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What causes cats to eat odd things?

post #1 of 10
10/1/10 at 9:46am
Thread Starter 
My mom's coworker has a male tabby cat that loves to chew on plastic bags, she cant keep anything plastic in his reach or he tries to eat them. My cat has always had a facination with the sound of plastic bags and she also tries to eat them but only if they crinkle. What causes this behavior?
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post #2 of 10
10/1/10 at 7:15pm
Maybe pica - people get it, too - where you crave strange non-food things (wool, sand, etc.) Sometimes means there's a deficiency that subconsciously you are trying to correct.
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post #3 of 10
10/1/10 at 8:17pm
Aya is like this too. I have to keep everything outta her reach. She chews on bags but fortunately doesn't eat them from what I can see.

She does however like to eat strings of any sort. and wool anything, esp. my dirty socks (rarely used here in the tropics fortunately). I have to very carefully pick up any scraps after I sew. I also catch her munching on my hair while I sleep! Ughh...

I swear she has pica.
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post #4 of 10
10/1/10 at 8:28pm
Thread Starter 
well thats odd.. there was a woman on Oprah my grandma was telling me about, who craved cigarette ash.. -blegh- Thats very odd. I'm getting her bloodwork done soon anyways. Is there a way to test what nutrients she may not be getting?
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post #5 of 10
10/1/10 at 8:52pm
It's not pica. Plastic chewing is extremely common in cats due to what is used to make the bags.
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post #6 of 10
10/1/10 at 8:54pm
Quote:
An attraction to plastic is a common scenario encountered by feline practitioners. Exactly why cats like plastic remains unknown, although several theories abound. Some people have speculated that cats like the coolness of the plastic, or the texture on their tongue, or perhaps the sound it makes when they lick. The most logical reason I’ve heard, however, is that cats like licking or eating plastic bags because rendered animal fat (also called “tallowâ€) is utilized during the manufacture of some plastic bags, and that some cats can detect the smell and enjoy the taste. Other versions of this explanation have implicated petroleum products and gelatin as the enticing ingredients. Gelatin, in fact, is used in the manufacture of many items including the emulsion used in photographs, which may explain why my own carnivorous cat, Emma, enthusiastically licked clean all of my unattended family photos one afternoon. I’ve never been able to confirm the tallow-petroleum-gelatin theory, so CatFancy readers should not take this as the gospel truth. But it sure makes sense to me.
Found that on http://www.manhattancats.com/Articles/PICA.htm
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post #7 of 10
10/2/10 at 12:07am
yep - not odd at all

trying to keep that plastic out of reach is another whole story
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post #8 of 10
10/2/10 at 4:34am
Pica is trying to eat non food items due to a nutritional deficiency. While it's possible that every single cat that attempts to eat plastic could actually have worms or aren't being properly feed, it's highly unlikely.

Trying to eat something because their nose detects animal fat (which every dry pet food is sprayed with) thus it smells like food to them isn't true pica. When your cat starts trying to eat dirt or their clay litter, then you have a case of pica.
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post #9 of 10
10/2/10 at 5:56am
Thread Starter 
Oh wow! I didn't know they used animal fat when making plastic bags. That might explain a lot.. And yes, the hard part is making sure she doesn't get herself in any trouble with the plastic bags! Her litter liners are ok though, but now that I know its from smell that makes sense because they are scented/odor control.
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post #10 of 10
10/2/10 at 6:30am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ChinaDoll View Post
Her litter liners are ok though, but now that I know its from smell that makes sense because they are scented/odor control.
They're probably manufactured slightly different. If you're needing plastic bags to line waste baskets with you could always see if one of the litter liner bags will work - you'd probably need to add a knot at the top to make it stay on the rim of the basket/trash can. That might be the solution is she's not interested in those bags at all.

I have one that used to try to chew bags fairly often. Now he only does it as a form of getting attention. He knows without fail that if he chews on plastic in the same room as we're in that we'll get up to stop him thus giving him attention. He won't chew on plastic bags in another room or when we're gone.
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