(From left) Cotton, Zoe and Xiao Hua; can you tell who has odd eating habits? Photo: SERENE TAN
Serene Tan lives with three dogs, seven cats and four rabbits. She has collected this large furry family since she is the owner of Happy Three Pets, a home-based rabbit boarding facility in Johor Baru, as well as a veteran shelter volunteer who has adopted abandoned animals.
Her three dogs are adopted rescues: Cotton, a seven-year-old poodle, Zoe, a seven-year-old mixed breed and Xiao Hua or “little flower,” a three-year-old mixed breed.
“Chocolate isn’t good for dogs, so when I eat it, I won’t share,” Tan says. “But Cotton loves to eat it.”
The little dog is so wild about the sweet treat that her mum secures her chocolates in a locked container. It’s solid and requires twisting to open.
While it looked impregnable, especially for a dog who only has paws, not thumbs, Cotton has excellent burglary skills.
“While I was out of the room, she broke into it, unwrapped the chocolate and ate them silently,”
Tan exclaims. “I came in and found five wrappers!”
Tan rushed Cotton to the vet, which saved her life.
The little dog had medical treatment and after a week of care, she was thankfully fine again.
“Poodles are supposed to be bright, and all my other poodles have been clever but Cotton is either stubborn or daft,” Tan sighs. “In all the time she’s been with me, she has learned her name but that’s it. She has never learned a command, not one.”
But when it comes to food, Cotton is full-on determined. “She’s very greedy,” Tan giggles. “Cotton sees food and drools. She tries to drool me out of every meal.”
Tan is still astonished that the little poodle got into the container. “That container is hard to open, even for me. You have to push, pull and twist. I didn’t think she’d ever figure it out. But she did. I have a disaster dog.”
A different appetite
Cotton’s appetite for food is definitely different. “She eats everything that is fresh, like chicken, fish and beef, but she doesn’t like kibbles,” Tan notes.
“The problem is that she has terrible taste in human food. If it’s bad for her, she loves it. I let her have a bit of bread and a bit of cheesecake, but for the rest I say no. Then I sit and eat mine while she drools at me and tries to guilt-trip me.”
The funny thing is that while Cotton bullies her owner, she is bullied by Berber, the senior cat of the household. “If Cotton crosses Berber, she gets a slap. I have to rescue her,” Tan shares. “That’s my Cotton: sleep, eat and make trouble!”
Zoe looks perfectly sweet and overall she is very good. But little Zoe has a secret.
“Zoe is kind, doesn’t beg, doesn’t try to bully me, and is good all round,” Tan says. “But I have to watch her like a hawk when we are out for walks because she steals cat poo.”
The idea of eating faeces is stomach-churning for us, and with good reason: for a human such behaviour can lead to severe consequences including E. coli to hepatitis.
However, in the animal world, coprophagy (pronounced koh-PRO-fah-gee) is common. In the wild, new dog mums eat puppy poo as part of hiding their vulnerable pups’ presence from predators.
In the wild, puppies will eat their own poo. This can be learned behaviour from mum, but it can also be a result of hunger.
Under difficult conditions, faeces can be an important source of vitamins. Of course it’s also a source of disease, but when pups are faced with hunger, that risk is one they are programmed to take.
Inherited instinct
So does this apply to pets too?
We can’t know what’s going on in a dog’s head but animal behaviourists think that some dogs may inherit the instinct to hide evidence of pups being around. When adult dogs eat poo, pups may copy.
More likely though, hunger is a main force. Little pups need five to six small meals a day to satisfy digestion and growth. Owners who don’t cater for this may accidentally trigger their puppies to survive by eating their own poo.
Coprophagy can also be an anxiety reaction. If you hit your dog when it has an accident, that poor pet will be so frightened, that it will eat poo to hide its toilet training mistakes.
Finally, dogs that are lonely or neglected can also turn to coprophagy. It’s not just loneliness or boredom, but their isolation or sadness means they would rather you yell at them than ignore them.
As stray and shelter dogs often have a history of being mistreated, rescuers are adept at spotting and managing this behaviour.
“I adopted Zoe five years ago when she was two,” Tan shares. “I noticed right away that my cat litter boxes were off. Suddenly there was no cat poo. Then it dawned upon me that Zoe was eating it.”
“My first thought was that she was lacking some nutrients. I took her straight to the vet and had her checked out. He said she was fine.”
Even now, Tan struggles a little with the topic.
“I was shocked. I didn’t let her lick me because it’s just so gross.”
But being a rescuer and determined, Tan worked on a solution. “I changed the litter boxes,” she says. “I invested in robot litter boxes, the kind that automatically rotates the litter and bags the poo each time a kitty uses it.”
As the robot cat litter box cost RM1,900 at the time, this presented a huge investment. But Tan doesn’t regret it.
“Actually, it’s worked out quite well,” she says. “I have a robot box for all seven cats. It saves my time. No scooping, just throw the bag every night. And every week I wash the whole box.”
It has worked out because Zoe hasn’t been able to indulge in her revolting habit since. Even so, Tan keeps an eye on her, especially when they’re out.
“I’ve never figured out what prompted her to develop the habit,” she muses. “Maybe it’s just what she likes. What I can do is give my dogs daily probiotics to keep their digestive system healthy.”
With Cotton risking life and limb for sweets and Zoe being her quirky self, Tan has her hands full. But she shrugs and giggles. “Animals are like that. But there’s also Xiao Hua. I look at her and think, at least I have one normal one.”
Adopt me
Wilbut is a Spaniel-Chihuahua cross with an unusual story. His mum and dad have to leave Malaysia and move back to their home country. As Wilbur is 16, they don’t want him to endure a long flight and months of quarantine. Wilbur needs a loving home but his parents will cover any medical bills he may incur. Wilbur weighs 8kg and is fully vaccinated, dewormed and tick prevented. Like many elderly dogs, he is a little hard of hearing and has some cataracts. Wilbur is a love companion dog with a gentle, submissive and sweet temperament. He loves pats and treats an is also good with other dogs. Interested carers, please contact Shannon Lam at 0122224368 to view at Taman Tun Dr Ismail, Kuala Lumpur.
