I'm at the end of my tether. 
This is long winded, i dont know if im looking for answers or to try and get my own head around it.
Ive thought about posting here before but its so obscure I really dont know if any one can help.
( brief histrory - the breed ) - I have a kitteh from the far east - a korat. The Korat is one of the oldest stable cat breeds. Originating in Thailand,They are known colloquially as the "Good Luck Cat" The first mention of the Korat is in "The Cat-Book Poems" authored between 1350 and 1767 AD in Thailand. The wide set eyes are large and luminous, wide open and appear to be large in proportion to the face. They are brilliant peridot green. The body is strong and muscular, neither long like a Siamese nor cobby like a British Shorthair.
A translation of the verses from the ancient book : "The cat has a body thats silvery and silky smooth. The hairs have roots like clouds and tips like silver. The eyes shine like dewdrops on a lotus leaf". "The eyes of the Korat are like those of no other cat; expressive and oversized for the face with a depth and intense gaze that takes your breath away"
Korats are silver-blu from birth until death; a cat of any other color is not a Korat.
All domestic cats are supposed to decenend form the origional 7 breeds which are mentioned in the ancient book - with the korat being the only solid coloured breed.
The Korat has no specific health problems and is capable of living a long and active life well into their teens. The Korat has a quiet, sweet nature but is very intelligent and playful. They make ideal household pets and can be devoted to their human companions.
all sounds mesmorising eh??? well.... google cat, go to wikipedia... you wont get too far when pica is mentioned.
Pica - Pica is a medical disorder characterized by an appetite for substances largely non-nutritive .Pica is the act of eating non-food items. Common targets include yarn or string, fabric, wool, phone or electric cords, and plants. Other than its destructive potential, pica can be extremely hazardous to your cat's health if non-food items are consumed. Ingested fabric, string, or other materials can lodge in your cat's stomach or intestine. A genetic component is also suspected since wool or fabric sucking/chewing is more commonly found in Oriental breeds such as Siamese cats ( and korats)
Let me introduce Ty - cute eh?
My living room wall
Ty - very hard to get a hold of, seemed to be that alot of korat breeders didnt want to sell, i got very lucky by being accepted into being allowed to have one, with the breeder performing checks on my location etc and making me sign a kitten contract. His father was supreme grand champion that year, and his mother also a award winner. I had to travel a few hunder miles for him.
Intro over - heres the problem. Ty has pica. For a very long time I had no understanding of the behaviour or its consequences. I used to think it cute that he could devour a whole sock in a few weeks, chewing on it every now and again. He chewed his way through many of his beds and eventually through our divan bed. This behaviour is troublesome in lets say for example a puppy, but in a pica animal ( or human) its not just chewing, its eating!
They will consume thier chosen object.
This first became a major problem in march where Ty ate a piece of string that got caught in his throat ( between the roof of his mouth and throat) this cause a build up of debris, which made him choke frequently and breath like darth vader. Unaware of what was happening i took him to the vet. The vets diagnosed a throat infection and prescribed a course of antibiotics ( which of course did not solve the problem). When the course finished he retuned to the vets, where he got knocked out, blood taken and x-rayed - they found the problem and removed it. * thankfully*
Exacltly one lunar month later the same thing happened. I booked him straight into the vet hospital, en route he coughed up the string and solved the problem. I asked my vet about pica ( he is a very good vet) he said he'd never came across it, but had heard of it in vet school.
So Ty's craving is string or any material which he can pull strings from, or fleeces just for chewing. After doing alot of reseach online the firsts step is to remove the items. So hes now locked out of the bedroom and bathroom, and no fabrics are permitted anywhere else in the house ( easier said than done!) Hes been checked by the vets and had no health problems. He has a well balanced diet. he has plenty of toys, and we play with him for long periods of time. There is also no major stress in his life.
My problem is there seems to be so little known about this disorder that there is no cure. I have followed all the intelligent advice given, and nothing has changed.
One observation that I havent found online, is that Ty's cravings seem to be lunar linked. This seems rediculous - i know - but during a full moon he will try his hardest to get into the bedroom and make a b-line for the bed to have a quick munch. We have to be on high alert during this time - as we all know how sneeky cat can be - especially sleek grey ones! it almost seems like an addiciton to string.
So the situation im in now is, any material is lock away fom him, but we live in constant fear of him some how getting some and chocking on it.
