View Full Version : Why does my cat want to eat plastic?
It has been an on-going problem for the past few years. Rug is 12 years old. We presently feed him Science Diet cat food plus his favorite tasty canned food twice a week. We have changed his diet on and off over the years to provide variety but have settled on the Science Diet at the advise of our family vet. No matter what we feed him, he still wants to eat plastic, with a passion, especially potato bags, cookie wrappers and candy wrappers. He keeps stealing the fortune cookies out of the snack basket on the coffee table just so he can eat the plastic they are sealed in. He actually fights me when I take these wrappers away from him. One afternoon, I found him in the middle of the living room floor, breathless and choking on a candy wrapper. Had I not been here to reach in and pull it out of his throat, he'd have suffocated. He doesn't want the candy or the fortune cookies or the potatoes...just the plastic. He seems to have an intense craving for it. Any ideas? :confused:
squashynose
07-10-2009, 02:56 PM
Is he actually trying to eat it, or just play with it? I know my cat likes the crinkly noise plastic makes. Maybe Rug accidentally swallowed it, and started choking.
alcoth
07-10-2009, 02:57 PM
Wowz. I'm not sure but I wanted to comment, don't you wish you could just walk up to your pet sometimes and say "Hon, why the heck are you doing this?"
I hope someone has an idea for ya, good luck!
RoxyGirl
07-10-2009, 02:59 PM
My cat does this too, he loves the plastic bags the groceries come in. He will lick and lick and lick, then try to eat it. He used to also chew on the blinds in the windows.
Many cats like plastic, i think someone told me once that it was because some of the chemicals they used when the make the plastic (bags and wrappers and such) have a sweet taste that cats seem to like. I have no idea if that's true though.
just keep watching him, and keep all plastic wrappers out of his reach, maybe use a container that has a lid instead of an open basket on your coffee table.
Is he actually trying to eat it, or just play with it? I know my cat likes the crinkly noise plastic makes. Maybe Rug accidentally swallowed it, and started choking.
He's not a playful cat at all. He actually eats the plastic...chews it up and tries to swallow it.
Wowz. I'm not sure but I wanted to comment, don't you wish you could just walk up to your pet sometimes and say "Hon, why the heck are you doing this?"
I hope someone has an idea for ya, good luck!
:D Oh yes, I've done that so many times.
My cat does this too, he loves the plastic bags the groceries come in. He will lick and lick and lick, then try to eat it. He used to also chew on the blinds in the windows.
Many cats like plastic, i think someone told me once that it was because some of the chemicals they used when the make the plastic (bags and wrappers and such) have a sweet taste that cats seem to like. I have no idea if that's true though.
just keep watching him, and keep all plastic wrappers out of his reach, maybe use a container that has a lid instead of an open basket on your coffee table.
That would make sense. I might do a little research on that. I know that most animals like sweets...antifreeze, for instance. Sweet to the taste, but deadly.
I keep a pretty close eye on him these days, but you're right, I should cover the fortune cookies.
RebeccasBlog
07-15-2009, 02:27 PM
It has been an on-going problem for the past few years. Rug is 12 years old. We presently feed him Science Diet cat food plus his favorite tasty canned food twice a week. We have changed his diet on and off over the years to provide variety but have settled on the Science Diet at the advise of our family vet. No matter what we feed him, he still wants to eat plastic, with a passion, especially potato bags, cookie wrappers and candy wrappers. He keeps stealing the fortune cookies out of the snack basket on the coffee table just so he can eat the plastic they are sealed in. He actually fights me when I take these wrappers away from him. One afternoon, I found him in the middle of the living room floor, breathless and choking on a candy wrapper. Had I not been here to reach in and pull it out of his throat, he'd have suffocated. He doesn't want the candy or the fortune cookies or the potatoes...just the plastic. He seems to have an intense craving for it. Any ideas? :confused:
There are several theories as to why cats may lick plastic. My thoughts are that cats are attracted to things that move, things that are shiny and sparkle – things that can mimic prey.
Some believe that cats like the texture of plastic when they lick. Another theory is that some plastic is made with some rendered animal fat which cats may be able to smell or detect. Another explanation is that some plastics have petroleum products and gelatin as ingredients.
For example, my male cat Hero, LOVES to lick tape. I've always found it to be really weird. He also loves to suck on plastic and tape as well. Not only that, but he sucks on wool and nurses it like a baby kitty even though he's full grown and over 2 years old. So bizarre. Thankfully he doesn't eat the wool, and only licks the tape until I snatch it away from him. ;)
Regardless of why they do it, cats will often play, pounce, prey and sometimes eat those objects. It becomes a problem when cats cannot digest it and it becomes a gastrointestinal obstruction.
For cats that have this tendency to eat strange items, it is very important to keep plastics picked up and unavailable to cats. I myself don't always remember, but I usually am quick to respond to the rustling of any plastic sound. :)
For more information about a disorder attached to this behavior – research more on 'Pica in Cats (http://www.manhattancats.com/Articles/PICA.htm)'.
“Pica” (pronounced “PIE-kuh”) is the voluntary ingestion of non-edible materials. The term comes from the Latin word “magpie”, because magpies are said to eat almost anything. Pica accounts for approximately 2.5% of abnormal behaviors in the domestic cat. The etiology of true pica is not known, although mineral deficiencies or psychological disturbances are often blamed.
Rebecca, the "Pica" link was very enlightening. Rug has been checked over by our vet and only had to have a tooth removed and his remaining teeth cleaned, thank God...no plastic bags inside him. That article and the information everyone has given me in here has answered my question. I am amazed at the actute senses animals have. I sniffed the potato bag and smelled nothing but potatoes. He senses much more in it, apparently.