Wednesday, October 22, 2014

Is Your Cat A Connoisseur Of Plastic? pet #protips

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Rachael Ray Nutrish.   As always, thank you for reading and supporting our sponsors.



I stood in the bathroom, opening a package of "Post-It" notes, carefully looking over my shoulder to make sure "He" was nowhere in sight, opening it as quietly as I could...my eyes scanning the area, "all is safe" I thought to myself as I carefully placed the plastic "Post-It" wrapping in the bathroom garbage basket as quietly as I could. Normally when I leave the bathroom I close the door behind me in case "He" makes an appearance, today I didn't. I smiled smugly thinking that I had pulled one over on him, "He" had missed the feast!

 I walked into the hallway, sat at the kitchen table to do some work on the laptop. I heard a noise. A crinkling noise. "Noooo!" I thought, "this can't be!!" I jumped from the chair and ran into the master bedroom where I saw him making his escape. "He" ran through the hallway with the agility and speed of a pro football  punt returner, darting, weaving, slinking down nearly to the ground knowing I was on to him. I had caught him red-pawed. The chase was on! "He" ran as if his life depended on it, "Post-It" wrapping hanging from his mouth, saliva filled, like dead prey, lifeless in the clench of his teeth. "He" ran faster, head down, shoulders hunched, knowing this was his only chance. If I wasn't so afraid that the plastic would be swallowed I would have laughed myself sick at the visual of  this silver gray pot-bellied furbaby running as if his life depended on it.




 I screamed "Drop it! Drop It", clapping my hands like a crazy woman. I shouted "Drop It" louder and with more urgency. Then I realized, this is not a dog, why am I yelling "Drop It" to HIM? This was a thief who was cunning like no other. This was the plastic pilferer, "He" was none other than my cat, Cody. The chase continued. Up and down the hall, he cut me off, darting in front of me hoping to trip me so he could be alone with his "catch". He headed back to the bedroom. "If he goes under that bed it is all over I thought" I ran faster, clapping louder, yelling his name. Aha!!!!!! The loudest clap worked! He dropped the plastic wrapping and ran like the little thief that he is. Another plastic catastrophe averted, for now.

Why do cats like to eat or lick plastic?
Cody will chew on grocery bags, assorted cellophane wrappers (such as "Post-It" note wrappers as mentioned above), the plastic garbage bag ties, the plastic packaging on toilet paper and paper towels. If it's plastic, he wants it, he wants it bad and he wants it NOW.



When I first noticed this behavior, which I originally thought was bizarre ( I have now learned it is extremely common in cats) I asked my vet about it. He told me that plastic bags are now made with biodegradable ingredients such as corn starch which cats are attracted to both through taste and smell. Plastic bags that come from the grocery stores also carry the scent and taste of the foods that were housed in them. Another theory is that an animal fat called "tallow" is used to make the bags. Cats can detect tallow by smell and greatly enjoy the taste.  Cats are also attracted to the crinkly sound that plastic  makes when chewed or licked. Some say that cats lick and chew plastic because some of their dietary needs are not being met, others say it is an obsessive compulsive behavior that resulted from having been weaned too early. None of these theories have been proven, they are just guesses as to why many cats crave licking and chewing plastic. Licking plastic alone will not harm a cat, what WILL harm a cat is if it ingests any of the plastic. This can cause a deadly gastrointestinal blockage.




Whatever the reasons, many cats have a passion for plastic. You need to be on the alert. Avert the sly cat burglar in your home, keep your plastic bags and shiny cellophane wrappers, your garbage bags and "Post-It" note wrapping where your sleuth cannot reach them.

  Don't be an accessory to the crime!!

Do your cats have a passion for plastic
 or some other strange substance?
 Tell me in a comment below!


46 comments:

  1. My human is pretty good at keepinig plastic away from us - in fact, she does not even know if any of us really care much for plastic since we see so little of it!

