My cat chews plastic - how can I stop him?

[Catshrink]

He's growing into his name, that's for sure! Ricky Retardo... He loves chewing on plastic wrappers and plastic bags. I'm worried he'll swollow it and suffocate himself.

Ricky:

[Elad]

1. Give him something else to chew on

Many cats have the urge to chew, it keeps their teeth and facial muscles strong. My cats would chew on my computer wires constantly. I got them to stop by putting down one of those tough, currogated cardboard boxes.

Whenever they'd chew on something they weren't supposed to, I'd put them in the box. They learned the box was ok to chew on. It made a mess, they'd sit there for an hour sometimes ripping chunks outta the box, but it was much safer (and much less expensive).

[Catshrink]

3. Great idea, Elad!

I've got a box that will do just fine....

Great to have you here full time! Not only do you keep the servers humming, but you give cat advice too.

[SoCalDem]

34. Marvin does this too.. He even chews through bread wrappers

and then takes bites out of the bread..

He is especially fond of the plactic grocery bags.. He does not eat them...just chews through the handles..

I think he has a "petrochemical deficiency" and cannot resist the fumes the bags must be giving off:)

[Catshrink]

36. Marvin? What a cool name for a cat.

Chews through bread wrappers, eh? I need to keep the bananas in the refrigerator because Wrigley likes to bite them. If I don't, they have puncture wounds that look like a vampire bit them. I asked the vet if he had a deficiency of some kind. She said no, some cats do that and that hers has a thing for cantelope! What strange and wonderful creatures they are, eh?

[neebob]

39. Biting bananas is different

I have one who occasionally shreds the toilet paper and likes to lay on plastic bags, suitcases, and backpacks; one who enjoys digging the wadded-up plastic grocery bags out of the drawer I keep them in; and another one who sleeps in a big flower pot, but no plastic bag eaters or banana biters.

[ScreamingMeemie]

40. and funny as heck to watch I bet too.

:)

[amandae]

2. Spray the things he chews on with this bitter biter stuff ...

I bought some to spray on my furniture and eventually my dog learned that biting the furniture wouldn't taste so great. I've also sprayed it on shoes and a basket ... it doesn't leave an odor (but watch out when spraying it because it will make you sneeze at first!). The kind we use is Nature's Miracle and we found it in PetSmart.

Good luck to you and your kitty :-)

:hi:

[short bus president]

4. two words:

rat poison.

[Bertha Venation]

6. two words:

Not funny. :grr:

[Bertha Venation]

5. You're asking this? Poor Catshrink....

I wish I had an answer. Toby chews plastic too. I don't know how to stop him. I think the only way is not to have any plastic available to him. HAH!

This is Toby. He's hell-on-paws. If he's not chewing plastic, he's begging for treats or ripping.

[Lorien]

9. Your kitty looks like

the svelt and healthy version of my kitty Miro:

[Bertha Venation]

11. WOW!

The resemblance is startling.

We have another cat who is that, uh, rotund. Probably bigger. His name is Richard Nixon. If he were a girl we'd call him Rotunda.

[Zuni]

19. He looks like the cat that Pepe Le Pew always

hit on.

[Skittles]

28. YO BERTHA

TIME FOR TOBY TO PUT DOWN THE PIPE. :7

[Bertha Venation]

30. LOLOL

YOU tell him... he won't listen to me. :D

[flamingyouth]

7. Chester eats books and paper

It's very frustrating. He has gum issues and we get his teeth cleaned at least once a year, plus he has chew toys, but what he really loves is eating paper.

Fortunately, he's so big and lumbering, it's hard if not impossible for him to get up on tables and desks, so that's not a huge problem. Can't leave a book lying on the couch, though, while you get up to fix a snack. No, the cover will be shredded in seconds.

It's the worst at night when he doesn't have food in the bowls. We're trying to get him to lose some weight (he's 26 lbs.). It's been a problem, as you can see!

[Lorien]

8. My kitten does the same thing

and is OBSESSED with tape! You can try spraying the plastic accessable to him with bitter apple (find it at most major pet stores-sometimes in the dog department). I also got him N-Bone cat chew treats from Petco, which, as Elad says, gives him an alternative. You might also try clicker training www.clickertraining.com-my kitty thinks it's the best game ever, and it's a simple way to shape the behaviors you want while discouraging those you don't. Hope something works for Ricky!

My little tape junkie, Oberon;

[Zuni]

20. That kitten is adorable

I love the coon tail.

[Lorien]

22. Thanks! We won't tell Obie

he's still oblivious to the awesome power one can wield with cuteness. ;-)

Hmmm...I always heard that Maine Coons got their names because the eat with their paws-but maybe it's really the tail that gave it to them, lol!

[Bertha Venation]

31. Does Obie lick

the gummy edge of envelopes? All of ours do. They also lick photographs.

Weeeeird cats.

[Lorien]

35. Heh heh

I never thought of that. I hate licking envelopes-maybe he would think that was a special treat, lol!

He adores pumpkin pie, too. You're right-weeeeird cats!

[Zomby Woof]

10. Ricky's a cute devil!

Give him some wine corks - our cat LOVES wine corks to chase and chew on. ;-)

[corarose]

12. Take the bag away from your cat he could bite a piece off

And choke to death on it.

My Cat loves plastic bags but I take them away from Little Al. Even if a minuet piece goes down his throat him can die.

Cat's like plastic because they get high off of it.

[VOX]

13. The plastic itself is attractive to cats --

There's something in it that just tastes good to them. Cats will lick or chew on plastic bags, milk cartons, vinyl blinds, shrink wrap, bubble wrap, etc.

