Plenty of challenging but appropriate play may also help ( cat games to play). Compulsive behavior of this type is sometimes associated with eating (hunger). What I mean is feed him more but with high fibre as this will help to prevent him becoming overweight. It just takes some lateral thinking.Ĭat chew toys may distract him. Is it possible to eliminate plastic from your home completely? A challenge certainly but a possibility I would have thought. You do take measures to reduce its presence. All drugs are poisons essentially and the side effects will probably outweigh the benefits.Ĭhanging your routines regarding the use of plastic must be the best answer. These would be tranquillizer type drugs but I personally hate that idea. Although you might try this on a wrapper as it may tell him that they are not attractive anymore. They also suggest applying offensive tasting substances but this is impractical in this instance. I disagree strongly with this and in any case it is too late for that. Drs Carlson and Giffin who wrote the excellent, Cat Owner’s Home Veterinary Handbook say that habit can be stopped early by catching the cat doing it and “rapping it on the nose”. Some people advise that the cat be reprimanded for doing this, meaning trained out of it. The experts don’t knowĪnyway, lets conclude that the problem is early weaning – what can you do? Other theories are the sound it makes or its texture. Why are cats attracted to plastic? It is possibly because its manufacture includes the use of rendered animal fat. It seems that a good number of cats are attracted to plastic and eating it. “Pica” is the Latin for “magpie” and magpies collect things. It may progress though to eating non-food objects including plastic, which is therefore an extension of abnormal sucking behavior. Wool sucking is abnormal sucking behavior and it often fades in adulthood. The knocking over cup and glass habit is probably attention seeking brought about by boredom. Being more intelligent means that he is more likely to become bored. Bored cats, particularly indoor cats, are more likely to develop pica than outdoor cats. His intelligence probably makes him more susceptible to obsessive misdirected behavior if he has been psychologically damaged by early weaning. The fact that Ybot suckles at your ears indicates as you infer, that he was weaned too early. This can lead to the well-known “wool sucking”. If a kitten’s compulsion to nurse is unnaturally stopped before progressing to solid foods the kitten may displace its nursing drive onto other objects. It also may be due to obsessive compulsive behavior (OCD) which may be combined with early weaning. For example, some cats have a genetic predisposition towards this behavior ( Siamese cats is an example). Although this sort of problem may be multi-layered. My immediate gut feel (forgive the pun) is that in the case of your cat, the underlying problem is early weaning. There might be a build-up of plastic which may eventually and suddenly cause ill-health. If he is well and healthy it seems that he is coping with it but there would seem to potential for health problems. It may pass through the digestive tract but it may cause an obstruction. Plastic is a very durable substance and will not, as I understand it, be digested. Visitors who pass by (and our stalwart regulars) may have a better answer to mine but I will give this my best shot as, like you, I am concerned about him.
Thank you for your time and appreciate any feedback… Oh, Ybot also “suckles” from mine and my daughter’s earlobe at times, which might offer more insight. We love each cat dearly and they are such an important part of our family. Ybot has done this for so long I’m afraid for his life. Is eating plastic a lack of something in his diet or more of a behavior problem that causes this?Īll 3 cats are fixed. He seems to have no health issues as of yet from this. If I hear him with plastic and go to get it he will run all thru the house ’til he has swallowed it and I cannot take it. I wonder if he is digesting this plastic or if it will build up in his system and kill him. We no longer buy plastic easter grass for this reason as well. He at times digs in trash to find the plastic items. As hard as we try to keep it away we cannot always.
Ok, the reason I stated this is because for years Ybot has eaten plastic.
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