Cat Behavior Problem - My Cat Loves To Eat Plastic!!!

by Claire
(UK)

I have a cat behavior problem that I don't know how to solve - my male (3 year old) cat loves to eat plastic!!

I have to hide all of those supermarket "bags for life" and I am getting a bit embarrassed taking them back to the shop and explaining the puncture marks in them. He will eat / chew on anything from plastic shopping bags to food and cosmetic packaging. He will even pinch packaging out of the bin!

I don't know why he does it or how to stop it! Help Please!!!!


Reply from Liz (Editor): This cat behavior isn't uncommon, but I know how frustrating it is (one of my previous cats did this constantly).

There are a few theories as to why some cats seem to develop a fixation with anything plastic. One is that they like the smell and taste of the oils used to make the plastic (I believe fish oils are used in some cases). Another is that they like the feel of the plastic, and the sound that it makes.

If a cat is a real plastic fiend, it can be very difficult to stop him from trying to eat it. However here are a couple of things you can try:

"Lace" a plastic bag with something your cat won't like the smell / taste of: For example, put some lemon juice in a plant sprayer, set the sprayer to mist, spray the bag thoroughly (inside and out) and let it dry. Then leave it out for your cat.

The smell / taste should hopefully put him off eating it, and with a bit of luck, by association it may also put him off eating other plastics too.

Buy him some toys with a similar feel to plastic bags that he can't swallow or rip apart: These may just divert his attention away from plastic bags etc.

If this doesn't work, it may unfortunately just be a case of trying to keep plastic bags etc. out of his way.

Best of luck with solving these cat behavior problems (and you did make me smile at the thought of the "bags for life" going back to the supermarket full of teeth marks - thank you!)