Does Your Cat Eat Weird Things? Should I Be Concerned?

[Josh Halber]

This is my cat bailey and she is the sweetest cat...but there is one weird thing she does...shes obsessed with chewing on plastic whether it be cords, ziplock bags, grocery bags, etc.... This seems odd to me so my solution is to make sure there is no plastic around or easily accessible. What is your opinion? Any thoughts on what this might mean? Should I be Worried? Does your cat do anything weird like this? Thank you so much for your time and attention to my questions.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!
Number 4 in this article talks about Pica - that might be what your kitty has ;

Wool Sucking Cats

Here are a couple of members posts;

My Cat Likes To Eat Stringy Objects

Male Cat Anxiety. Upping Meds?

 

[stormyandklaus]

Chewing on non-food things is not unusual for cats, but it's also not a good thing especially if they not only chew it but swallow it. One of mine is obsessed with anything stringy, my other will chew plastic bags like your Bailey (she's very cute by the way!).

Definitely continue to put the plastic away and make sure it's out of reach. My cat just had to have a $1500+ surgery to remove a piece of thin flannel from a cat toy that he ate and it got stuck inside of him. He was vomiting and acting super lethargic which is what made me take him to the vet.

You could see a vet to look into meds for her if her chewing is obsessive and constant.

 

[Mamanyt1953]

You should be concerned. Not so much about chewing, but swallowing objects that could cause either a blockage, or become tangled in the intestines, causing strangulation of the intestine. EITHER is grounds for emergencey surgery. Put away all small plastic items, and encase cords in chew-proof tubing. There are several out there.

 

[nurseangel]

Pica is a possibility. I would also be concerned about this behavior.

Speck will chew on plastic when he wants food. He knows I will drop whatever I am doing break out the cat food. Even if he's already eaten...

 

[1 bruce 1]

This is my cat bailey and she is the sweetest cat...but there is one weird thing she does...shes obsessed with chewing on plastic whether it be cords, ziplock bags, grocery bags, etc.... This seems odd to me so my solution is to make sure there is no plastic around or easily accessible. What is your opinion? Any thoughts on what this might mean? Should I be Worried? Does your cat do anything weird like this? Thank you so much for your time and attention to my questions.
View attachment 279596

Pretty girl.
How old is she, and how are her teeth?

 

[ArtNJ]

Plastic is really hard to get rid of! I had the same behavior as nurseangel years ago and responded the same way because no matter how hard we tried, the cat would always find more plastic.

Are you getting any vomiting? If not, maybe its mostly/currently chew and shred rather than eating. Still need to be careful.

 

[Caspers Human]

I had a cat that liked to lick the emulsion from photographs.

I came home from school, one day, to find that K.C. had licked off half the picture from one of the prints that was supposed to be for my photography class assignment, due the next day!

Cats eat or chew on strange things, some times. That doesn't necessarily mean that they have pica. Who knows why they do it.

Casper likes to chew on plastic packing tape. I don't know... I think he likes the taste of the stickum.

 

[Animal Freak]

Well, I wouldn't say you shouldn't be concerned, but it's pretty common with cats. I don't know why. I have a cat who chews and eats plastic and plants. Fortunately, usually any plastic he gets is too big for him to eat and he doesn't get any pieces off of it. Just pokes a bunch of holes into it. On the occasion that he does eat something, he throws it up immediately.

My other cat is a chewer. He likes cardboard, bristles of a brush, plastic... Though he's not as bad with plastic as the other one. He mostly likes things that stick out rather than things he has to pick up. We got on of those little arches with the bristles on it that they're supposed to rub on and it brushes them. Yeah, forget about rubbing on it. He would chew on it. Christmas trees? Giant chew toy.

Only one of my three doesn't chew on plastic. Instead she eats clumps of fur.

 

[1 bruce 1]

Josh Halber total shot in the dark but has your cat ever had access to that cat grass or grass outside? I'm wondering if she's got a belly ache and sometimes they eat grasses to throw up the excess acid and if she doesn't have any, plastic is the next option for her.
I have to watch one of our boys, he likes chewing and swallowing unraveled berbur style rugs. So we got rid of berbur rugs after he barfed up a piece that was about 6 inches long, way too risky and we were lucky.

 

[Elphaba09]

It is kind of normal; however, I would not say not to worry about it.

Our cat Estella likes to lick plastic bags. She never chews on them, thankfully! She gets sores and puffy lips when she licks too much. We try to keep it from her, but she always finds it somehow. She also likes to eat dust bunnies.

