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On veterinary forums, cat owners are interested in questions: “Why did the cat start licking the walls and floor?”, “What to do if the kitten licks surfaces and eats inedible objects?” Indeed, it is almost impossible not to notice that a cat is licking the floor, concrete walls, wallpaper, sofa or gnawing on stones. Incorrect behavior of a pet is accompanied by anxiety, nervousness, or vice versa, the cat becomes very affectionate. Let's try to figure out what causes this condition of the furry pet.
Why does a cat lick the floor and walls?
If a cat licks walls, concrete surfaces, wallpaper, or eats chalk with pleasure, the reason should be sought in functional system failures in the body, which are provoked by the deterioration of the furry pet’s health. As a rule, this behavior of cats is provoked by a deficiency of macro-microelements in the animal’s body.
If a cat begins to lick the floor, the wall is littered with marks from the cat’s teeth; one of the possible reasons is hypocalcemia. Characterized by a violation of phosphorus-calcium metabolism. The disease develops due to a deficiency of calcium and vitamin D3.
Hypocalcemia worsens in females during pregnancy and lactation. In kittens - during a period of intensive growth and development.
When a cat wants to lick walls, some of the reasons for this condition include:
- hypovitaminosis;
- endocrine pathologies;
- metabolic disorder;
- gastrointestinal diseases;
- helminthic infestations;
- unbalanced diet;
- liver problems.
If a cat licks the floor, concrete, walls, tiles, another common cause is anemia, which develops in animals against the background of iron deficiency. In this condition, the mucous membranes turn pale, the cat looks depressed, lethargic, and the digestive processes in the body are disrupted.
Note that anemia can be a symptom of viral and bacterial infections and diseases of various etiologies. Therefore, if you notice uncharacteristic behavior of your cat or symptoms indicating deterioration in health, take your pet to the veterinary clinic for an examination.
Flea treatment for pregnant animals
If mating of a cat or dog is planned soon, first carry out a comprehensive cleansing of the animal’s body from various pests. You need to start with external parasites (fleas and ticks), then you need to deal with internal pests (worms) and get vaccinated.
When fleas are found on a pregnant or lactating pet, you need to carefully choose a product to combat parasites. A wide range of drugs, including sprays and drops with very toxic components, are strictly prohibited for use on pregnant and lactating animals. Relatively safe products for a mature pet, here they can lead to negative effects on the offspring, complicate pregnancy, and provoke a miscarriage.
The main rule when choosing a pest control product is to prevent it from entering the body (this is why tablets and injections are not suitable).
Experts recommend using anti-flea shampoo for such purposes, but it should clearly indicate the possibility of treating a pregnant animal . Strictly follow the rules set out in the instructions, thoroughly rinse the drug, dry the fur and comb your pet.
Other reasons
If a cat begins to lick the floor, peels off wallpaper, but the pet is active and feels normal, perhaps the animal is doing this out of boredom, attracting the owner’s attention. In some cases, an affectionate cat becomes aggressive towards members of its family or, on the contrary, caresses, constantly licks the hands and face of the owner.
If the cat eats inedible objects, behaves inappropriately, attacks of aggression are replaced by a depressed state, we recommend checking the cat for rabies. This behavior is observed in pseudorabies (Aujeszky's disease), a nervous form of plague.
The risk of contracting dangerous infections increases in unvaccinated cats that walk outside and may come into contact with stray animals.
Stress, nervous shock, and anxiety are common causes of compulsive-obsessive behavior in animals.
Features of using flea drops
Antiparasitic drugs differ from each other in their composition, appearance, method of application and final result. The most popular drops are:
But they are all toxic to one degree or another. It is this feature that can cause a cat to become poisoned with a flea remedy. To prevent such situations, the manufacturer recommends applying drops only to places where the animal cannot lick them. Most often, the solution is dripped onto the cat’s withers.
Applying flea drops
However, we should not forget that cats are very flexible and resourceful creatures. And besides, the presence of other pets in the house makes it easier to lick the insecticide from the fur of a fellow pet. Even the most caring owner is not always able to ensure complete safety during and after treating a pet with an antiparasitic solution. Therefore, the question of what will happen if a cat licks flea drops may arise for every owner.
Cat licks iron | Cat licks iron
Are you crazy about videos with funny cats? Then I advise you to familiarize yourself with the contents of this section; various funny videos with your favorite pets are collected here. Here you can find something that will lift your mood and make your day. However, here you can find not only various funny things and touching scenes with animals, but also interesting information about the animal world.
As mentioned above, there are a lot of funny videos with pets. There are so many of them only for the reason that nowadays literally every owner of a cute pet tries to shoot a video with it and post it online. Some people do this for the sake of at least some income, others just to share, but that’s not the point, the main thing is that these videos have reached us. There are hundreds, thousands of funny videos with cute, cute cats, raccoons, dogs and other mammals that may live in your apartment. Most often, such videos are short and have one short moment in which the animal did something funny by accident. Sometimes you can even find a whole video with cats looking sweetly at the camera, meowing funny, or funny falling from a small height.
You can often find videos in which animals have been trained from early childhood and now they can perform very complex, seemingly inaccessible tricks for animals. For example, a trained mouse can take money out of a wallet and bring it to its owner. Or a trained cat brings slippers as if it were a dog, and the dog walks on its front paws no worse than a circus gymnast. Various funny and not so funny moments can be seen in videos of this type.
