Anyone else have a cat who likes to lick plastic bags?

Question

I have had my cat (my baby) for almost 7 years. And she has always liked to lick plastic bags- like the ones from the grocery store. I still can't figure out if she does it when she's nervous or wants attention or what (being a cat, her reason for doing it probably changes). She likes to lick people too, but other than that its just the plastic bags. Has anyone else ever seen this? Or have any ideas why she does it? Just wondering . . .

Answer 1

Hi there...It's not unusual for some cats to have a tendency towards certain items such as plastic bags (the crinkly sounds it makes perhaps a taste from a food item). Some tend to say it is because they are missing something in their diet. Some say it is rendered animal fat used in plastics that they are attracted to. And others think it may because it smell like food from the grocer. However it's best to be mindful and supervise their inappropriate desires just in case of accidental ingestion the items. Ideally, pastic bags should be put away if your cat later decides it would be something worth beyond licking like ...eating--ingesting this could create some medical problems which is expensive to later treat.

Consider offering a safe kitty toy with similar texture in place of the tissue and plastic items so that they learn to enjoy playing these instead.

Here's a few websites that offer more reasons why cats possibly like plastic bags:
http://www.catchow.com/catcarecenter_physical3.aspx?combinedID=20151
http://www.catchow.com/catcarecenter_physical3.aspx?combinedID=20151
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?cls=1&cat=1310&articleid=1154

Answer 2

ya i have a cat that does the same thing. I dont know why but she likes to lick plastic bags or the bag that the toilet paper comes from...kinda the same material. Theres nothing wrong with your cat. Some cats do the same thing. So dont worry about it! And for the reason...have no clue...but its not a issue where the cat isnt getting enough attention or nervous...the cat just likes to lick it for some other reason.

Answer 3

i have a cat that will open my cupboard doors in the kitchen and pull a plastic bag out of it and climb inside and sleep. Once he wakes up he normally shreds it or climbs out and the bag handles are always around his neck and he walks around the house with a bag attached to him. He doesn;t lick them but i think its just a cats love for plastic.

Answer 4

*LOL* That is the question of the ages. I notice you said "he", as well. I don't know WHY, but I had a male cat (Balinese) that lived to be 13 who used to eat plastic anytime he got the chance. In fact, "Don't eat plastic..." used to be screamed around my house a lot. A now have a 8 month old Balinese boy (along with a girl) and he also likes to snack on plastic, although he doesn't "eat it" so much as the other one did. The girls are not interested at all. Just a taste for it, I guess.

Answer 5

My aunt has a cat that loves to lick the blue Wal-Mart shopping bags!!! I couldn't believe there was another person asking this question. Too funny. Anyway, her cat licks them and has a severe allergic reaction and has to be taken to the vet for medicine. She has to hide the Wal-Mart bags. Apparently, he only likes the ones that come from there.

Answer 6

I have a deaf cat that likes to walk in circles and she also use to like to lick screens on windows, lol. I think she has OCD issues. Cats will lick people for the salt content in the skin.

Answer 7

No - but our cat loves to play inside of them. He especially loves the Barnes & Nobles bags bc they "crunch" the best and are just the right size. They do rip pretty easily, however.

Answer 8

I got a cat boy who runs like hell from just the sound of plastic bags!

Other than that, he is fierce!!!

Have fun but be safe.

Answer 9

we got a cat from afriend when my older cat died. I noticed one day my straw from my drink was gone. So I set up another straw, that cat came right up to, put his mouth around the body of the straw, lifted it perfectly out and took off with it!!! He was obssessed with straws so bad one time I left the pantry open and I caught him on the shelf with my bag of straws!
He was found next to his dead mother and this guy feed him through a straw.lol great party trick though

Answer 10

Yes, our does also. We think she does it to clean her teeth. The cat here does not "give kisses" though -- she does not lick people. Ours is seventeen (17) years old and has always done this.