Why does my cat eat plastic?

Question

my loves to eat plastic almost more than cat food. he'll eat candy wrappers, tape, and plastic bag parts. we try to pick up all the plastic but he just goes into the garbage and pulls it out. why does he do this? will it hurt him in the future? how do i make him stop?

Answer 1

I had a cat for 13 years that loved to chew on particular types of cords and electrical wires (anything spongy -- the iron and curling iron cords, for example). She once chewed up my favorite set of headphones. She also chewed on my hair while I slept so that I would wake up and find clumps of hair on my pillow in the morning -- yikes!! I had to sleep with a scarf over my head while she was a small kitten. Thank goodness that, with time, she quit chewing on my hair.

Now I have a chewer who favors anything cardboard or cardboard feeling, i.e., lampshapes, paperback books, giftwrap paper. I'll have to figure that one out later as to how to deal with it.

For your problem kitty with a plastic fetish, here is what I did with the electrical wires around my home for Kitty No. 1: Go to the pet store and buy bitter apple spray. It says it's for dogs, but it works for cats as well. I used to go around my home every two weeks or so and spray all of my electrical cords (as long as they were intact, of course). The taste is soooo bad that after a time, even though I hadn't sprayed for several weeks, my kitty had already decided that the taste was bad enough not to go there or try it. But make no mistake, for 13 years off and on, I had to continually go around my entire home and spray all electrical wiring. If I waited too long, she'd figure it out and start chewing again. My vacuum cleaner eventually became so chewed up that I had to replace the cord because I kept forgetting to spray it, as was the case with several other cords around my home.

You can definitely use this method on plastic. Spray the outside of the garbage can or the cabinet or drawer where your garbage is located. Spray the outside container where the plastic is located. Spray the plastic itself. The main ingredient in the spray is alcohol, and it soaks into whatever it is sprayed on. It also works if I spray it onto cardboard boxes to keep my Kitty No. 2 from chewing on the box.
Trust me -- it will work!

P.S. No, Kitty No. 1 didn't eventually die of electrocution due to chewing on a live wire, thank goodness. Also, you can buy giant-sized refills for the bitter apple spray bottles. Good luck!

Answer 2

I thought my cat was the only wierdo who does this, my cat likes to eat plastic too. I don't understand it. She loves the packing tape, candy wrappers, plastic bags. I don't get what is so appealing about it. I just have to keep all the plastic picked up. She has eaten it before, and vomited it back up. But it always scares me that I will miss a piece and she will eat it and get an intestinal obstruction, so I try to be as careful as I can to keep all the plastic picked up. To keep your kitty from getting in the trash you can buy a trash can that has a lid, or put your trash in a cupboard that you cat can't get to. Good Luck, I hope you don't have problems in the future.

Answer 3

I've heard about a lot of cats that lick plastic, not too many that eat it, though. Something about the chemicals in the plastic appeals to cats. Eating something like a candy wrapper could be very serious, resulting in intestinal blockage. Maybe you can get a garbage can with a more secure lid.

Answer 4

I don't know the reason,.. but one of my cats does the same thing.
Chews and chews on plastic (like shopping bags, etc).
You must take all plastic away within that cat's reach. Plastic is non-digestible and can foul up the intestinal tract.

My cat is 5 yrs. old (a rescue, I trapped, feral re-habilitated) and he'll still plastic-chew given the chance)!

Answer 5

Plastic can cause intestinal blockage so you need to make sure and not leave anything out- and keep the garbage can under the counter or in the pantry. Anytime you see your cat go for plastic, clap or make a loud noise so he will relate it to the loud noise. You really need to keep the plastic away cause it can and probably will severly hurt the cat.

Answer 6

One of my cats does the same thing and i have no idea why. I have read some where about a vitamin defiancy, but im not sure that is it. The best i can say is make sure he cant get any plastic.

Answer 7

Oh boy, your cat sounds like mine. He is only about 18 months old. all he does is chew on anything he can find. That even includes my fabric sheets for the dryer. Chews on my sons homework, newspapers, he is worse than a dog. Pens and Pencils, he'll pick up and hide them. I don't think there is a way to stop them. I will say this, when I am down, he makes me happy, and smile, to forget all my daily troubles. And that is what matters to me most.

Answer 8

Haha mine does too lol, she's always licking shopping bags and her fave is candy cane wrappers for chewing and eating lol. Maybe it's the smell or taste, all three of my cats love licking the MyLittlePonies my sisters have too haha, don't know why

Answer 9

It will hurt him now let alone the future.If it gets stuck in his gut he might die.How you stop him? Make sure you don't leave it around.Another way - put Tabasco sauce on any plastic you find.He won't touch plastic after tasting that.

Answer 10

ask your vet for tips my cat is similar but he doesnt actually eat it hes just obsessed with licking plastic bags its hilarious!