Does your cat chew plastic?

Status
Not open for further replies.
Steph and Java(GA)

Steph and Java(GA)

Active Member
Java chews plastic all the time and I think it is to get my attention but I was wondering if anybody knows if there is a reason for this or has he just figured out
it gets attention from me and he is smart enough to keep pushing my buttons?
 
If you're talking about the cellophane packaging like from DVDs or CDs, then yes, Sabian does it ALL THE TIME.

She loves it. I think it sticks to her tongue a bit, has a particular smell she likes, and probably makes a pleasing sound to her. I equate it to her liking to sleep in cardboard boxes or roll around on a sheet of paper in the middle of the floor.

It probably has the same effect on them that popping bubble wrap does for us.
 
patrick_777 said:
If you're talking about the cellophane packaging like from DVDs or CDs, then yes, Sabian does it ALL THE TIME.

She loves it. I think it sticks to her tongue a bit, has a particular smell she likes, and probably makes a pleasing sound to her. I equate it to her liking to sleep in cardboard boxes or roll around on a sheet of paper in the middle of the floor.

It probably has the same effect on them that popping bubble wrap does for us.
Click to expand...

any kind of plastic, shopping bags, mailers cellophane. He especially likes to do it at 3 am when I am trying to sleep!
 
YES !!!!

Tommy likes plastic grocery bags and zip-lock bags best.

I cannot leave any of these around or he finds them.

I find he is most interested within 1 hour of his next meal, when he's getting hungry.

Some plastic is made from corn, probably smells like food. Probably has CARBS, too !!
 
Karen & Smokey(GA) said:
YES !!!!

Tommy likes plastic grocery bags and zip-lock bags best.

I cannot leave any of these around or he finds them.

I find he is most interested within 1 hour of his next meal, when he's getting hungry.

Some plastic is made from corn, probably smells like food. Probably has CARBS, too !!
Click to expand...


No wonder! LOL!
 
My civie Rain is obsessed with chewing plastic as well. Plastic grocery bags and packing tape on boxes are her favorite. I can't leave any of those things out where she can get them, because she won't just chew them, but eat pieces of them as well. Which she then throws back up :roll:
 
Quite a few of mine love to lick plastic bags, and Yittle used to love to chew on the plastic rings that hold 6-packs. We had to strip them off our soda and beer and throw them out immediately to keep him away from them.
 
pamela and tigger said:
I am just not sure this is a good thing at all....it just doesn't seem 'normal' for a carnivore to me unless they are possibly missing something from their diet. From a previous thread on the subject on the old board about cats eating plastic:

http://www.felinediabetes.com/phorum5/r ... sg-1817195
Click to expand...


thanks for posting that, very interesting. I can't imagine why they would do that but there is obviously something to it. weird.
 
Mali has been a plastic-addict pretty much his entire life! We have to be very careful about leaving plastic bags out because he will eat them and throw up. I just see it as one of his many quirks!
 
wheezer does this. grocery bags and whatever. he does swallow and then throw it up.
missing something in diet??? he is on Dr. lisa's homemade raw diet. i would think that was substantial. unless being diabetic throws in a curve
 
Yep Bert loves anything plastic and/or paper, I think for him at least it is because it crinkles, sort of the same appeal as those crinkle toy balls. He keeps me on my toes. In fact he is so obessed with plastic chewing that a couple of months ago we had to rush him to the vet's for slicing the base of his tongue.

Mel, Max & The Fur Gang
 
Both of my civvies are obsessed with plastic too!
DRIVES ME BATTY! Always has!
My one, he will eat some when I think he needs to throw up (IBD) But my female, will LICK any plastic!! OY, and yes this includes packing tape, grocery bags, bird food bags, cellophane, and so on and so on and so on!
lol
 
My civvie, Hammie, LUVS plastic - he will chew holes in plastic bags, I have to keep them away from him. He also loves the plastic rings from milk jugs - I will let him play with those, but not unsupervised, because he will also eat those.

