bacterial infection. There are many pathogenic microorganisms in the soil that are deadly to cats. These include salmonella, panleukopenia virus, herpes virus, as well as fungi - microsporum, trichophyton. A kitten is especially seriously ill; the disease can be fatal.
Swallowing fragments. There may be small particles of glass, wire, and metal objects in the ground. When swallowed, foreign bodies enter the digestive tract, which provokes internal bleeding, dysfunction of internal organs and can cause the death of the animal.
Poisoning with pesticides. Various fertilizers, poison for rodents and insects, and pesticides get into the soil. Once in the cat's gastrointestinal tract, toxins affect the brain, liver, and kidneys, which leads to death.

Parasite infestation

Another reason why an animal may be heavy on soil consumption. The owner, of course, will be misled by such an outcome and even worried about the health of his pet. This is not surprising, since it is really worth being wary. When infected with certain types of parasites, cats actually begin to consume soil.
In their natural habitat, they would rather prefer sand to the ground, but when living at home, the animal will begin to knock over pots of indoor flowers. With this method, the four-legged friend tries to cleanse his body of parasitic creatures. Also, a cat may not eat soil, but litter. Likewise, this action indicates infection.
So, pay attention to the symptoms and condition of your pet in general. If you do not carry out deworming in a timely manner, it is likely that the cat has a lot of worms and they are poisoning his body. Signs of infection include deterioration of the coat, a hard belly, weight loss, pus in the eyes, bad breath, and vomiting.

Worm infestation

Infection of cats with parasitic worms is a fairly common problem.

At risk are stray animals and cats on their own, and small kittens are most susceptible to infection.

The worms living inside feed on the host’s blood and semi-digested food, causing the following symptoms:

loss of appetite and weight loss;
lethargy and weak muscle tone;
disturbances in the digestive tract;
increase in abdominal volume due to the accumulation of parasites;
the presence of mucus and blood in the stool;
problems with the coat;
lacrimation;
anemia and pallor of mucous membranes.

Self-cleaning. Feeling discomfort and constant pain in the stomach, the cat strives to cleanse the body of accumulated nastiness. For this purpose, baleen-striped eat sand, soil and grass with hard leaves. All this stimulates the gag reflex and sometimes leads to the removal of live parasites through the mouth. However, in this case, worms are equipped with all kinds of hooks and hooks in the head part, which allow them to be firmly held in the intestinal mucosa, despite strong peristaltic waves.

Diagnosis and treatment. Recognition of the species of the parasite is based on laboratory test data, after which the veterinarian prescribes suitable anthelmintic drugs that paralyze the worms and remove them naturally.

Lack of essential enzymes

Take a closer look at the animal’s behavior; if this feature worsens with the onset of spring, then we can say that the cat most likely lacks useful compounds. Simply put, the animal suffers from vitamin deficiency.
This will especially indicate if the cat is happy to eat soil purchased from the store. This composition contains many valuable compounds. The land is enriched with fertilizers. As a result, the cat tries to replenish the vitamins it needs.
Most often, animals suffer from a deficiency of phosphorus, calcium, sodium and potassium. In this case, it is enough to correctly prepare the diet so that the cat stops feasting on the earth. In addition, some cat owners claim that the animal may experience a deficiency of certain elements due to eating a large amount of meat.
The problem is that such a product leaches calcium from the body in large quantities. As a result, the animal may suffer from the development of rickets or osteoporosis. In any case, you shouldn't wait for anything. Be sure to seek help from a specialist.
It is strongly recommended to refrain from starting to give your pet various microelements and synthetic vitamins on your own. Only a veterinarian should prescribe a special diet and prescribe certain nutritional supplements.
To ensure that your cat fully receives all the vitamins it needs, you can germinate oats, peas, wheat, rapeseed and barley yourself. As an alternative, you can purchase special grass for cats from a pet store.
The cause of an animal’s unusual addiction may be the development of anemia. Kittens can especially suffer from this pathology. An unpleasant disease develops due to active growth. The disease can be recognized by the pale tint of the mucous membranes. General lethargy and bradycardia are also evident.
To confirm the diagnosis, you need to take the animal to the clinic so that the doctor does a blood test. This way you can find out about your iron levels. If anemia occurs in the acute stage, it will need to be treated with serious injectable drugs.

why does a cat bury food

Methods to combat this phenomenon

The first thing to do in this situation is to raise the cat and, whenever you try to get close to the flower pots, say loudly “No!”

