Cat Loves Plastic

Cats enjoy chewing, but some products should be off-limits.

Posted: January 5, 2011, 3 a.m. EST

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Q: Why does my male cat like to chew on plastic shopping bags and newspaper protective plastic bags? My friend calls him “plastic man.”

A: No one knows for certain, but I’ve heard that cats enjoy licking plastic bags because they’re probably attracted to the tallow (rendered animal fat) that is contained in the plastic. Some hand and face creams contain extracts of farm animals, such as collagen, and cats will occasionally lick at these.

I had a cat named Emma who used to love to lick photographs. Photographs contain an emulsion that has gelatin, an animal product, as one of its ingredients, and Emma loved the taste of it.

Keep the plastic away from your cat. If swallowed, plastic bags can cause an intestinal obstruction that can make your cat very sick and may even necessitate surgery.

See more articles by Arnold Plotnick, DVM>>

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Cat Loves Plastic

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angie    eagle, ID 10/3/2011 7:39:27 AM i give one of my cats a collegen tablet every morning. She absolutely loves it acts like it's Christmas morning when she gets it. I figured it must have something to do with the animal products. karen    cheektowaga, NY 1/6/2011 2:12:28 PM Interesting !! Anon    City, CA 1/5/2011 7:50:47 PM I swear that my cat hunts down plastic bags just to eat them! I started using the reusable bags or paper bags for his safety. hannah    tracy, CA 1/5/2011 3:22:34 PM my cat louise ate a 24 long inch ribbon awhile ago and she will eat anything.Im really getting worried.Any ideas on getting her to stop?