Why do cats lick plastic?

darkdestruction420

Well-Known Member
I've often wondered why my cats seem to love licking plastic bags and chewing plastic and that sort of stuff and was wondering if anyone knew. it annoys the fuck out of me as i'll stop them and then they'll wait till i sit back down and start smoking bud and not paying attention again and the second i stop paying attention they'll start doing again.
 

un named

Active Member
I have two cats, one loves to sniff flowers and the other makes weird noises there all different lol
 

lokie

Well-Known Member
hmm that's a good question. I don't have cats so can only guess.
Could it be they are just not smart enough to be a window licker?
 

Indicator

Active Member
Mine also like licking plastic. They will eat it too. They come running when they hear it crackling. They also love to hear paper tearing... makes em frisky!... they are only mildly interested in the paper balls I make with the torn paper though. My cat is now 22, so she doesn't hear so good anymore.
 

AltarNation

Well-Known Member
One of our cats loves to chew up the plastic wrap rings they put on the top of ice cream and jars and stuff. He doesn't eat it, either, he just chews the hell out of it like it's gum or something. There's always these strips lying around after he's flattened it out, full of tooth punctures but never any of it missing.

I do not know why. I guess he likes to chew on it. Dogs chew on anything. Why can't cats chew some plastic?
 

PixiDustr

Active Member
cats can be ocd...had a cat who loved sucking on blankets...drove me nuts to pull a soggy blanket up to my chin while I was sleeping...had another cat who liked to eat ribbon and lick plastic
 

darkdestruction420

Well-Known Member
every cat ive ever owned has done it, one of them died from it. he choked to death on it and when me and my mom got home from the store we found him. :(:(:(
 

AltarNation

Well-Known Member
I never seen a cat do anything with plastic
Then you are not watching close enough! Heh. Seriously though, cats are all about plastic, but mainly the loose filmy kind, like the shrink wrap CDs come wrapped in.

One of our cats loves shrink wrappy stuff... the other one likes to chew up those plastic rings from the top of ice cream. No idea why, but it's funny. We try not to let them swallow it.
 

Winter Woman

Well-Known Member
My calico eats plastic bags, too, and I'd like to know will it hurt her?

Edit: Just read the post about cats dying from eating plastic. I guess Jill-Jill, the cat, will just have to find a new favorite thing to chew on.
 

AltarNation

Well-Known Member
every cat ive ever owned has done it, one of them died from it. he choked to death on it and when me and my mom got home from the store we found him. :(:(:(
Dude. That sucks. :( Sorry about your kitty.

Our cats don't try to swallow it, for whatever reason. Well, one of them, the one that likes shrink wrap, I don't trust her with it, but we keep it away from her. The other one, who just chews on the plastic lid seals, he's never swallowed any of it and he chews them all the time, so we figure he's cool wit' it.

Ironically, that second one who has no problem chewing plastic lid seal strips, he'll wolf down an elastic if you leave it sitting. Doesn't really chew it at all, just tries to swallow the fucking thing. That shit is terrible for their insides and can seriously fuck up their intestines... so we do our best to make sure no elastics get left about...
 

AltarNation

Well-Known Member
My calico eats plastic bags, too, and I'd like to know will it hurt her?
If she straight up eats it (ie, swallows it) I'd say that's really not a good thing... but if she's just chewing at it a little, I think that's pretty standard behavior from my experience... if pieces of it are missing, definitely keep the bags away from her.

(This has been my official diagnosis as a cat owner, and not as a vet or otherwise qualified professional.)
 

Winter Woman

Well-Known Member
She leaves big wholes in the bag. But she really favors the handles for some reason.

I guess I'll have to find a new place for the recyclable plastic bags.
If she straight up eats it (ie, swallows it) I'd say that's really not a good thing... but if she's just chewing at it a little, I think that's pretty standard behavior from my experience... if pieces of it are missing, definitely keep the bags away from her.

(This has been my official diagnosis as a cat owner, and not as a vet or otherwise qualified professional.)
 

darkdestruction420

Well-Known Member
Dude. That sucks. :( Sorry about your kitty.

Our cats don't try to swallow it, for whatever reason. Well, one of them, the one that likes shrink wrap, I don't trust her with it, but we keep it away from her. The other one, who just chews on the plastic lid seals, he's never swallowed any of it and he chews them all the time, so we figure he's cool wit' it.

Ironically, that second one who has no problem chewing plastic lid seal strips, he'll wolf down an elastic if you leave it sitting. Doesn't really chew it at all, just tries to swallow the fucking thing. That shit is terrible for their insides and can seriously fuck up their intestines... so we do our best to make sure no elastics get left about...
I was 10 or 11 yrs old and i can still remember it and then crying at his "funeral/burial" in the back yard and me walking into the house and my dad saying "you really loved him didnt you?"when he noticed i had tears pouring down my face and then said something like "thats good you loved him" or something like that so i wouldnt take it the wrong way and think he was making fun of me. His name was trouble and he was about 3 or 4 so i had him as long as i could remember at that point.
 
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