Why does my cat like to lick bags/fights

[ang scaduto]

Why does my cat love to lick plastic shopping bags? Its probably not but Is this a bad thing? She was a stray cat my I took in so I don't know if it has anything to do with that.

Also, one of my other cats hates the stray cat. She will just be sleeping and my cat will swipe  and hiss at her violently. A couple of times there was blood but just a drop? its not a play fight and sometimes I have to scream at them so they would just stop. is thee anything i can do to fix the problem?

 

[donutte]

Is this a cat you got very recently? Just by what you say, I'm going by the assumption she is both new, and not spayed (not sure about your existing cat) and not acclimated yet.  If they are both not spayed, then yes, expect some fighting and territorial behavior. If they are spayed, it's just they don't know each other yet, that can take a long time.

Regarding the plastic bags, my Lucky LOVED licking plastic bags. Seriously, he would purr so loudly when licking and was just happy as could be. I think the worst thing that could happen is they get their head caught so need to make sure all loose bags are put away when you're not around.

 

[ang scaduto]

 
Is this a cat you got very recently? Just by what you say, I'm going by the assumption she is both new, and not spayed (not sure about your existing cat) and not acclimated yet.  If they are both not spayed, then yes, expect some fighting and territorial behavior. If they are spayed, it's just they don't know each other yet, that can take a long time.

Regarding the plastic bags, my Lucky LOVED licking plastic bags. Seriously, he would purr so loudly when licking and was just happy as could be. I think the worst thing that could happen is they get their head caught so need to make sure all loose bags are put away when you're not around.

December 30 will be a year since we got her. we spayed her and made sure she got her shots before we brought her in. All of my other 4 cats are neutured too. I have 3 boy cats and her.

its really cute though when she licks them. as soon as my parents come home from shopping she immediately comes onto the kitchen and licks them. Its so funny and cute. hahaha 

 

[catsallaround]

I had a cat do this and years ago I read that it was something to do with animal fat in the bags.  

 

[ang scaduto]

 
I had a cat do this and years ago I read that it was something to do with animal fat in the bags.  

really? thats interesting. i never knew the bags had animal fat in them.

 

[fyllis]

First, are your cats fighting fighting or just play fighting? Is there growling and hissing going on? Is it a continuous battle until they are physically separated, or do they hesitate, pause, and take breaks?  

You say you've had your female cat a year - and that she sometimes licks (grooms) the boys. So, they have been socialized and get along well at times. How often does this fighting occur? Is it daily, 3 or 4 times a day, weekly, once a month? When did it start? Is this something that has recently started, or has it been going on since they first met? And, is it just the one male who instigates the fights?

Also, how old was this particular male when he got neutered? Latent neutering could possibly be having an effect on him (even though they can't 'make babies', it doesn't mean they aren't going to want to try once in a while! You can take the juice out of the boy, but you can't always keep the boy out of the juice! 

How familiar is your vet with your cats? You might just want to make a phone call and ask a few questions instead of going in for an office visit. My vet/techs will do phone consults for 'minor questions' at no charge. Try spritzing them with a spray bottle of plain water (on the butt or 'below the neck' - NOT in the face!) to break them up while giving them a firm (not loud or screaming), NO!

My two boys play fairly rough on a regular basis and I even had a friend totally freak out when they started in front of her. She swore they were out to kill each other! I just chuckled and said, No, they are just being boys! On occasion, I will have to give them a firm, "Boys! Play nice!", and they will immediately stop and start grooming each other (until they think I'm not looking, and they will go right back to the bar-room fighting!) Kricket DID give Keeker a good puncture wound bite back in April that cost me a $100 vet visit though!

When my Boys get into it, I tend to let them work it out for themselves - I let them be cats! However, they were raised together since they were 6 weeks old and I know it's nothing territorial. As far as dominance goes, they are pretty balanced, in that neither of them is dominant over the other regarding food, litter box, toys, or position in the house. Keeker has a more dominant personality, where Kricket is a little more timid. But when it comes down to it, they are equals when it come to scoring points in their fights!

As far as the plastic bags go, catsallaround is correct! Plastic bags have a surface lubricant applied to them to keep them from sticking together. It is stearic acid, which is a long-chain fatty acid derived from the rendering of beef fat. Just licking the bag isn't going to cause any harm, but I keep them away from my Boys because they have a tendency to chew on them and I don't want them to ingest the plastic which could become a choking hazard, or worse, cause a bowel obstruction. 

Here is a video of my boys having very normal rough play:


I hope this helped!

 

[ang scaduto]

 
First, are your cats fighting fighting or just play fighting? Is there growling and hissing going on? Is it a continuous battle until they are physically separated, or do they hesitate, pause, and take breaks?  

You say you've had your female cat a year - and that she sometimes licks (grooms) the boys. So, they have been socialized and get along well at times. How often does this fighting occur? Is it daily, 3 or 4 times a day, weekly, once a month? When did it start? Is this something that has recently started, or has it been going on since they first met? And, is it just the one male who instigates the fights?

Also, how old was this particular male when he got neutered? Latent neutering could possibly be having an effect on him (even though they can't 'make babies', it doesn't mean they aren't going to want to try once in a while! You can take the juice out of the boy, but you can't always keep the boy out of the juice! 