Sometimes there are people who get very unusual pets and show off their indoor life to the entire Internet. The same YouTube is full of various videos with exotic predators and animals that now live in simple apartments. However, some try to keep insects by creating a real terrarium in their home. Such people buy cells and insects and begin to breed them, not forgetting to record on camera important moments from the life of the new colony. Most often they keep harmless ants, but sometimes there are unique people who buy and grow poisonous spiders, beetles and other exotic and dangerous creatures at home. In addition, they love to pit these poor insects against each other and see which of them will survive after a fierce battle in an artificial box. If you are interested in looking at something unknown, then such videos are clearly for you!
In addition to various funny content, you can also find interesting, even educational things here. Smart people who have devoted their entire lives to studying the animal world will tell you about how wild animals live. You will become aware of what this or that predator eats, how different species live and how they behave in their natural environment. In addition, there may be interesting tips that will help you find a common language with your favorite pet or recommend which breed is better to have and how to care for it.
Disease
The reasons for excessive licking are not always harmless. Sometimes this behavior directly indicates the manifestation of diseases.
- Fleas. Working carefully with its tongue, the cat strives to rid not only itself, but its owners of insects.
- Allergic reactions on the skin. Tobacco smell, incorrectly selected shampoo or new products can cause allergies in the form of swelling, discharge from the nose and eyes, and skin rashes. Trying to get rid of discomfort, a furry ward can try to solve the problem by licking himself, and at the same time the owner.
- Malaise. If your pet has not shown affection in this way before, you should be wary. Perhaps this is how the cat wants to draw attention to poor health. In this case, it is better to consult a veterinarian.
- Gum diseases. Old cats with dental problems often experience increased salivation, which leads to constant licking of themselves and all family members.
Making a scratching post for cats with your own hands
Symptoms of the presence of parasites
Animals show increased attention to their own hygiene in the presence of parasites - fleas or ticks. At the same time, the cat is constantly itching, shaking itself off and licking itself. You can suspect parasites by carefully examining the animal's fur.
If no fleas are found, it is recommended to inspect the coat again, paying attention to the areas behind the ears and on the neck. A possible cause of discomfort may be nits, which can be difficult to detect with a quick examination. Excessive peeling of the skin in the absence of visible parasites may indicate a mite.
As a rule, with such diseases, the animal constantly tries to gnaw something out of the fur, simultaneously licking different parts of the body. Treatment is carried out using special anti-parasitic drops.
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Mental disorder
In human psychiatry there is such a thing as pica - the desire to eat inedible things. The pathology is referred to as an eating disorder due to a psychological state. The condition is considered serious, similar in severity to anorexia nervosa, bulimia and other eating disorders, which can lead to death.
Unfortunately, very little research on psychiatry is conducted in the veterinary field. Animals cannot speak and this is the main difficulty. However, even primitive observations helped establish that pets are prone to depression, phobias and other somatic disorders. Globally, pica is divided into general disorder and coprophagia. In the first case, the animal eats stones, earth, paper, any waste and inedible materials, in the second - feces. Cats are prone to both forms of pica.
Even the most experienced veterinarian is unlikely to be able to name the exact causes of a mental disorder. Most often, the cause is formed against the background of several factors that took place in the life of the animal. The owner may not have any idea about the experiences of the ward, which greatly complicates the diagnosis. Based on experience, doctors can only speculate about the reasons.
Hunger - when a domestic cat finds itself outside, it hides and the only thing that can drive it out of its hiding place is the desire to eat. Unfortunately, the psyche of many animals cannot tolerate such severe stress and the animal is literally exhausted from hunger, but does not come out of its shelter. If the owners discover their loss and manage to save it, the consequences are unpredictable.
Lack of vitamins
Vitamin deficiency is the most popular reason for the development of pica due to physiological reasons. The most obvious example is the desire to eat inedible foods or strange combinations of edible foods in pregnant women. If a cat eats soil from a flower pot, and the soil for planting was purchased in a specialized store, then you can safely suspect a lack of microelements. Almost all adapted soils for plants contain bait - sodium, phosphorus, potassium, and sometimes calcium.
Stress
Sometimes the owner becomes a kind of psychotherapist for the pet. By licking a person's hand, a cat gets rid of stress, which can be a visit to the veterinarian or a tiring trip in a carrier. Contact with the familiar palm of the owner calms the animal and redirects its attention. Often, small kittens lick the hands of their new owners in the first days after weaning from their mother. This is how they get rid of psychological trauma.
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Dermatitis in cats
Itching and pain of the skin can be caused by dermatitis. This disease is caused by an immune disorder and the activation of opportunistic microorganisms on the animal's skin. Dermatitis is always accompanied by inflammation of the epidermis.
With moderate inflammation, the animal becomes restless, itching, and the cat constantly licks its fur. Suspecting the disease at this stage is quite problematic.
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In most cases, dermatitis is accompanied by visible symptoms - severe peeling of the skin, the formation of rashes, wounds and erosions. The rashes are most often localized on the pet's face, near the ears and on the neck.
Treatment is carried out using external agents, but only after identifying the pathogen.