A little background: I got a 4 year old female cat from the local shelter about 5 weeks ago. She had come from an elderly woman who had 20 cats and then became ill. She had been at the shelter for 5 months because she was VERY shy and skiddish. They had put her in foster care, but the greatest stride she made was eating from her foster mom's hand. I took her home because I knew I had the patience for her and could give her the quiet environment and space she needed. For the first month she hid under my bed, only coming out at night. Last weekend, she started coming out during the day and will even approach me for love and scratches, though she still is a little skiddish:
Now the problem....
A couple weeks after I got her, I discovered that she eats plastic grocery bags. I keep bags in my spare room to clean out the litter box....she had eaten holes in many of them, and I found some poop in her litter box that had pieces of plastic bag in it. I took her to the vet, and they say she's fine thankfully. I thought maybe it was just because she was scared, nervous, or bored, so I put all the plastic bags up and I make sure I don't leave any laying around. Last night, she was cuddling with me on the couch and I had a plastic bag on my coffee table. She got up and started sniffing the bag and then was going to start chewing on it before I took it away. I took the bag over to the kitchen counter and put it up there, a little while later, she was trying to hop up on the counter to get to it. I also noticed she had eaten a hole in a bag that I had some sugar snap peas in.
Why the obsession with plastic bags? Is it that she maybe smells food residue in there? Is it possibly out of nervousness or boredom/ Does anyone have a cat who has done this in the past?
Now the problem....
A couple weeks after I got her, I discovered that she eats plastic grocery bags. I keep bags in my spare room to clean out the litter box....she had eaten holes in many of them, and I found some poop in her litter box that had pieces of plastic bag in it. I took her to the vet, and they say she's fine thankfully. I thought maybe it was just because she was scared, nervous, or bored, so I put all the plastic bags up and I make sure I don't leave any laying around. Last night, she was cuddling with me on the couch and I had a plastic bag on my coffee table. She got up and started sniffing the bag and then was going to start chewing on it before I took it away. I took the bag over to the kitchen counter and put it up there, a little while later, she was trying to hop up on the counter to get to it. I also noticed she had eaten a hole in a bag that I had some sugar snap peas in.
Why the obsession with plastic bags? Is it that she maybe smells food residue in there? Is it possibly out of nervousness or boredom/ Does anyone have a cat who has done this in the past?
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