How familiar is your vet with your cats? You might just want to make a phone call and ask a few questions instead of going in for an office visit. My vet/techs will do phone consults for 'minor questions' at no charge. Try spritzing them with a spray bottle of plain water (on the butt or 'below the neck' - NOT in the face!) to break them up while giving them a firm (not loud or screaming), NO!

My two boys play fairly rough on a regular basis and I even had a friend totally freak out when they started in front of her. She swore they were out to kill each other! I just chuckled and said, No, they are just being boys! On occasion, I will have to give them a firm, "Boys! Play nice!", and they will immediately stop and start grooming each other (until they think I'm not looking, and they will go right back to the bar-room fighting!) Kricket DID give Keeker a good puncture wound bite back in April that cost me a $100 vet visit though!

When my Boys get into it, I tend to let them work it out for themselves - I let them be cats! However, they were raised together since they were 6 weeks old and I know it's nothing territorial. As far as dominance goes, they are pretty balanced, in that neither of them is dominant over the other regarding food, litter box, toys, or position in the house. Keeker has a more dominant personality, where Kricket is a little more timid. But when it comes down to it, they are equals when it come to scoring points in their fights!

As far as the plastic bags go, catsallaround is correct! Plastic bags have a surface lubricant applied to them to keep them from sticking together. It is stearic acid, which is a long-chain fatty acid derived from the rendering of beef fat. Just licking the bag isn't going to cause any harm, but I keep them away from my Boys because they have a tendency to chew on them and I don't want them to ingest the plastic which could become a choking hazard, or worse, cause a bowel obstruction. 

Here is a video of my boys having very normal rough play:


I hope this helped!

Bella fight fights and i mean fights with Finn and Samuel, my other cat, Remy doesn't even acknowledge her. They make that awful screeching, and hissing sound when they fight. a couple of times there was blood, not a lot . It happens probably 3 times a day, but for 5-10 sec b/c i quickly break it up. i would also spray them with a little bit of water and say no, but it didn't really work. and i know people say it's mean to do that. Remy and Finn play fight like in your video.

 

[jeannecarol]

That's interesting, about the plastic bags. Our Oreo has been a bag-licker all along; he usually does it when he's trying to tell us to feed him, and if we ignore him, he licks louder. 

 

He sometimes would lick nylon tote bags too; I suppose there's a tasty coating on those as well?

Our boys wrangle sometimes; it happened more often when Mackie was younger and tried to get Oreo to play with him, with no success. Oreo would growl and bat at him, and when all else failed he would run from him. Even in adulthood, he would sometimes walk up to a dozing Oreo and for no apparent reason would put a hammerlock on him, getting the expected growling and hissing for his trouble. I think it is a dominance thing with them, though; when Mackie was a kitten Oreo would wash his head; "I'm the boss here!" So Mackie gets his licks in, and Oreo does his best to avoid him when he's in that kind of a mood.

 

[ang scaduto]

 
That's interesting, about the plastic bags. Our Oreo has been a bag-licker all along; he usually does it when he's trying to tell us to feed him, and if we ignore him, he licks louder. 

 

He sometimes would lick nylon tote bags too; I suppose there's a tasty coating on those as well?

Our boys wrangle sometimes; it happened more often when Mackie was younger and tried to get Oreo to play with him, with no success. Oreo would growl and bat at him, and when all else failed he would run from him. Even in adulthood, he would sometimes walk up to a dozing Oreo and for no apparent reason would put a hammerlock on him, getting the expected growling and hissing for his trouble. I think it is a dominance thing with them, though; when Mackie was a kitten Oreo would wash his head; "I'm the boss here!" So Mackie gets his licks in, and Oreo does his best to avoid him when he's in that kind of a mood.

i didnt know about the plastic bag either. lol

 

[stewball]

fyllis

My two are like yours. Is the black one the alpha

 

[talkingpeanut]

 
Bella fight fights and i mean fights with Finn and Samuel, my other cat, Remy doesn't even acknowledge her. They make that awful screeching, and hissing sound when they fight. a couple of times there was blood, not a lot . It happens probably 3 times a day, but for 5-10 sec b/c i quickly break it up. i would also spray them with a little bit of water and say no, but it didn't really work. and i know people say it's mean to do that. Remy and Finn play fight like in your video.

It sounds like you need to go back and do your cat introductions again.  What was your initial introduction like?  Follow Jackson Galaxy's video.  Bella needs to be separated from the others.  They are then fed on either side of a door, then a covered gate, and then a gate.  They all need to build up their confidence in the house so they can coexist peacefully.  It will never improve otherwise - they are not going to work it out.

 

[raysmyheart]

My Speedy is crazy about plastic bags, so much that I have to put them away if I'm not right there to supervise.  She does not lick them but loves to put her head in the bag and keep rubbing her head against the inside of the bag! 

She does not try to eat them, but if I leave groceries down for a bit, she loves to put her claws through anything squishy, thus claw marks in the bananas, styrofoam cups, bread, right thru the bag!!

I do not leave empty bags around any more because one day she came to me with her head through the handle and could not get it off and it broke my heart.  I would not want that to happen if I was not there!

I had no idea about the coating they put on bags!