Cat Chewing On Or Eating Plastic

My cat actively looks for plastic to eat. First it was the shower curtain. He bit holes into it all the way down the edge (without actually eating pieces). I now keep the bathroom locked.

Then at dinner time, as I dish out their food, he jumps into the pantry and chews on the plastic they enclose the canned cat food in. Okay, I cut that off and threw it out. Next it was the gatorade bottles, the plastic rings. I cut that off and threw it away. Today it was the plastic wrap over the newly bought paper towels...

Any suggestions? Other than plastic proofing the entire house?

I think you may have to plastic proof the house. I'd start with a vet visit and bloodwork to rule out any other problems; but it sounds like pica from what you've said. This site has a good overview of what pica is, Wool sucking behavior, cats sucking fabric, cloth and socks.

If your vet agrees, you can talk about possible management options but the first step usually is limit access.

Our boy Trin loves chewing on those reusable grocery bags, or on Velcro. It seems to calm his anxiety a little, so we donate a bag to him every once in a while. Since he doesn't chew off or eat pieces, we don't see it as a problem.

Gohan, on the other hand, loves tape. Old tape on boxes, rolls of tape, anything plastic and sticky. Obviously this can be more harmful, so we lock up all of our rolls of packing tape, and remove it from boxes that are lying around.

They both liked to gnaw on the shower curtain when we had one (we have a door now) and any ziplocs left about. We haven't discovered any way to curb the behavior, so maybe plastic-proofing the house is the way to go.

I agree with Kieka that it sounds like it could be pica -- our two cats are a bit like KarenKat 's in that one likes to lick plastic bags and the other has a thing for packing tape. Apparently Siamese cats (ours are mixes) tend to get it.

And so we put all plastic bags in a drawer, pull packing tape off boxes, and keep numerous other things out of reach. Those include some of the other odd things that Ireland (packing tape) likes: rubber bands (really bad and I've seen others mention their cats going for elastics and hair thingies), kindling for the fire, shoelaces, ribbons, and leather. (She ate the little tabs on the back of a pair of my shoes!) Fortunately, Ireland has eased off a bit so things like kindling can stay out, though rubber bands are simply banned from the house. Edwina, though, comes running when she hears plastic bags; it's a very annoying habit when I'm cooking!

I am not sure, but it seems to me it is more of a self soothing thing than PICA. Some cats just like the feel of chewing plastic without the intent to actually eat it. Other cats can’t resist chewing cardboard or peeling and spitting out paper.

I would just put as much of the plastics away as you can. I would also get the cat some chew treats that he can actually chew and eat. There are a number of different ones sold.

It could be self-soothing, it could be PICA, but also don't forget how much cats like to be playful and exploratory with odd things. Messing around with tape and plastic bags is probably a lot of fun. I'd encourage a lot more playtime, like interactive toys, and "prey" toys like DaBird.

Gwen was obsessed with licking plastic grocery bags. She didn't ingest them at all, so we found it harmless, if odd. Juniper, on the other hand, likes to rip plastic bags (especially the little produce bags) apart. While she doesn't seem to ingest them on purpose, we're worried that she'll do so accidentally, so we've been taking them away from her when she gets ahold of one.

I've assumed that this was a 'cat thing' that has to do with the texture of plastic. Isn't it only pica if they're actually eating non-food items? For the moment, I agree that plastic-proofing and giving them alternative toys and things with interesting textures to chew on might be the best way to break their fixation with things like the shower curtain, etc.