    I WILL say I love chewing on paper products, though!

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  2. All our trash cans now have lids thanks to this and other oddities. (such as paper goods!)
    Thank you for the informative,(albeit funny) post.
    Happy Wednesday!

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    1. so glad to make you laugh!!!! It was meant to be funny! :)

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  3. Maurice luved plastic, I like curling ribbon.

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  4. Ha.. Ha..Ha...That's funny ! But Cody, of course you are A CAT ! Do Not Confuse :)
    I'm sure what the plastic bag in Australia made from, I just know it freak me out !
    Every time mom grabs the plastic bag, Me run and hide ! ..Serious ! No way I get to close to that stuff !

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  5. No plastic over here but we sure understand it can be scary. Have a wonderful Wednesday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  6. Fleur loves cables...any ones will do...so I have to watch her like a hawk!
    Jane x

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  7. Once, Angel got her neck through one of the handles to a plastic bag, and it freaked her out that the plastic monster followed her as she ran from room to room! We put them away carefully now, and keep track of any little plastic doodad (especially those little plastic thingies that they use to put tags on clothes), and throw them away in trash bins with lids. I did not know they may be made with things that are attractive to cats; now I know! Thanks!

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    1. bag handles are super dangerous on all bags! I cut mine off

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  8. BOL!! That was hilarious!
    Yes, my one kitty loves plastic too, so I know exactly what your talking about!!!!
    ღ husky hugz ღ frum our pack at Love is being owned by a husky!

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    1. Jenna thanks much!!! It was more hilarious when it happened! lol xoxo

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  9. None of ours like plastic bags - glad of it too. Thanks for coming to Al's Gotcha Day!

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  10. I have noticed that Truffles loves to lie on plastic grocery bags and lick them...always supervised, of course :)

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  11. EK's not interested in plastic, but Candy & I love the stuff! Mom has to put all plastic wrappings in the metal garbage can that we can't open, otherwise we steal it. We especially like the really crinkly kind. Oh! And tape. We're always pulling tape off of boxes. Nommy.

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  12. Nope none of us are into the plastics. Thank Cod.

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  13. Oh Cody! You are a plasticaholic! The Staff says I couldn't be less interested in plastic! But now my curiosity is aroused! ;) xx

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  14. Oui Oui is another plastiholic! The mom is convinced she does it for attention cause Oui Oui usually does it while looking right at her, and also the sound is pretty cool too!

    Guess what came yesterday? The Nutrish food we won!

    We've missed you all so much! ♥♥♥

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    1. OMG Cody does the SAME! He mostly does it when he is mad that I am not feeding him at the moment he wants it. He gets mad and starts chewing everything in sight and it is usually plastic. I am sooo glad the food has come! Seems like it took forever! Thanks for letting me know. We missed you too! xoxo

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  15. I find when my cats chew plastics they really want grass..

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  16. We can't believe you were not invited to open post it notes!!!
    Lily & Edward

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  17. Moosey licks the shower curtain, but it's to get the water droplets that gather there. Gracie, on the other hand, licks plastic bags. Thankfully, she does not bite or eat them. She has also been known to lick the (fabric) curtains. We are not sure what THAT is about. MOL.

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  18. Cat bro Bert eats everything, electric cords, plastic, dog food, his own cat toys, shoe laces, you name it, he ingests it. Some day we figure it will kill him, but he is still munching strong! Heavens, he even ate through a plastic ice cream bucket to get at food that was inside! Now the baby locks are on and the fight has begun.

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  19. MOL Now dat wuz funny. and mommy sez she can picture it all too well. MOL Yes me luvs plastic and boxes fur dat matter. Meez licks da dickens outta boff. MOL It dwives mommy cwazy.

    Luv ya'

    Dezi

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  20. We're both very interested in plastic, but Mum is very careful, almost no chance to chew some ! Purrs

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    1. I am quite careful too, Cody is just super fast and quite sneaky!

