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6966162 
Journal Article 
Factors affecting pica in the domestic cat 
Bradshaw, JWS; Neville, PF; Sawyer, D; , 
1997 
Yes 
Applied Animal Behaviour Science
ISSN: 0168-1591 
ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV 
AMSTERDAM 
373-379 
WOS:A1997XA61600016 
A postal survey was conducted of the owners of 152 cats, mainly of oriental breeds, which exhibited pica (defined broadly, as chewing, sucking or ingesting non-nutritive materials). The most common material was wool (93% of cases), followed by cotton, man-made fabrics, rubber/plastic and paper/cardboard (8%). Actual ingestion was as likely to occur in Burmese cats as in Siamese, in contradiction to a report from the USA (Houpt, 1985). Pica appeared to be linked to infantile behaviour in non-oriental cats, but possibly not in orientals. Onset of pica could occur at any time during the first 4 years of the cat's life, but was most frequent in the 2 months following rehoming. Onset in other cases could not be linked to rehoming, but tended to occur between 6 and 18 months of age, and may therefore be linked to the onset of sexual maturity or territorial behaviour. Neutering had little effect on the expression of pica.