Do Maine Coon sometimes eat their own poop?

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The question is almost insulting!! For the regal Maine Coon to suggest that they might stoop so low is insulting. But there is a serious side to this. It seems that kittens sometimes eat their own poop. This applies to any cat of any cat breed or moggy.

No reference in my books

The first point is that in all my reading about cats in a large number of books over many years I can't recall encountering any references to cats or kitten eating their own poop. Perhaps I have ten years ago or something but it's a very rarely encountered topic.

Internet - reliable?

But you can quickly find references to it on the internet. Strange that. I feel that the habit of eating poop called 'coprophagia' is rare in kittens and cats. It must be rare to very rare. Some internet articles imply that it is common among kittens. I don't believe it. The Internet authors have a habit of writing clickbait and exaggerating. I am not saying that they have exaggerated in this instance but it is certainly possible that on occasions that they have. Wrong? Tell me please.

It might happen with a Maine Coon kitten

If you have more information than me on this please leave a comment. It may happen with a Maine Coon kitten as it can happen with the general kitten/cat population.

Supervise

Personally, I would watch my kitten and prevent them from eating their poop if they wanted to do it. I would then investigate why this apparent aberration in normal behavior has occurred.

Eating litter substrate

It has occurred to me that the more important question perhaps is one which concerns kittens eating the litter substrate (litter material) in the litter tray. This certainly does happen sometimes (rarely again I'd suggest) perhaps out of curiosity. When a kitten does this they can easily, for obvious reasons, eat their poop.  

Even adult cats like to put unappealing stuff in their mouths. It is a feline habit. This may account for occasionally ingesting litter and even poop.

If it does happen, I would certainly prevent it. It could be dangerous especially if the litter is the clumping clay type which absorbs moisture and expands. When that happens inside their stomach it could form a blockage.

Dietary deficiency?

There can be no dietary benefit in eating their poop. It's been suggested that a kitten (including a Maine Coon kitten of course) might eat their own poop for a medical reason such as a vitamin or mineral deficiency. It may be due to malnutrition or they may have endoparasites (worms). I'm not convinced that that this is correct.

If there is such a problem, then the answer would be to ensure that the kitten's diet is balanced and complete and that they are eating properly and further that they are dewormed.

Hiding poop?

Might eating poop be a way of hiding it because the kitten or cat is timid and subservient to a dominant cat in the home. Hiding poop removes their smell and a cat is identified by their smell. Eating poop is hiding one's ID. This is just a thought that came to me while writing this.

Caregiving

On the first sign that a Maine Coon kitten started to eat their own poop I would then alter my caregiving and supervise them while they went to the toilet. That doesn't mean looking over their shoulder but it means watching perhaps at a little distance and if they start eating their poop then you can stop it. There cannot be any benefit to it. There might not be a massive detriment but it can't do any good. That's for obvious reasons. 

Poop is waste. It is meant to be eliminated from the body because it's not meant to be inside the body which is why it comes out of the body!

Eating in reverse

To put it back in the body is working against nature. It is eating in reverse if you like. It may become a habit. Once again, I would break that habit and I would certainly change the litter substrate to make sure that it is as benign as possible because if a kitten is eating poop, they are going to possibly eat some substrate as well.

Perhaps a woodchip type litter would be safer if a kitten insists on eating it.

Pica?

Someone even asked if cats are supposed to eat litter!! Come on guys. Let's show a little bit of common sense please. The litter substrate is not a food. It is clay or would or some other non-nutritious substance that is absorbent. If a cat is eating litter, they are eating a foreign body. It's a form of pica I'd suggest.

Comments are very welcome on this one. Has it ever happened to your Maine Coon kitten or cat?

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