I dont know if any of you out there can help. All i know is alot more research is needed on this! I love my little Ty so much, the idea of him suffering kills me inside
( possibly my longest post EVER! lol)
This is long winded, i dont know if im looking for answers or to try and get my own head around it. Ive thought about posting here before but its so obscure I really dont know if any one can help.
( brief histrory - the breed ) - I have a kitteh from the far east - a korat. The Korat is one of the oldest stable cat breeds. Originating in Thailand,They are known colloquially as the "Good Luck Cat" The first mention of the Korat is in "The Cat-Book Poems" authored between 1350 and 1767 AD in Thailand. The wide set eyes are large and luminous, wide open and appear to be large in proportion to the face. They are brilliant peridot green. The body is strong and muscular, neither long like a Siamese nor cobby like a British Shorthair.
A translation of the verses from the ancient book : "The cat has a body thats silvery and silky smooth. The hairs have roots like clouds and tips like silver. The eyes shine like dewdrops on a lotus leaf". "The eyes of the Korat are like those of no other cat; expressive and oversized for the face with a depth and intense gaze that takes your breath away"
Korats are silver-blu from birth until death; a cat of any other color is not a Korat.
All domestic cats are supposed to decenend form the origional 7 breeds which are mentioned in the ancient book - with the korat being the only solid coloured breed.
The Korat has no specific health problems and is capable of living a long and active life well into their teens. The Korat has a quiet, sweet nature but is very intelligent and playful. They make ideal household pets and can be devoted to their human companions.
all sounds mesmorising eh??? well.... google cat, go to wikipedia... you wont get too far when pica is mentioned.
Pica - Pica is a medical disorder characterized by an appetite for substances largely non-nutritive .Pica is the act of eating non-food items. Common targets include yarn or string, fabric, wool, phone or electric cords, and plants. Other than its destructive potential, pica can be extremely hazardous to your cat's health if non-food items are consumed. Ingested fabric, string, or other materials can lodge in your cat's stomach or intestine. A genetic component is also suspected since wool or fabric sucking/chewing is more commonly found in Oriental breeds such as Siamese cats ( and korats
) Let me introduce Ty - cute eh?
My living room wall
Ty - very hard to get a hold of, seemed to be that alot of korat breeders didnt want to sell, i got very lucky by being accepted into being allowed to have one, with the breeder performing checks on my location etc and making me sign a kitten contract. His father was supreme grand champion that year, and his mother also a award winner. I had to travel a few hunder miles for him.
Intro over - heres the problem. Ty has pica. For a very long time I had no understanding of the behaviour or its consequences. I used to think it cute that he could devour a whole sock in a few weeks, chewing on it every now and again. He chewed his way through many of his beds and eventually through our divan bed. This behaviour is troublesome in lets say for example a puppy, but in a pica animal ( or human) its not just chewing, its eating!
They will consume thier chosen object.
This first became a major problem in march where Ty ate a piece of string that got caught in his throat ( between the roof of his mouth and throat) this cause a build up of debris, which made him choke frequently and breath like darth vader. Unaware of what was happening i took him to the vet. The vets diagnosed a throat infection and prescribed a course of antibiotics ( which of course did not solve the problem). When the course finished he retuned to the vets, where he got knocked out, blood taken and x-rayed - they found the problem and removed it. * thankfully*
Exacltly one lunar month later the same thing happened. I booked him straight into the vet hospital, en route he coughed up the string and solved the problem. I asked my vet about pica ( he is a very good vet) he said he'd never came across it, but had heard of it in vet school.
So Ty's craving is string or any material which he can pull strings from, or fleeces just for chewing. After doing alot of reseach online the firsts step is to remove the items. So hes now locked out of the bedroom and bathroom, and no fabrics are permitted anywhere else in the house ( easier said than done!) Hes been checked by the vets and had no health problems. He has a well balanced diet. he has plenty of toys, and we play with him for long periods of time. There is also no major stress in his life.
My problem is there seems to be so little known about this disorder that there is no cure. I have followed all the intelligent advice given, and nothing has changed.
One observation that I havent found online, is that Ty's cravings seem to be lunar linked. This seems rediculous - i know - but during a full moon he will try his hardest to get into the bedroom and make a b-line for the bed to have a quick munch. We have to be on high alert during this time - as we all know how sneeky cat can be - especially sleek grey ones! it almost seems like an addiciton to string.
So the situation im in now is, any material is lock away fom him, but we live in constant fear of him some how getting some and chocking on it.
I dont know if any of you out there can help. All i know is alot more research is needed on this! I love my little Ty so much, the idea of him suffering kills me inside
( possibly my longest post EVER! lol)
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