Quirkiness is one of the reasons we love our cats. It's also the very reason why cat health insurance is a good idea: cats love to eat strange things.
Many cat owners lament about having to baby-proof their home for their cat. Often, this is following cat health issues that develop after objects start disappearing from the home.
Recently, I asked cat lovers what delicious oddity their cats can't resist. The list of responses included rubber bands, photos, Q-tips, ointment, mylar, and lots of plastic, string and ribbon. Plastic was the number one culprit; two cats even ate shower curtains to get their plastic fix.
As funny as some of these stories are, this behavior can be a sign of illness that causes many cat health symptoms. Pica, a disorder that drives one to eat non-nutritive or non-food items, has been said to be caused by a nutrient imbalance, boredom, and recently, a form of obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Author Jacquie Lewis-Kemp's cat will do anything for dried flowers and artificial foliage.
"I know this is a problem because my girlfriend had to take her cat for emergency surgery where they found Easter grass and a Barbie shoe in his stomach," said Lewis-Kemp.
Any owner of a cat with pica will want to look into cat insurance. String is a common cat toy, but also one of the most dangerous.
PR Consultant Sekita Ekrek learned this the hard way during the holidays, when she found her cat Rohmer coughing up blood with a piece of gold band from a Christmas present on the floor in front of him. Ekrek rushed Rohmer to the vet.
"He apparently had swallowed the band, which could have proved deadly if it had tangled around his intestines," said Ekrek. "They were able to remove it safely. Thank god he was ok and I learned my lesson!"