Cat Eating Plastic

[AlaskaCat]

Our small young rescue cat (6 lb, ~1.5 yr old) shreds and eats really odd stuff: all plastic grocery bags, a bag of pin badges, insulated lunch bags, cereal boxes, cork on her cat toys, etc.. She has broken into a plastic bin that had granola bars (she ate most of one), she has CHEWED on her ceramic dish, and even chewed open her bag of litter.

We've had her about 4 months and we thought the behavior would get better, but it doesn't seem to improve. We moved all cereal & bread to the cupboards/ plastic bins but she now breaks into the plastic bins and this morning had terribly runny poo after getting into the granola bars.

I took her to the vet who said it isn't a physical thing and we should play with her to "wear her out", she likes the wand toys, but only plays for a couple minutes at a time, then ignores it. We bought several expensive mechanical toys, but she was totally uninterested, so we returned those after a week. She likes to claw the rope on her "tower" and the carpet. She doesn't like to claw cardboard and doesn't seem interested in catnip.

She is our only cat and is occasionally interested in our dog (Labrador retriever), but when he tries to "play" with her, she hisses and bats at him (she does not run away).

This is our 3rd cat we have owned and we are baffled by her behaviors. Any thoughts?

 

[danteshuman]

I would take her to the vet & ask about PICA. It is possible your cat has PICA. In the mean time please be careful your cat does not have access to anything she eats. Which means putting away/kitty proofing everything.
Eating non edible things could kill her. Please be careful.
Pica in Cats: Tips for Managing This Eating Disorder | Catster
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Pica in Cats - Symptoms, Causes, Diagnosis, Treatment, Recovery, Management, Cost

 

[susanm9006]

Since she likes to hunt for food, I would buy some interactive food puzzles, where she needs to perform some actions to get a treat. These puzzles range from simple to very complicated and should keep her occupied when she would otherwise be out getting into mischief. Just google “cat food puzzle reviews”and you can read about the ones available.

 

[AlaskaCat]

Thanks. Yes, eating non-edibles is why I am concerned. Unfortunately I can't cat proof the entire house and its hard to anticipate what she will decide to get into next (she's even chewed on the MAIL for goodness sake). The vet said she (the cat) didn't seem like she had PICA as she appears very healthy in all other respects.

 

[LTS3]

Are you feeding your cat enough? Hungry cats will seek out things to eat, even things that aren't edible.

 

[susanm9006]

LTS3 makes a good point. At six pounds your cat is on the light side so maybe she needs more calories in her diet. Do you free feed kibble? If not you may want to do that.

 

[surya]

My cat chews on anything cardboard or paper. I can not have paper lampshades, books within reach, plastic notebooks or plants. He is an orange tabby. I read online that other people have had this same issue with orange tabbies. Mine will not eat hard plastic, so I now have everything contained in Rubbermaid type containers. He would also eat electrical cords, but I rubbed dishwashing liquid on the cords and he quit eating them because they tasted bad. I don't know if that is helpful.

 

[Ardina]

Not feeding her enough can certainly cause of this kind of behavior. Assuming that's not the case though, this definitely sounds like pica. Your cat can be perfectly healthy and have a compulsion to chew on and eat non-edible things. Saipha had terrible pica as a kitten - she would eat everything from clothes to sheets to toys to paper to plastic to electrical cords to the wood corners of my desk. Thankfully, she's mostly outgrown it, but I still have to be careful about keeping socks packed away in a closet and soak shoelaces in a bitter spray.

 

[AlaskaCat]

Thanks for the feedback. The vet said that she is the perfect weight, she's just a very petite cat. If we let her free feed I think she's be overweight in no time, she eats like a dog (fast & nothing left in dish). We've tried several foods because she had HORRIBLE gas when we first got her. Giving her Cat Chow Naturals now, and that seems to help her gut.

 

[danteshuman]

Ummm maybe something besides dish washing liquid? I left some dawn out where the ants were invading my room (it works on ants) and ended up with a cat throwing up ... going to vet ... buying him cat pepto bismo ... and removing all the dawn.