My cat seems to always be licking plastic bags if he can see one. We've had five cats altogether in our family and he's the first one ever to lick plastic bags.
Is it a normal thing? Or is my cat just weird?
2007-10-23 07:12:09 · 36 answers · asked by Anonymous in Pets ➔ Cats
I meant obsession, sorry.
I guess my cat is normal! I'll have to tell my family off then when they call him "special needs". :(
2007-10-23 08:02:50 · update #1
It is because the plastic has something in it that smells like fish. I read that a couple years ago when I was having a problem with my cat licking and trying to eat garbage and plastic shopping bags.
It is not a good idea to leave any plastic bags out since you cat has shown interest.
2007-10-23 08:59:22 · answer #1 · answered by Crystal 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
I've had a couple of cats that had fixations over plastic bags. One just liked to play in them, rather the same as cats do with boxes. The last cat I had also licked them. Don't know why, but maybe its the texture or perhaps the smell/taste of certain bags?
Obviously, though, make sure the cat isn't left alone with a plastic bag, easy for them to suffocat in it. I was paranoid about leaving odd bags around by mistake!
2007-10-24 02:46:43 · answer #2 · answered by puffin57 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Be sure your cat does not have access to plastic bags when there is not someone around to watch what he's doing. Be sure he's not eating plastic. And you don't want him to strangle himself playing around. Cats get carried away sometimes. Better yet: turn him on to paper bags. Remove the handles, cut/tear a few little holes in the bag & play with him. Many cats love all types of bags & boxes.
2007-10-23 08:18:21 · answer #3 · answered by ? 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Some cats just like plastic bags. I think that it is some sort of toy for them and they like the texture of and the smells from the bags. I have a cat that will actually try to crawl inside one and go to sleep inside it. I don't see much harm in playing with plastic bags as long as they don't try to eat them or can get into a situation where they can be suffocated.
2007-10-23 07:24:17 · answer #4 · answered by RoVale 7 · 0⤊ 1⤋
4 of my cat lick plastic bags one even tries to eat them!!
they do it because the plastic used for bags contains fish oil
best not leave bags or plastic film wrap laying around as it can if eaten course a blockage
2007-10-24 05:37:45 · answer #5 · answered by Andy s 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Cats are odd creatures. Most of mine home in on carrier bags to wash on as well as magazines, newspapers and boxes. The ideal washing place would be a box with paper,mag and plastic bag in it. One of my cats likes window sealant. She started it as a kitten stripping windows of the sealant then we moved she (and me) forgot about it. Then in the summer we had our windows replaced. About two weeks later she came in through the cat flap yowling I thought she had another butterfly but she had at her feet around 20cm of sealant. I tend not to look too closely at windows I don't want to see the damage but I'm praying for a not too cold winter! I often hear her pulling at the stuff whilst watching tv. I think the fitters should have left a tube just for her! So no your cat isn't strange!
2007-10-24 03:40:27 · answer #6 · answered by lotsofsmoggies 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
This is not normal, nor is your cat being weird. He seems to be exhibiting signs of pica, which is simply a craving for something not normally regarded as nutritive. It is possible that he is missing one or more nutrients in his diet (or he isn't properly absorbing them). If you ask your vet he can give you more information about pica.
I suggest you keep all plastic bags out of your cat's reach. I had a cat who got tangled up in a plastic grocery bag (you know, the one with handles) and she ended up pulling out four of her hind claws in her efforts to escape. Luckily this is all that happened to her; I've heard far worse stories about cats who weren't so lucky.
2007-10-23 07:24:55 · answer #7 · answered by purrfectpals5 4 · 2⤊ 0⤋
I have a cat that licks plastic bags to get my attention as well as for her own amusement. She knows that the bag licking annoys me and I give her catnip to distract her from it so whenever she's bored she licks the bags incessantly. I've come to the conclusion that all cats are weird.
2007-10-23 07:35:26 · answer #8 · answered by Susan G 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
My cat use to have an obsession with plastic bags, he still does now but its not as bad! I think he will eventually grow out of it. I would just let him have fun playing with them, take it away from him if you think it poses a danger! hope that helped! xxx
2007-10-23 07:42:23 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
I had a cat who did this too--until one time when he decided to eat one of them. He ate -part of it and it ended up obstructing his intestinal tract and $500 later, after his surgery, he was cured. Forever after I never used plastic bags in my waste cans again. That was an expensive lesson that nearly killed my cat.
2007-10-23 09:14:02 · answer #10 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