Observe, maybe the cat climbs onto the windowsill not in order to spoil your green spaces in the house, but in order to get closer to the window and inspect everything that is happening on the street.

In such a situation, the problem can be solved easily and simply! Remove a couple of peas from the windowsill to create an observation deck for your inquisitive kitty.

If your cat digs the ground and shits in it, try changing the type of litter for the litter box. Did not help? Then use a special spray to repel animals. You can buy it at a pet store.

Traditional methods also work effectively:

Place citrus peels near the plants, pets cannot tolerate this smell;
cats also don’t like the smell of garlic, place garlic cloves next to flower pots;
Cover the window sill with food foil, animals do not like to walk on a rustling surface;
you can use a spray bottle of water to scare away the cat; water treatments will quickly eliminate interest in walking on window sills;
flower pots can be lubricated on the outside with “Star” balm or essential oils with strong odors;
Some are helped by ordinary toothpicks, tightly inserted into the ground with flowers with the sharp side like a “hedgehog”; a couple of unpleasant touches will reduce the cat’s interest in home flowers;
cover the soil in the pots with small pebbles, they will not harm the plants, but will eliminate the cat’s interest in the filler of the flower pots;
You can put double-sided tape next to the pots; cats don’t particularly like to walk on sticky surfaces.

If your furry friend eats plant leaves and stems, try planting a pet-specific grass in a pot. You can buy such seedlings at a pet store. Green grass is rich in various vitamins and microelements, which will bring undeniable benefits to the body of your tailed pet.

Symptoms of vitamin deficiency

Insufficient nutritional components as a result of an unbalanced diet can lead to eating and licking objects that seem unsuitable at first glance. This could be cardboard, tray filler, or your own biological waste.

Why does a cat eat soil from a flower pot? If the planting substrate was purchased in a specialized store, you can safely assume a lack of microelements. After all, fertilizers contain many minerals, such as sodium, potassium, phosphorus, calcium.

Vitamin deficiency can be determined by dull fur or uneven appetite - some animals become gluttons, while others begin to starve. The veterinarian will use tests to determine whether there is a deficiency of minerals and vitamins and prescribe the required treatment.

Premium food contains all the necessary vitamin and mineral complex, selected depending on the age and preferences of the pet. Therefore, veterinarians recommend using special food for the cat family. It is important to choose a quality product - this is guaranteed to eliminate problems with nutritional deficiencies.

Manifestation of the disease

In addition to mineral deficiency, perverted nutrition can be the result of illness. Why does a cat eat soil in a garden or pot? An unhealthy desire to eat soil may be a consequence of:

leukemia;
diabetes;
anemia;
digestive system problems;
a tumor that affects the functioning of the nervous system.

With anemia, the animal is more inclined to lick the surface of the earth, plaster, stones and metal objects. The disease can be determined by a clinical blood test, and the first signs are a slow pulse, pale gums, cool extremities and a metallic smell when breathing.

Stomach cleansing

Many people know that felines need to clean their stomachs of fur from time to time. Hairs get into the stomach when licked and need to be disposed of in a timely manner. Cats often use ordinary grass for such purposes.
Accordingly, at home the cat can only use the soil in flower pots as a brush. As mentioned earlier, it is best to grow your own grass for your pet. In this way he will satisfy all his needs.
Consult with a consultant at a pet store which seeds are best to purchase and germinate. As an alternative, it is recommended to regularly give your pet a special composition in the form of a paste. It helps remove swallowed fur from the gastrointestinal tract.

