Coprophagia or Pica
Overview:
Pica involves the act of ingesting any nonfood item such as dirt, fabric, grass, etc. Coprophagia is the ingestion of feces which is quite common especially in dogs.
Causes:
Most pets eat nonfood items for no specific reason other than behavior problems. In rare cases, anemia, liver disease, or other diseases causing decreased absorption of nutrients (diabetes, pancreatic disease, intestinal parasites, thyroid disorders, starvation) can attribute to pica. Steroids and some seizure medications can make an animal voracious and exhibit pica.
Symptoms:
Symptoms are self-explanatory. Dogs will have extremely bad breath after eating feces. Some animals will exhibit signs of a foreign body (vomiting, lethargy) if the ingested object becomes lodged.
Treatment:
If there is an underlying condition, treatment will generally eliminate pica behavior. If coprophagia is due to behavior, there are products that can be given to the pet (Forbid) that will deter the pet from eating the feces. Providing cats with catnip or a garden of grass can help alleviate pica in that species.
