Cat keeps chewing on plastic

[ajjaxx]

Hey everyone,

Question about my cat, Starbuck. She's picked up a habit of chewing on plastic. As far as I can tell, she doesn't swallow any of it, but it still makes me nervous. I've googled it and gotten results from "it's nothing" to "cat pica," so I want to nip this in the bud. Obviously I'm trying to keep plastic out of her reach, but unfortunately it just seems like there's a never-ending mass of plastic (a problem for many reasons, I know) bags and electronics wrappers, etc., and I can't keep it all away from her. I try to save the bags for other purposes, but she'll try to grab them from wherever I stash them or even out of the trash under my desk. She started ripping a hole in a trash bag I was filling, so I put her in her carrier, but I don't know how to get her to stop. It seems like she does it for attention or when she's hungry, or maybe she's just figured out it gets a reaction from me, I"m not sure. Does anyone have any suggestions? Has anyone seen this before?

Thanks very much! Really appreciate any recommendations you might have. 

 

[goholistic]

::long sigh:: You could try taking the plastic away AS she's chewing, point at her with your index finger, and say "No" very sternly and above normal volume (not yelling). I could be wrong, but I'm not sure that putting her in the carrier is going to help. Cats don't understand this kind of discipline. By the time she's in the carrier, she already doesn't understand why she's in there. She may start associating the carrier with this negativity, and that's not what you want when you go to put her in there prior to a vet visit.

This is a bad, bad habit among many cats. Unfortunately, I think you may just have to keep the plastic away.

My Boo is 14 and he has done this since he was a baby. It is worse when he's hungry and dinner time is approaching. No amount of discipline (non-physical) and a million stern "No"s has helped; he still wants to chew on plastic. The latest was I just got home with a bag of groceries, put it down on the kitchen floor, walked away for 15 seconds to take my coat off, and he already nibbled a piece off. Luckily, he regurgitated it moments later.

I would suggest maybe a decorative box with a lid to quickly put plastic in and out of reach that you can go through later. If you are actually wrapping electronics wires so that they stay neat, I would recommend the hard plastic wire ties that are trimmed short (no excess hanging off).

Keep in mind, if you are successful at keeping plastic away, she may go for the wires themselves, which can be deadly. There are special cat-proof wire protectors that you could purchase; apparently they smell or taste bad. Or, get her something she CAN chew on...like dehydrated beef liver. Natural dehydrated meats are hard and chewy. Hare Today sells them in various proteins.

 

[ajjaxx]

Thank you for your suggestions! I understand that the carrier was a poor reaction on my part, I was just really frustrated at that point today. I have been doing the "take it away and say no" thing for a while and it doesn't seem to help. I think you're probably right that I just need to be vigilant about plastic that I'm not currently using for some reason. Luckily, she doesn't seem to be interested in eating it, but I have seen some sites that say the petroleum used in making plastic can be dangerous to cats even if they're just licking the plastic bags, so I'd rather be safe than sorry. 

She did chew on wires some when she was younger, but she stopped doing that (I ended up getting some of that bitter apple spray, which seems to have worked). But maybe she replaced it with the plastic. And today after I got all of what I saw her chewing on out of her reach, she started chewing on one of the tags on one of the wires. I'll definitely have to make sure she doesn't pick that habit up again. 

I'll look into the dehydrated beef liver. She's been surprisingly picky about anything other than her dry food, but I would love to find her something to chew on. I was also looking into dental care toys/cat chew toys, but it's hard to predict which ones she'll like. She played with a hospital wrist band for days while some of her toys she's never touched. But it's worth a shot. Do you have any experience with that sort of thing? Does it actually mean anything if a pet toy has the word "dental" or "chewing" in it? 

Anyway, thanks again. I really appreciate it! I'll definitely try your suggestions. Though at the end of the day, if it means I can't leave a bag of cough drops lying around, maybe picking everything up is just the simplest solution. 

 

[slykat12]

My last kitty Sly a black and white domestic long haired ate plastic her whole life-15 years. She also nibbled on books, photographs, and paper. I had to constantly be on the prowl.. I read somewhere that the white grocery bags smell like something yummy to them but I am not sure if that was the reason because ANY plastic would be in her mouth if I turned my head.

It would get worse when she was hungry. She got IBD which could have come from the PICA at about 10 years old. Anyhoo, I have no advice for you but just wanted you to know it is a common thing and you are just gonna have to be diligent about not having that stuff around.  It is not so tough once you get into a routine. Good Luck

 

[blackcat416]

Hi, I have 6 cats and they all seem to like plastic as well. I do my best to keep it out of reach but as you know it just seems to be everywhere. Your not alone.

 

[goholistic]

 
Thank you for your suggestions! I understand that the carrier was a poor reaction on my part, I was just really frustrated at that point today. I have been doing the "take it away and say no" thing for a while and it doesn't seem to help. I think you're probably right that I just need to be vigilant about plastic that I'm not currently using for some reason. Luckily, she doesn't seem to be interested in eating it, but I have seen some sites that say the petroleum used in making plastic can be dangerous to cats even if they're just licking the plastic bags, so I'd rather be safe than sorry. 

She did chew on wires some when she was younger, but she stopped doing that (I ended up getting some of that bitter apple spray, which seems to have worked). But maybe she replaced it with the plastic. And today after I got all of what I saw her chewing on out of her reach, she started chewing on one of the tags on one of the wires. I'll definitely have to make sure she doesn't pick that habit up again. 

I'll look into the dehydrated beef liver. She's been surprisingly picky about anything other than her dry food, but I would love to find her something to chew on. I was also looking into dental care toys/cat chew toys, but it's hard to predict which ones she'll like. She played with a hospital wrist band for days while some of her toys she's never touched. But it's worth a shot. Do you have any experience with that sort of thing? Does it actually mean anything if a pet toy has the word "dental" or "chewing" in it? 

Anyway, thanks again. I really appreciate it! I'll definitely try your suggestions. Though at the end of the day, if it means I can't leave a bag of cough drops lying around, maybe picking everything up is just the simplest solution. 

I know it's a pain, but it will eventually become a habit. I now put plastic away on auto-pilot. I don't even think about it anymore because it's been this way for so long. Everything is in a closed container or cabinet or box, with the exception of their cat toys which are in their toy basket.

I don't know much about "chewing" or "dental" items. I don't buy those kinds of things for my cats, except PureBites freeze-dried treats.

 

[pangurban]

Pangur Ban likes to chew any type of thin/pliable plastic. We just keep all of it put up out of reach. My Venus used to chew plastic too. She is the reason we have a wooden bread box. Venus would chew holes in the bread packages and then eat the bread.

 

[ajjaxx]

Thanks everyone for the responses! After spending too long reading about cat pica, it's very reassuring to hear that a lot of cats do this. It really does sound like keeping it out of her reach is the best solution. I will look into the freeze-dried treats, though, for sure. Thanks again!