We studied the fundamental reasons why an animal can eat soil. Cats often knock over pots of indoor flowers and their behavior changes. The basis for this was psycho-emotional disorder, helminthic infestation, lack of nutrients, etc.

why and why cats eat grass

Lack of mineral salts

with poor nutrition of animals;
during the period of offspring growth;
in pregnant and lactating females;
after injuries and during the healing period of fractures;
for chronic colitis, dysbacteriosis and other diseases of the gastrointestinal tract that affect the absorption of vitamins and minerals from food;
with hormonal dysfunctions leading to softening of bones and poor absorption of mineral salts.

It is noteworthy that feeding domestic cats mainly with meat pulp and fish causes an excess of phosphorus with a clear lack of calcium.

Trying to replenish their supply of minerals, animals may not only eat the soil, but also lick and chew:

chalk;
clay;
whitewashed walls;
plaster;
cement screeds;
drywall.

Attention deficit

Cats are provocateurs. There is no other animal in nature that is capable of taking revenge or doing something to spite its owner. Therefore, if you pay little attention to a cat, it is able to find something to do to its liking. No person will stand and watch while an animal digs or eats soil from a flower pot. The cat quickly remembers the owner’s reaction and subsequently attracts attention to itself in this way.

Boredom and monotony strengthen the animal's exploratory instincts. Lay out dry food, unusual sleeping places and joint games will diversify the pet's life and quench curiosity.

How to wean your pet from a harmful activity?

In principle, there is nothing wrong with cleansing the body with soil from indoor pots for a cat. It is important that there are no harmful elements in the soil. And since urban soil contains toxins, gasoline impurities and other chemical compounds, the soil on the street and in the garden is not safe for cats. Finding environmentally friendly soil in modern life is extremely difficult.

Instead of being beneficial, the consequences of consuming such soil can be very disastrous. Therefore, special pastes that dissolve wool or green grass will replace the earthen sorbent.

Proper cat care, good nutrition, games, walks and regular preventive examinations by a veterinarian will help keep your pet healthy.

Human factor

Cruel people with a calm soul throw little kittens into the street. The defenseless baby is not yet able to take care of himself and begins to starve. Out of desperation, he even eats feces. Unfortunately, kittens do not always withstand prolonged hunger while waiting for rescue.

A rescued baby is more susceptible to disorder in adult life than his brothers who grew up in good conditions. Any stressful situation, such as street survival, provokes the disease with renewed vigor.

“Earth” addiction is fraught with serious danger. Caring gardeners regularly treat the soil with special fertilizers. They are also a source of intoxication for furry purrs. If you ignore the problem for a long time, the result will be severe poisoning. Toxic substances are also contained in the flowers themselves.

Diagnostic search and treatment

If a cat eats soil for several days, the owner should contact a veterinarian. There, specialists will conduct an examination and take all the necessary tests to accurately identify the cause of the disease.

As a rule, veterinarians immediately check the patient for parasitic infestations. To do this, they take stool samples for testing.

After clarifying the situation, the doctor draws up a treatment plan. It consists of changing the diet and supplementing minerals. Medicines are prescribed if the disease has been identified.

It is important to help your pet cope with difficulties. First, at home, the source of temptation is completely eliminated

At the same time, the cat is given increased attention so that he is not distracted by his destructive hobbies.

Pica occurs in pets for a variety of reasons. Poor nutrition, frequent stress, illness and much more encourage a cat to eat unnatural objects. Leaving it alone with the problem is extremely dangerous, because the soil is saturated with substances that are fatal to living beings.

The mental disorder remains poorly understood by veterinary researchers. To determine the cause, specialists take a series of tests, excluding serious diseases. A tendency towards pica has been noted in eastern strains, especially in the Siamese breed. Interestingly, the disease can appear in cats at any age.