My cat is always chewing on fake plants why?

Question

My cat will chew on fake plants and just stare at me while she is doing it even if I move her away from the plants she will just look at me and weight until I leave the room then she will go back to chewing on the plants.

Answer 1

Surely nothing to do with thinking they are real plants - cats are silly but they're not stupid! Nothing to do with scent then.... Any of us who are allowed to share the cats' home know that they DEMAND attention. Ignore the behaviour long enough and they will find something else to destroy - costlier things! Furniture, carpets, clothes etc - THEN worry about the fake plants. Throw away your existing plants - they will have her scent. Aversion therapy - try the old water spray theory. It's possible to buy a "Pet Behave" spray or similarly named. Not recommended!!! I've never been able to get far enough away from the smell to know if repels cats!!!!

Answer 2

Cats are little shits aren't they? Sneaky as hell! Don't worry because it is just a cat "thing". I have two and they have completely different little idiosyncrasies.

ps - Don't listen to the person above me (somewhere) that said to yell at the cat. Use a squirt bottle filled with water and if you can catch the cat chewing on the plant then squirt it. Eventually (although it takes a while) the cat won't do it anymore. That is how I trained my kitten to not get on the kitchen counters and table and not chew on my spider plant.

Answer 3

Cats like to eat the leaves of plants or eat grass because it helps aid their digestion and it helps them get rid of hairballs. Leaves and grass act like fiber for cats. Buy your cat some cat grass or there are cat treats that contain special ingredients to help them with hairballs. Another option would be to ask your veterinarian if there are any cheap, low maintenance plants that are not harmful to your cat that maybe you could purchase and just let her eat. If not, I think that your cat would probably enjoy the grass. And if your cat still keeps chewing on the leaves, then you may have to move the plants some where else.

Answer 4

cats naturally chew on grasses and vegetation to help them puke. Since there are no anti-hairball medicines or cat brushes in the wild, this helps them get rid of hairball buildup before it causes problems further on in their digestive tract. If the cat is chewing on a fake plant, perhaps she has hairball problems? If not, probably the best thing to do would be to get some real grass. She'll puke but it won't be as bad for her as plastic.

Answer 5

Move the plants!!! Maybe what she needs is a cat food that contains grasses. My vet said not to get the indoor grass plants for cats though.

When my cat went near the fake and real plants, I yelled NO NO and now she does not touch them. When I put in a cut flower in a vase she will go over to smell it, I saw NO and she walks away.

Consistency is vital to teach the cat NOT to touch those plants, real or silk. When you see the cat near the plant, say NO, pick the cat up and move it, and put down a toy encouraging the cat to play with the toy.

Answer 6

Cats love to chew on plants. I got my cat "cat grass" from the pet store and he loves it. He will sit there and eat it, then turn and eat his regular food.

I decided to buy it for him since he isn't allowed outside and I know that when cats go outside that they eat grass. So it is part of their natural diet.

Answer 7

My cats chew on real plants and they throw up after, be glad that at least its fake. But don't worry, they just like using their teeth, luckily its not you.

Answer 8

The cat thinks it's a real plant. Scream "no" . It usually work. Never hit the cat.

Answer 9

Cats just plain like plant material in their diets. Perhaps purchasing some "cat grass" at your local pet store will calm her craving for grass. It helps to regulate their digestive system.

Answer 10

The fact that she is looking at you when she's doing it suggests to me that she is wanting attention. If I'm busy and haven't given him his daily dose of attention, one of my cats will do something he knows he's not supposed to do to get my attention. And he always looks at me straight on when he's doing it.

I recently read that if you spend a set amount of time with them each day, then they often will stop the destructive behaviour. This has worked for me. I make sure to spend some time petting or playing with both of mine when I get home from work rather than launching into something else and it has worked wonders.