My cat keeps eating clumping litter. Why and should I worry?

Clay or crystalline litter is not good if eaten as it can cause obstruction and some can be toxic if ingested. Place only a small scatter over newspaper in the tray until he learns how to use the tray more appropriately. Monitor for any vomiting or constipation

They will always ingest small amounts of litter that you cannot control as a small portion sticks to their feet or gets trapped in the fur and they groom it off to keep clean. It should be not be a large amount or anything that can cause harm. If he is eating large amounts, then the only option is to change types of litter. this will be trial and error to see what he will still use without eating. Look for a different scent or texture or different size particle to see if that helps

There is no specific product I know of designed for the purpose you have suggested. In general, we don't want to do something that might discourage the cats from wanting to use the litter box as you intended it to be. If you have a cat that is eating the litter, stop using it right away and switch to a different product, or a different medium (newspaper clippings, plastic litter, etc). Hope this makes sense.

I would recommend that you have Gucci seen by your veterinarian. Eating non-food items such as litter can indicate an underlying medical problem such as parasites or nutritional deficiencies. Your veterinarian may recommend checking a stool sample or blood work to get a better idea what's going on. After it is determined that Gucci is healthy it is likely worth trying different types of litter such as cedar shavings or corn-based litter. It is very important that Gucci does not eat litter as this can cause an intestinal blockage.

Cats are very good groomes and typically will ingest a small amount of litter just cleaning themselves routinely. Unless he is eating large amounts there is nothing to worry about. You can try to keep the litter and water bowl farther apart to minimize the amount that can be tracted to it.

Silica litters are non toxic if ingested however If too much of the silica litter is eaten it could cause an intestinal obstruction. Silica litter can also cause respiratory irritation in cats with allergic airway disease like asthma. Since your kitten seems to like to eat the silica litter I recommend finding a different litter type that she is not interested in eating. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

Hello, it is not toxic, but if Garu ingests enough it could cause a gastrointestinal obstruction. So, based on what you said, I would not worry about it. He likely did not eat enough for it to be a problem. You may want to try using some Feliway products to see if they help with the pica. ( https://www.feliway.com/br ) ( https://www.feliway.com/br/FELIWAY/Feliway-Classic-Difusor ) The other thing that often helps to decrease pica symptoms is environmental enrichment. Enrichment usually means hiding toys for him, food filled toys, cat nip mice, and bits of food. Offer safe chew items (ie: dog bones), lots of scratching posts of the material and orientation that he likes. And if he likes tv, video then provide that as well. Play with him regularly if he will engage with you. Some cats symptoms will get better with a higher fiber diet. Pica is not a condition that you will "cure" but you many be able to lessen his symptoms with some of the above changes. Hope this helps. Best wishes.