2 things- 1 question, 1 concern

[Jenni_Feathers]

Okay, Well I'm gonna start off with the question.
Could having really "hard" water be the cause of white spots? Because we have really hard water where we live, we really need to get a water softener but we just havent done it, we had our water tested and I cant remember the results but they were like off the charts. Could this be causing the white spots?
And now for the concern, that is also sorta a question.
Today, just a few minutes ago when I got home and walked into my room to find Chewie eating cat food I'm sure that this is bad, also I have no idea how much he ate and how much the cats ate. Could this make him sick? And why the heck would he eat cat food? He already had his pellets for the day so his pellets were gone but they have tons of hay to eat, its not like he was hungry. Or maybe his curiosity got to him and he wanted to taste it.

[cavyinhawaii]

I know piggies want to chew all the time.He might have been looking for something to chew on. I wouldn't think he would like cat food since pigs are vegetarian. You might want to get some bottled water for your pigs. Hard water can cause white, brown or red stains. It depends on which minerals it has what color the stains will be. I think lime and Calcium are white. Growing up we had to get a water softener because we had a lethal amount of Calcium. When the man did the test instead of getting little white flakes in the test tube of water he got a huge chunk. We got a culligan system then we bought the "salt" or water softener at the local home improvement store, it may have been lowe's. It was cheaper to buy it our selves than to get on one of the delivery plans.

[julsie]

LOL! I can't imagine that a little bit of cat food could cause a serious problem, but it wouldn't hurt to call your vet if you're not sure. Just a tip: My cats have their food and water on a table in front of the window. I actually put it up there to keep the dogs out of it, but they love it up there, so you might try that. Does your piggy have free run of the room?

Did you see the thread above about white spots in the cage? It's very helpful. Keep in mind if you've got calcium in your water, that adds to whatever calcium is in your pig's diet.

[Jenni_Feathers]

Originally Posted by julsie

Just a tip: My cats have their food and water on a table in front of the window. I actually put it up there to keep the dogs out of it, but they love it up there, so you might try that. Does your piggy have free run of the room?.

Ya, the piggys have free range of my room. I don't have any room to put their food up high, the Guinea Pigs cage and the Hamsters cage takes up about 60% of my room the other 40% being my bed and dresser with an aprox. 3' by 3' floor area The cat food isnt directly on the floor though, the bowl is sorta elevated, its like 3" - 4" off the ground.

[cookie_gal]

I actually would be concerned abut the cat food being eaten. Our rabbit recently died because he ate some dog food. The stupid company contaminated the dry food with dog biscuits. He had severe diarrhea and after a long time sadly died last week.

So I would take the piggie to the vet and keep the food out of their reach in the future.

[Ally has U's]

Dog food is different from cat food. You really have to be careful what dog food you even buy for your dog let alone another animal eating it. I will say that you should take your little guy to the vet if you are worried.