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  21. How strange! MOL! None of us have a thing for plastic, but Sampson is obsessed with napkins and paper towels. If a napkin or paper towel is left out on the table or counter, he will steal it and eat it. We definitely try to keep him from getting ahold of them, as we are afraid it could make him sick or cause a blockage. Every now and then he is just tooooo sneaky… MOL!

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    1. Yes, Cody IS quite strange lol. Dakota is the one obsessed with paper towels. Cody is a major sneak too!

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  22. Naughty Cody, you could get sick! Our cat Liberty loves to play with plastic bags , under supervision, she never tried to eat them. she did like to 'wear' them like a gown :)
    Faythe @ GrammyMouseTails

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  23. Wally likes to chew on plastic...bags and such. Ernie likes to chew on hard plastic things. I have to keep an eye on both of them. ~Island Cat Mom

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    1. Sounds like Cody would be the best of friends with them! He likes hard plastic things too!

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  24. Thank goodness no one in this house likes plastic! They love to tear up the paper towel roll (the boys) or napkins and kleenex (The Girls) but I am very very lucky.
    Marty's Mom

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  25. I DO lick certain plastic bags, but the real danger for me is curling ribbon. Mom gets very stressed about that.

    I am back to commenting and a little bit of blogging now.

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    1. YAY!! Welcome back!!!! Be careful, you don't want to eat ribbon!

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  26. Pipo is the plastic muncher here...any bags or wrappings, esp shrink wrap, get regular attention, and they are all punctured with his teeth marks. Minko does that to cardboard.
    I used to have a plastic bag under a mat to keep moisture from litter box accidents getting into the carpet, but now I had to exchange that for a waterproof regular mat.
    Minko will try to eat ribbons too, so they are taboo. Our now angel Suki would eat yarn, preschool kids bring home lots of things strung or made with yarn and we had to watch where they ended up...

    Minko always tries to nosh on the USB cords...the new apple ones we have seem furry appealing to him...even after we coated them with 'Phooey'.
    Vigilance seems to be the key to preventing ER visits.

    We enjoyed your tail of the kitty plastic thief, MOL!

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    1. OMC your Pipo sounds JUST like Cody! I was just grabbing a plastic folder yesterday to put my schedule for BarkWorld in, guess what I saw ALL over it? Puncture marks from his teeth! I am using it anyway lol. I am noticing that Cody is becoming drawn to USB cords too, (he never was attracted to them before), wonder if they are coating them with something different? Have a great day! Glad you liked the post!

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    2. Cody wanted to have his jaws of ap-paw-purr-roval on your schedule! MOL!
      Maybe the companies that make those cords did change something, because we nevfur used to have this issue, here. Only thing they evfur chewed up was the little wires on the boys' earbuds. USB and other confuser cords are bigger...but...our boys have since left the den being adults now, and maybe the kitties needed other chewables, MOL! OMC:(

      Those boys when they come to visit get so annoyed when they find teeth marks, or worse, but it isn't as if they don't know...see a blog post we did a while back...

      http://webeessiamese.blogspot.com/2014/05/sunshine-award-we-got-one-so-here-s-our.html

      That is the URL to a post with a picture near the bottom of Minko's 'work'...sigh...

      Enjoy this nice October Indian Summer Saturday! We have sun puddles!!

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    3. Ohhh my!!! I just left you a comment on your blog (and I am sooo happy I now know about that one because I wasn't following, but I AM NOW!) Wow Minko and Cody are 2 peas in a pod but I think Minko has stronger teeth!! OMC!!!! We had a few sun puddles but not as many as you! xoxoxo

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    4. Minko is quite the cardboard biter...
      Pipo is more into the plastic.

      Thanks for visiting our bloggie...and thanks fur following, too!

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    5. Let's just say you have your paws full!! MOL!!!! You are welcome! We are following both of them!

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