Why do ALL cats run away from plastic bags?

Question

I've had all my cats since they were kittens, none of them has ever had anything bad done to them with plastic bags. Why then do they all run away in terror when I empty the bins or get a carrier bag out to go shopping? Does anybody know?

Answer 1

I think it is the noise they make.

I wish I had the same problem but my cat is the opposite. She loves to chew them so I have to keep them way out of reach. She has been known to drag one in from the kitchen to my room and knead it as a form of alarm clock to tell me she needs feeding! My cat is strange though....

Answer 2

I wish my kitty would run from plastic bags. My cat actually gets into the drawer where I keep them and likes to drag them across the house. I am have to find a new storage area for them because I am afraid he will suffocate while playing with the bags.

Answer 3

ROLF ! ! ! Mine claims plastic bags as her personal playthings. When I used to have all my bags loose under the sink, she'd climb in and make a nest for herself in the bags. She has to personally inspect every plastic grocery bag that comes into the house. The other day I picked one up from under the table where she'd dragged it and decided to sleep on it for several hours. From the look she gave me, you would have thought the world just ended.

As for your scaredy cats, best guess is that they were somehow traumatized by the sound of rattling plastic bags when they were very young and they've associated that feeling with the sound ever since.

Answer 4

My cat like carrier bags but not bin liners. She used to like playing in empty bin liners until one day when she was playing in one she run out of it and put her head through the handle. As she ran off the air gushed into the bag inflating it and it looked like a big yellow parachute behind her. She wasn't amused. I shouldn't laugh but it was funny at the time.

Answer 5

Well, my current cat quite likes plastic bags, he sees them as a game and doens't seem scared, more intrigued.
However I used to have a cat when I was a kid that was scared of everything and in particular plastic bags and the oven door (don't ask! I don't know why she was scared of the oven I never tried to cook her). So I think it just depends on the cat and Iwouldn't worry about it, anyway they are dangerous to cats as they can suffocate so best if they keep their distance I'd say.

Answer 6

My two love plastic bags. They get really excited when we come in from Sainsbury's! They are in those bags like a shot. No idea why because ordinarily they don't like loud noises and carrier bags tend to be quite noisy. I would have assumed they would be scared of them but they play with them instead.

Answer 7

my ex cat would sniff around a carrier bag
if it had food shopping inside
until i came home 1 day and put
our carrier bags down onthe floor
as usual he would run over to
the bags and sniff over them
whereapon he put his head through
the carrier bag handle in his effort
to gain entry to the food inside
realised his head was restricted
and went absolutely beserk
hissing growling clawing at the bag
with his back foot my mother
through a bath towel over him
and i stretched the plastic bag
handle to set him free
he ran upstairs as fast
as lightning and did not
venture back down
for hours,lol after that
when ever we came home
from shopping he would go
around the back of the armchair
and meoww loudly i tried to coax
him out and he scarpered with
his tail upright and 5xbushed out
to normal size .that was how it
remained for 20mins lol

Answer 8

I don't know. Our cats like to play with the plastic bag. Maybe your cats are just scared of them.

Answer 9

My cat loves it when I carry in grocerys in plastic bags. She tries to see what is inside, then when it is empty, she crawls inside the bag and hides. I only let her play in the bag when I am watching her every second because she could suffocate.

Answer 10

Ok, so I've got a weird cat...lol! My cat is obsessed with plastic bags - as soon as you put one down he gets in it whether there's stuff in it or not - he even falls asleep in them sometimes! He also doesn't mind being carried around in them for a few seconds.