My cat is eating charcoal

[Serpentine]

...Anyone have any idea why?

[Bor the Barbarian Monk]

Ummm...not really. Although charcoal is used medically as part of the treatment for certain toxins. I had Tylenol poisoning once, and was basically forced to ingest quite a bit of a drink containing charcoal. From what I was told, it absorbs various poisons and such. I also know it's used in water filters.

That is about all of my knowledge. Can't tell you WHY your cat is actually eating the stuff. Maybe, to him, it tastes like chicken?

[Ashtar]

Well charcoal has certain caracteristics in retaining polluants in the stomach and intestines; it is used by some pharmaceutical products. In very small quantities of course.

Now, a cat eating charcoal, I would maybe just keep an eye on it, move the charcoal to a less accessible place and just check with a vet. Cats are intelligent animals and will rarely eat something that's really bad for them, so hopefully he's doing it for a good reason.

Just found : Charcoal Cures and Fruit Fix-Alls , scroll down to find the place. It basically explains that some monkeys eat charcoal to purify themselves from toxic phenols.

Also Activated charcoal is used as a remedy for cat poisoning in cat first aid. Maybe your cat is feeling that something it ate is not good and is trying to counteract it with charcoal.

[Ceska]

You sure it hasn't been poisoned and is curing itself? To be honest, I think cats are smarter than most of us think they are. But then, I held philosophical discussions with my cat.

[Serpentine]

Hrm... so, grass-eating type thing, then? Which he also does frequently... 'Course, this is the same cat who spent several minutes just crouching on the ground rubbing his face on this one patch to the point where it was soggy. My cat's broken

[Ceska]

Cat's don't break, they improve into the wrong direction.

[reorith]

in sixth grade, i ate a bunch of charcoal sticks on a dare during art. like a lot of charcoal. nothing happened to me. i hope your cat is alright.

[Evil DM Mark3]

Animals do strange things. NASA had to do tens of thousands of dollars worth of repairs after some woodpeckers made holes in the heat proofing on shuttles, just because it felt interesting. Your cat may have eaten a piece by mistake or out of curiosity and then found something, taste, texture, feeling in stomach, that it liked.

[sapphail]

Just sounds like kitty's got an unsettled stomach. Should be fine, but if he/she keeps it up you may want to get a vet to check him/her out.

Edit: Where's your cat getting the charcoal from?

[Ichneumon]

Animals have been known to know strange things, such as when certain pigs after they are bitten by a snake in the jungle search for a particular plant which is known to help them.

It could be that your cat is doing something like it, that is thinks the carcoal will help him, just like eating grass, something cats usually do. OR your cat is doing something which isn't good for him, such as eating icescream, but eats it because it thinks it is nice.

I would call a vet, just to be certain.

I really like cats, I have one, it is so sweat...

[I'm da Rogue!]

I really like cats, I have one, it is so sweat...

Your cat is wha?

[Ichneumon]

sweet, I can make spelling mistakes.

[Dawn]

I don't personally have a cat, but the title of the thread alone inticed me here. I'd agree with others, and say upset stomach. Don't put the charcoal in easy reach. Charcoal is basically rocks coated lightly in lighter fluid. Keep an eye on her.

[Jacklu]

Your cat is eating charcoal? Maybe its trying to say something about the cat food you're feeding it. You know, a form of protest.

[bosssmiley]

Animals do strange things. NASA had to do tens of thousands of dollars worth of repairs after some woodpeckers made holes in the heat proofing on shuttles, just because it felt interesting.

Woodpeckers rock! Any bird that sees the world as no more than a series of things to headbutt is okay by me.

As for Serpy's cat (hereafter "Charcoalmog"), it's probably trying to settle its' stomach. I understand charcoal is good for that...

[Jibar]

Woodpeckers rock! Any bird that sees the world as no more than a series of things to headbutt is okay by me.

Woodpeckers: Life's Metal Heads.

[Thrawn183]

My dog eats dryer sheets. He can pass one, but if he eats two we have to take him to the vet. I can't believe my dog still likes going to the vet after all the crazy stuff he's had done to him.

