PET SUBJECTS

Vet Pete Wedderburn has the answers

Q

How can I stop my fouryear-old labrador from eating himself to death? For the past two to three years, he has been eating his way through my clothing and household items. He is especially partial to towels, rubber gloves and socks. I have spent £3,500 on various vets’ fees to surgically remove items from his stomach. He gets lots of exercise and is otherwise a lovely dog. – MED, Glos

A

Labradors are renowned for their potentially insatiable appetites, and this can be one of the unfortunate complications. Try feeding him a high-bulk diet (ask your vet for a recommendation) so that he feels less hungry. Giving him food in food-releasing toys that make him work for it (e.g. Kong or K9 Connectables) rather than a bowl may help. You may need to use a basket-type muzzle on him for any periods when he is not being directly observed.

Q

Our 10-month-old kitten has taken to biting, first my wife, and now me. She also chews and bites her “cat tree” and anything dangling (e.g. electrical cords.) She is an indoor cat and we play with her almost constantly. She also terrorises our two older cats.

– AR, Texas

A

She sounds like a handful. Indoor cats often have plentiful energy to burn up, because they can’t engage in natural outdoor behaviour such as hunting. A range of hands-off toys (feathers-onwands, laser pointers, etc) will help, but I’d advise a oneto-one Zoom consultation with a cat behaviourist (for instance, cat-astrophes.com).

Cat bites can be dangerous so this must be taken seriously.

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