Why is my 9-month-old cat eating clumping litter? Pica or anemia?

I'm sorry to hear about Oberon's kidney disease! Eating litter is most often a sign of anemia in cats - this would fit with his kidney disease, since anemia is a common finding in late-stage kidney problems like this. It may be worth talking to your vet about treatment options for this problem (such as Epigen injections, or even a blood transfusion), as this is likely going to be the only way to keep him from continuing to eat whatever litter you provide. In terms of safety, ingesting large amounts of any cat litter can potentially cause some stomach upset, constipation, or even an intestinal blockage - there is no evidence that non-clumping litter is any safer than clumping varieties, or that pine would be any safer than clay. So I would go ahead and continue using whatever Oberon is most comfortable going to the bathroom in, and see if you can treat the underlying anemia to help address the problem that way if possible :)

I guess he just feels like it. This isn't a common problem among cats. In small amounts it is perfectly safe, but in larger amounts it could cause irritation to the GI tract or even an impaction. You might need to try another substrate for the litter box, such as shredded paper, packing peanuts, sand, a product called yesterday's news, etc.

This can be a sign of pica, and it is bad for Mochi to do. It can cause an obstruction. Pica is a symptom of an underlying disease such as FIV, hyperthyroidism, anemia, feline leukemia, dental disease, diabetes, and others. I'd have her seen by a vet for this behavior. I hope this 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.

This can be due to a nutritional or vitamin deficiency, or a serious disease like feline leukemia or kidney disease. Have Smog checked out by a vet to make sure everything is healthy, and feed him a high quality kitten food.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. This sounds behavioral and will likely go away over time. However, in the meantime while the behavior is occurring, I would recommend switching the type of litter or even consider spraying bitter apple onto the litter itself. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

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.