All you can do is keep it away from them, if possible.

[TrogL]

14. Mine like grocery store bags

they can smell food on them. I have to lock them in a cupboard.

[Bertha Venation]

15. our vet says it tastes sweet

We've tried substituting chocolate, but somehow that's just not the same.

I guess we should stop giving Toby the plastic cap-securer-strip from the milk bottle as a toy....

[Elad]

18. Chocolate?

You know that cats and dogs are deathly allergic to chocolate, right? They can die from eating too much of it.

[Bertha Venation]

21. I do know, elad...

it was a little joke. What's my penance?

I'm sorry, I didn't mean to frighten anyone. We don't let our cats eat chocolate.

[Elad]

23. Ahh, whew...

Sorry. I do know people who have given their animals chocolate, though, I was worried. :)

[Bertha Venation]

24. It's cool.

I'm going to try to get Kathy to post the story of Buddy the Dog and His Gastronomic Adventures....

[Rhiannon12866]

37. That scared me, too

Last Christmas I spent the night on the phone with ASPCA poison control because I came home to discover my cocker spaniel had consumed an entire chocolate bar that my mother had left under the Christmas tree! Duh! I was really scared and called the Emergency Clinic. They would have had me bring her in and induce vomiting, but she was prone to seizures. I had to stay up half the night and watch her. Chocolate is nothing to fool around with, I know!:scared:

[Mrs. Venation]

27. Buddy's Gourmand Eccentricities

Buddy was adopted from the pound; he was an extraordinary dog and a wonderful friend. Buddy could make macho men get down on the floor to rub his tummy, but he could also clear a room when he farted! We discovered after we'd been his people for a while that we should have named him Hoover; he could suck up something from the floor or the ground and eat it in the blink of an eye!

My former partner and I had some interesting calls to the vet with Buddy. The first adventure was after Dorothy had been to a holiday party. She came home with stocking filled with candy, including chocolate. She left the stockings on the dining room table and we went out. When we came back the empty stockings were on the floor; there wasn't even a candy wrapper left; Buddy had eaten everything in them. Dorothy called the vet, who said to bring him in. They made him whooopsy, told us he brought up everything in his tummy and he'd be fine.

The second call to the vet was after a tube of poultry flavored pet toothpaste was left out where he could get to it. He ate everything but the hard metal the cap screws on to. The vet was called, and said Buddy would be fine, just keep an eye out for diarrhea.

The third call was the strangest. We lived in a high-rise building and bugs were always a problem. We'd put some roach bait plastic thingies in the kitchen. We came home one evening and found him munching on one of the bait containers. We found evidence he had eaten at least two.

Dorothy called the vet's emergency number and they put her on hold. I said, "do you know what they are doing?" She said, "calling the poison control center." I said, "no. They are all laughing their butts off because the person who took the call said, 'hey, you guys remember the dog who ate chocolate and toothpaste? Well, you aren't going to believe what he ate this time!'"

Buddy was our companion for over ten years. He got cancer, and we had him euthanized in March, 2001. I still miss that old dog. Pound dogs are the best!

[Rhiannon12866]

41. Welcome to DU, kpharmer

I am so sorry for your loss. I have been there because I lost my beloved Barney in November of 2002 and my Sheena at the end of May. It is still really hard. I just adopted a little terrier that was rescued from a kill shelter and she is a delight. I still miss my cocker spaniels, but Christmas will be brighter with this little being in the house. Again, welcome to DU!:hi:

[geniph]

16. One of mine obsessively licks plastic

it's the only thing he'll root in the trash for...but fortunately, he doesn't chew on it or eat it, he just licks it. Mostly I hit him with a pillow when he does it, since he has this habit of doing it in the bedroom just as I'm dropping off to sleep.

Kind of like this Sunday's edition of Mutts:
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/mutts.asp?date=20031207

[NightTrain]

17. Introduce him to rubber

:shrug:

[trof]

25. VISA? or MasterCard?

;-)

[jukes]

26. stop him?

Good luck, IMHumO. I have a middle-aged dame that's been chewing plastic wrap/bags for the 15 years she's been w/me, but none of my others do. She also subsists on crunch rather than wet food & abjures peoplefood completely.

Two possible alternatives spring to mind: she has minimized her plastic chewing when she has frequent access to grass ( I bring in lawn clippings; catsalad is a treat enjoyed by all, & helps w/ hairballs) and when dosed w/ an enzyme supplement. I dose all of my cats & dogs periodically w/ Prozyme supplement (just the easiest for me to acquire in bulk); supposed to help elimate coprophagy in dogs & supply the enzymes missing from processed animal feeds (enzymes are destroyed by the heat of processing.); hence aiding digestion.

The grass might also be a source of missing enzymes, seems reasonable.

Carole still eats plastic when she's in the mood though, has not had a sick day in her life.

I've never been able to make a cat do a damn thing, although I've had some success w/begging.

[Bertha Venation]

32. hey, Jukes --

welcome.

Carole's a great name for a cat. :7

[adriennel]

29. mine does too

and I haven't found a way to stop him. he loves plastic bags from the grocery store. I just try to keep them away from him--but he's been doing this for years and it's never caused a health problem (thank god)

[Zomby Woof]

33. ZombyKick

[neebob]

38. #1, keep the plastic wrappers and bags out of reach

#2 get a squirt bottle and give Ricky a squirt every time you catch him chewing on something he's not supposed to. That's how I stopped one of my three cats from harassing another one who hates his guts. Now all I have to do is say, "Where's my squirt bottle?"