A safety warning.

We have two cats at home and like all cats, they love boxes and bags to play in.  When I come home from the store or McDonalds they sit there anxiously waiting for me to toss the bag on the floor so they can play on it and hide in it.

This week I went to the grocery store and when I got home I gave them one of the plastic bags to play with, and a short time later I heard a racket.  Lucky was running around the house like mad and had the bag stuck to him. At first I thought he was playing but soon realized he was terrified because the handle had wrapped around his neck and he was caught in it.  I had a hard time catching him because he kept running all over the house, but when I got him I almost couldn't tear the plastic to get it off of him.

I shudder to think what would have happened if I had not been home, he could have easily been strangled by it.  They will NEVER get another plastic bag no matter how they beg for it.  I just thought I would pass this along and maybe save someone else this problem.

Don

Yes, I think it is not a good idea to give them plastic bags. My cats always would bite it and pull it to pieces. I was thinking they might swallow the plastic, so I decided it wasn't worth the risk.

Been there. My cats totally freaked out, they were so scared. One cat got caught in the handle and bolted, another started chasing, everybody started hissing and by the time I got the bag off their fur was standing on end. I had to dope them all up with catnip just to calm them down. I have to keep plastic away from Tiny anyway; he likes to bite it to hear the crackling sound, and sooner or later I know he'd swallow some.

Paper bags are much better--no handles, and no plastic to accidentally eat.

It happened to me too, several years ago. I heard screams and hissing and found Persil running up and down the stairs with a plastic bag round her neck. It was one I had filled with trash from the kitchen bin, so she was shedding veggie peelings and other nasty rubbish as she went. It took ages to catch her, too, she was terrified. Now, I either put bags in a cupboard if I want to keep them or cut the handles if they are are used for something else. This subject comes up every now and then, and it is good to rewarn people.

Been there, done that, and have one of Ritz's entire claw as a souvenir.

In my case, somehow she got a plastic bag--with a carton of 18 raw eggs in it--wrapped around her hind leg.  I found egg yolks, whites and shells on the carpet and walls from the living room all the way to the bedroom.  She lost a claw in the process. 

She hid for a while and then wanted lots of comfort and stayed glued to be lap all afternoon.

Two years later she is still afraid of grocery type bags when she sees there are items in them.

I now am very careful where I place groceries and cut off the handles of the plastic bags when I utilize them as a play toy (she likes the noise they make and for me to hide/drag DaMouse under them).