He will also chew on just about anything else: wicker baskets, my new purse (!), wood, metal - he once punched a couple of tiny fang holes in a can of soda! I discovered it when I reached in the box to pull a few out, and then wondered why it was wet in there... :shock:

I've never had a cat that liked to chew as much as he does...I tried buying his some chew toys, but of course anything you buy them they ignore - he'd rather chew on things he's not supposed to! :lol:
 
My civvie, Hammie, LUVS plastic - he will chew holes in plastic bags, I have to keep them away from him. He also loves the plastic rings from milk jugs - I will let him play with those, but not unsupervised, because he will also eat those.

He will also chew on just about anything else: wicker baskets, my new purse (!), wood, metal - he once punched a couple of tiny fang holes in a can of soda! I discovered it when I reached in the box to pull a few out, and then wondered why it was wet in there... :shock:

I've never had a cat that liked to chew as much as he does...I tried buying his some chew toys, but of course anything you buy them they ignore - he'd rather chew on things he's not supposed to! :lol:
 
I have 3 kitties. Laura does not even look at plastic but the others. Scooter licks any plastic bag that is laying around. Harley however, chews everything plastic. Wrapping on water bottles, plastic wrap on the toilet paper. I have even caught him in the office chewing on tape.

I am so glad you posted this...I thought my guys were strange until I saw all these posts. They fit in now.

Pattie
 
Has anyone found a good toy to replicate the plastic sensation? I have a plastic fiend as well, he doesn't eat it, just prefers to gnaw on it. I've tried some of the toys that have a cellophane interior and cloth exterior, but that doesn't seem to do it for him. I've considered small dog chew toys (ones designed for toy dogs) since they still have a plastic feel and smell, but are created to put up with abuse from animal teeth. Just curious if anyone has tried this yet.
 
I have two plastic plants & Baby chews on them so LOUDLY that it wakes me from my sleep...
I got some wheatgrass which she ignored :lol:
I had wondered if she was missing something in her diet & posted here a while back too :roll:
 

Attachments

  • babyplantsunfix.jpg
    babyplantsunfix.jpg
    34.8 KB · Views: 1,900
Nicole & Baby said:
I have two plastic plants & Baby chews on them so LOUDLY that it wakes me from my sleep...
I got some wheatgrass which she ignored :lol:
Click to expand...

You might try growing your own rye grass or preferably oat grass according to this man's blog. Really cool pictures of his cats naping on and eating his home grown grass: :)

http://www.weirdstuffwemake.com/sweetwa ... grass.html

I thought I would search once again to see if anything new has come up as a reason for cats eating plastic, but it seems no one can quite figure it out. It appears the only explanation is the same old one, that in plastic there is rendered animal fat (tallow), petroleum and gelatin (also found on photos) that cats are attracted to, but not all cats for some reason. One vet even said that he sees it more in orange/calico cats but admitted that was not a steadfast rule. :roll:

Also from Dr. Arnold Plotnick at Manhattancats.com:

"An attraction to plastic is a common scenario encountered by feline practitioners. Exactly why cats like plastic remains unknown, although several theories abound. Some people have speculated that cats like the coolness of the plastic, or the texture on their tongue, or perhaps the sound it makes when they lick. The most logical reason I’ve heard, however, is that cats like licking or eating plastic bags because rendered animal fat (also called “tallow”) is utilized during the manufacture of some plastic bags, and that some cats can detect the smell and enjoy the taste. Other versions of this explanation have implicated petroleum products and gelatin as the enticing ingredients. Gelatin, in fact, is used in the manufacture of many items including the emulsion used in photographs, which may explain why my own carnivorous cat, Emma, enthusiastically licked clean all of my unattended family photos one afternoon. I’ve never been able to confirm the tallow-petroleum-gelatin theory, so CatFancy readers should not take this as the gospel truth. But it sure makes sense to me."

http://www.manhattancats.com/Articles/PICA.htm
 
Those who have read the "The Cat Who...." mysteries by Lillian Jackson Braun will
recall that CoCo, the Siamese cat, was prone to licking photographs.
 
Wow.. how cool is that.. I really appreciate you educating me & shaing some information.. thank you, Pamela and Tigger ;-)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top