[Evil DM Mark3]

My dogs (whilst they where alive) tended to steal bread from the bread box.

[Telonius]

Hrm... so, grass-eating type thing, then? Which he also does frequently... 'Course, this is the same cat who spent several minutes just crouching on the ground rubbing his face on this one patch to the point where it was soggy. My cat's broken

Clearly this is not an actual cat, but rather a robot replacement that is gathering fuel for itself. Your real cat is likely attending a secret conference, proposing a plan to gain more feline control over world events.

[Jacklu]

Clearly this is not an actual cat, but rather a robot replacement that is gathering fuel for itself. Your real cat is likely attending a secret conference, proposing a plan to gain more feline control over world events.

>.> <.< >.> He knows the truth... I mean...


THERE IS NO ROBOT CAT ARMY. THERE IS NO ROBOT CAT ARMY. THERE IS NO ROBOT CAT ARMY. THERE IS NO ROBOT CAT ARMY.

[Evil DM Mark3]

Of course not. Cats are far too cleaver (and evil) to use robots.

Cyborg clones my friend. Cyborg clones.

Most animals have armies. Dogs, hamsters, gerbils, rabbits, but not moles. Moles relay on their strong underground movement.

[Mad Scientist]

What kind of charcoal? Do you mean the chunks of burned wood and ash after a fire burns out or the briquette things that you put in a bbq? The first one isn't dangerous, but the second could make your kitty very sick. Is there anything else going on with your cat right now? It can be very difficult to tell if a cat is sick, but one good indicator is any new "naughty" behavior (peeing outside the litterbox, biting, eating plastic, vomiting, etc). Or kitty just might be bored. Lock up the charcoal and watch for any other odd behavior. Hope kitty is ok!

[Vuzzmop]

Don't let him. Charcoal is carcinogenic when ingested in large quantitys, so you might want to stop him before he gets sick.

[FoE]

Trying to understand why a cat is doing something crazy is like trying to apply logic to a David Lynch film. All cats are insane.

[Trog]

Feed your cat wood chips so the kitty poops pencils. Sell them online. Make a fortune.

Either that or feed your cat erasers. That should even things out.

[Pyro]

Maybe your cats eccentric. I know mine are.

Harly (after harlequin not the motorcycle): This one, a lean little tortoiseshell, is very odd. She sorta chirps and trills when she enters a room, and jumps on or off something. She also dips her paw in water to drink it (Don't ask me why). Recently she's taken to drinking water while lying down. A final thing she does is stretch her paw across you if she's content. I think other cats may do this though...

Tara AKA "Little Fat": Little fat is a fat tabby. Though not as odd as the other, shes still quirky. For some reason she stretches out on her belly with her legs out like superman. She also like to lie flat on her back with her legs in the air (We think hip issues, but shes still young). She also trills and chirps like Harly.

[Ceska]

Trilling and chirping is totally normal behaviour for cats. Although I once heard only sterilised cats would do it, I'm not sure anymore and don't really know that many cats who aren't sterilised.

I'm pretty happy right now since my cat starts to accept the younger kittens. One more than the other, but he does. He also drinks with his paw, but mainly dibs it into milk if you forget it (he knows how to reach into a cup without spilling. And he knows how to lick butter off a paper while keeping that with one paw. He's also a constant talker.

[Bob_the_Mighty]

He's eating charcoal because its delicious.

[phoenixineohp]

Your cat is eating charcoal? Umm.... stop it?

I'm much more interested in the how than the why here. And you know I don't mean the 'how of consumption'.

My cat used to eat ribbons, chew clear plastic bags and I've seen dogs to horribly gross things. I don't think that the ribbons are to help it feel festive, the plastic to stop commercialism and the dogs because they want to improve their immune system. I just think that sometimes they get too curious.

Perhaps you should remove the charcoal and call a vet.

[Pyro]

Hmmm, if you say so. I always thought it was unique to my cats because I never heard any others do so.

All in all, cats are very odd beasts.