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plastic fetish...

post #1 of 8
8/17/11 at 8:31pm
Thread Starter 
Google is a very odd cat... to say the least. But the past few months he has gained another fun new habit... he is OBSESSED with plastic! He never eats it, he just chews holes in it. His favorite thing was the shower curtain, but he has also discovered zip lock bags, my makeup brush covers, and anything else he can find. But the most annoying part is his new obsession with vinyl... which is a problem since we run a vinyl business and theres always a large amount of vinyl in our office. He's been pooping fine, eating fine, drinking fine, etc.
He never does more than chews it, so I dont know if its just that he likes the way it feels or what...
This is what he does to all plastic:
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post #2 of 8
8/17/11 at 9:14pm
Three things pop to my mind.

1) He's just got an odd quirk. Our Ming Loy loves to chew plastic, rubber stuff, and tape. We can't leave headsets, phones, or anything with plastic covered wires out. When we put out boxes, we have to remove any loose tape. Can't leave out six packs or cases of water that are wrapped in thick plastic. "Denial of access" is the only solution we've figured out.

2) He needs a dental. Spooky used to get more talkative and chew on odd things when her teeth needed attention. Some kitties just have teeth issues. She had her first dental at one and her first tooth removed at two.

3) Even though he's not eating it, it's a kind of pica (hope not!) and he's anemic for some reason. When Tux became anemic, his pica was litter. When Laz became anemic, his pica was plastic. Bloodwork would provide peace of mind.

But if it's just because he enjoys it... the only solution I know is lack of access.

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post #3 of 8
8/17/11 at 9:17pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by LDG View Post
Three things pop to my mind.

1) He's just got an odd quirk. Our Ming Loy loves to chew plastic, rubber stuff, and tape. We can't leave headsets, phones, or anything with plastic covered wires out. When we put out boxes, we have to remove any loose tape. Can't leave out six packs or cases of water that are wrapped in thick plastic. "Denial of access" is the only solution we'be figured out.

2) He needs a dental. Spooky used to get more talkative and chew on odd things when her teeth needed attention. Some kitties just have teeth issues. She had her first dental at one and her first tooth removed at two.

3) Even though he's not eating it, it's a kind of pica (hope not!) and he's anemic for some reason. When Tux became anemic, his pica was litter. When Laz became anemic, his pica was plastic. Bloodwork would provide peace of mind.

But if it's just because he enjoys it... the only solution I know is lack of access.

His last vet visit was June, and he checked out completely healthy. :shrug: And he is 3 1/2 so I guess he could need his teeth cleaned, but they look very nice and shiny.
Although he has always chewed on zip lock bags if we have left them out... although he got the one I zip my kindle up in! Dang it! (zip lock bag = poor persons waterproof case) Who knows! Once I get paid he will probably end up back at the vet.
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post #4 of 8
8/17/11 at 9:27pm
If his last visit was June, and he was already chewing on plastic then, and his bloodwork was normal... then it's likely you're going to have to go the access denial route LOL. Yup, total PIA.
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post #5 of 8
8/18/11 at 7:48am
I would be very glad that your cat does not actually eat the platic. At least that picture makes it look like he just likes to chew the plastic. My F3 Savannah used to eat plastic. When I say eat I do mean eat. He would eat parts of zip lock backs, plastic grocery bags and so on. At a little over a year he now just destroys them . Yes I him .
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post #6 of 8
8/18/11 at 3:30pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by Cat Person View Post
I would be very glad that your cat does not actually eat the platic. At least that picture makes it look like he just likes to chew the plastic. My F3 Savannah used to eat plastic. When I say eat I do mean eat. He would eat parts of zip lock backs, plastic grocery bags and so on. At a little over a year he now just destroys them . Yes I him .
He never rips it apart or tries to eat it! Just chews holes through it! Last week we found a ziplock bag that was ALL HOLES!

I always thought the ziplock thing was just because he smelled food or something in them, but he's gotten much worse since moving to Knoxville lol
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post #7 of 8
8/18/11 at 6:51pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by capt_jordi View Post
He never rips it apart or tries to eat it! Just chews holes through it! Last week we found a ziplock bag that was ALL HOLES!

I always thought the ziplock thing was just because he smelled food or something in them, but he's gotten much worse since moving to Knoxville lol
I wish my Loki would not rip things apart. But I am really glad he is over eating plastic for the most part. My F3 Savannah never had an impaction/blockage but I think that is just luck .

I do have some suggestions to modify your cats behavior. But I would say the easiest solution is to keep the Ziplock bags away from him .
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post #8 of 8
8/18/11 at 9:16pm
My cat has a similar love of rubber. I swear he can smell it and tracks it down. If I put a rubber band into a cup full of pens while he is in another room, later that day he'll be pawing inside the cup trying to get it out. Other similar things, like computer/phone cords, cables and whatnot are very attractive to him to chew on. This was in fact one of the listed reasons why he was returned to the humane society after 5 months by his first adopted family. On his placard on the adoption floor it said Reason for Surrender: "Chews cords". I suspect this will be a permanent quirk of his...

Luckily he's just chewing and seeming not swallowing, but you have to be careful. He could easily ingest some by mistake. That's what I always worry about.
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