 

[Josh Halber]

Hi!
Number 4 in this article talks about Pica - that might be what your kitty has ;

Wool Sucking Cats

Here are a couple of members posts;

My Cat Likes To Eat Stringy Objects

Male Cat Anxiety. Upping Meds?

Thank you so much this is actually very helpful I appreciate that

 

[Josh Halber]

Chewing on non-food things is not unusual for cats, but it's also not a good thing especially if they not only chew it but swallow it. One of mine is obsessed with anything stringy, my other will chew plastic bags like your Bailey (she's very cute by the way!).

Definitely continue to put the plastic away and make sure it's out of reach. My cat just had to have a $1500+ surgery to remove a piece of thin flannel from a cat toy that he ate and it got stuck inside of him. He was vomiting and acting super lethargic which is what made me take him to the vet.

You could see a vet to look into meds for her if her chewing is obsessive and constant.

Thank you she is cute and im sorry you had to go through that experience with the surgery how is he now? Also thank you for sharing your experience its good to know that other cats try to eat things they shouldnt...ill keep plastic away as I usually do and keep an eye on it. Thank you again

 

[Josh Halber]

You should be concerned. Not so much about chewing, but swallowing objects that could cause either a blockage, or become tangled in the intestines, causing strangulation of the intestine. EITHER is grounds for emergencey surgery. Put away all small plastic items, and encase cords in chew-proof tubing. There are several out there.

Thank you thats an excellent suggestion..I actually just bought some cord encasin the other day and Im going to use that to help protect her thanks again

 

[Josh Halber]

Pica is a possibility. I would also be concerned about this behavior.

Speck will chew on plastic when he wants food. He knows I will drop whatever I am doing break out the cat food. Even if he's already eaten...

Thats a good point. Speck sounds similar to our other kitty who also will eat as much food as you give them. Thanks for sharing your experience

 

[Josh Halber]

Pretty girl.
How old is she, and how are her teeth?

thank you she is 9 years old and her teeth look healthy

 

[Josh Halber]

Plastic is really hard to get rid of! I had the same behavior as nurseangel years ago and responded the same way because no matter how hard we tried, the cat would always find more plastic.

Are you getting any vomiting? If not, maybe its mostly/currently chew and shred rather than eating. Still need to be careful.

thank you for sharing your experience. and she doesnt vomit a ton but she has before after eating something she shouldnt so hopefully its just shredding and not swallowing like you mentioned

 

[Josh Halber]

I had a cat that liked to lick the emulsion from photographs.

I came home from school, one day, to find that K.C. had licked off half the picture from one of the prints that was supposed to be for my photography class assignment, due the next day!

Cats eat or chew on strange things, some times. That doesn't necessarily mean that they have pica. Who knows why they do it.

Casper likes to chew on plastic packing tape. I don't know... I think he likes the taste of the stickum.

That sounds so familiar. She also licks photographs to so I know how yo feel. Hopefully its not pica but again I really appreciate you sharing your experience because it helps put me at ease knowing that there are more cats like mine

 

[Josh Halber]

Well, I wouldn't say you shouldn't be concerned, but it's pretty common with cats. I don't know why. I have a cat who chews and eats plastic and plants. Fortunately, usually any plastic he gets is too big for him to eat and he doesn't get any pieces off of it. Just pokes a bunch of holes into it. On the occasion that he does eat something, he throws it up immediately.

My other cat is a chewer. He likes cardboard, bristles of a brush, plastic... Though he's not as bad with plastic as the other one. He mostly likes things that stick out rather than things he has to pick up. We got on of those little arches with the bristles on it that they're supposed to rub on and it brushes them. Yeah, forget about rubbing on it. He would chew on it. Christmas trees? Giant chew toy.

Only one of my three doesn't chew on plastic. Instead she eats clumps of fur.

that sounds similar to our older cats who used to chew flowers and plants. it sounds very similar to your experience. Thank you for giving me reassurance that other cats have similar behaviors I really do appreciate your time

 

[Josh Halber]

Josh Halber total shot in the dark but has your cat ever had access to that cat grass or grass outside? I'm wondering if she's got a belly ache and sometimes they eat grasses to throw up the excess acid and if she doesn't have any, plastic is the next option for her.
I have to watch one of our boys, he likes chewing and swallowing unraveled berbur style rugs. So we got rid of berbur rugs after he barfed up a piece that was about 6 inches long, way too risky and we were lucky.

Oh wow I never thought about that at all but shes never outside so that might explain it. Maybe its possible that the cat food is giving her a stomach ache possibly? Ill have to think about that thank you for opening up my eyes to the possibilities