# My cat eats plastic. What to do? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [March 23, 2008, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-eats-plastic-what-to-do/442408 "2008-03-23T03:06:19Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 10\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2008, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-eats-plastic-what-to-do/442408/1 "2008-03-23T03:06:19Z")
My cat, Pudding, really likes to chew on crinkly plastic and paper. The problem is that she doesn’t just chew it, she eats it–swallows it, and I find it in the litter box. This can’t be good for her, and I’ve done everything I can to remove the things she likes to chew on from her reach. I feel guilty, though, because she seems to derive such enormous enjoyment from chewing. Does anyone have suggestions for materials that are likely to have the same crinkly aspects she enjoys, but that she won’t be able to tear into pieces and swallow? ---
**Author:** ![Phlosphr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/c68b51/32.png) [@Phlosphr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Phlosphr)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2008, 3:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-eats-plastic-what-to-do/442408/2 "2008-03-23T03:23:20Z")
First of all you broke one of the cardinal rules of cat threads…no picture? Sounds like your cat might have Pica. My siamese attack cat [Loki](http://i143.photobucket.com/albums/r156/Phlosphr/Phil_Cat_1-1.jpg) has it, and is exactly like your little lady. If it’s crinklly and loud and will fit in his mouth he’ll injest it. I have to be diligent - to the point of being a carpet nazi. Always looking at the carpet to make sure we haven’t dropped anything that he will eat. I buy a lot of durable toys that mimick things he’s normally eat. That’s how my wife and I get around it. BTW - WE used to put tinsel on our christmas tree. Until a week after we put it up, Loki was dragging tinsel from his…ahem…behind. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![Queen\_Bruin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/e274bd/32.png) [@Queen\_Bruin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Queen_Bruin)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2008, 3:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-eats-plastic-what-to-do/442408/3 "2008-03-23T03:33:54Z")
My cat [Bitey](http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v204/varishna/Biteyhatesyou.jpg) has pica, also. I started a thread about it when I first joined, which of course I can’t access now. But yeah, mainly it revolved around keeping things she’ll eat away from her - which I’m very diligent about (my big annoyance was she’d open my vanity drawer and chew my hairbrush bristles). I get some crinkly toys from PetSmart sort of like [these](http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2751888) but made of a crinkly, sort of plastic-metallic material instead, which I think she enjoys. She carries them everywhere, and it doesn’t appear that she’s able to break the material down and consume it. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2008, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-eats-plastic-what-to-do/442408/4 "2008-03-23T03:46:34Z")
Both my [Lucy](http://www.flickr.com/photos/10086811@N06/2339432782/) and my [Scout](http://www.flickr.com/photos/10086811@N06/2338608173/) like to chew on plastic but not eat it. I keep the stuff as much away them as possible. When I see them go near it I substitute a kitty treat. ---
**Author:** ![Sattua](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sattua/32/11906_2.png) [@Sattua](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sattua)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2008, 3:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-eats-plastic-what-to-do/442408/5 "2008-03-23T03:56:23Z")
Ooh, bad me. I was thinkin’ that you could all look her up in the Meet Pudding thread, but of course, that’s recursive, and there’s no search function anymore anyway. Gosh. There are people in the world who don’t know Pudding? You poor, poor souls. [The prettiest puddy tat you’ll ever see](http://www.flickr.com/photos/kat1980/2304383079/in/set-72157603881962949/) Pica? Must look this up. ---
**Author:** ![LavenderBlue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e95f7d/32.png) [@LavenderBlue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LavenderBlue)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2008, 4:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-eats-plastic-what-to-do/442408/6 "2008-03-23T04:00:34Z")
[QUOTE=Sattua] Ooh, bad me. I was thinkin’ that you could all look her up in the Meet Pudding thread, but of course, that’s recursive, and there’s no search function anymore anyway. [![Imgur](https://live.staticflickr.com/3135/2304383079_d4acaf7795_z.jpg "IMG\_4769") ](https://www.flickr.com/photos/kat1980/2304383079/in/set-72157603881962949/) Pica? Must look this up. [/QUOTE] That black mustache across her face is hilariously adorable. If you look at my Scout he has ginger patches down his nose. The patches make him look like he never cleans his face. Her patch is much better placed. ---
**Author:** ![Merhouse](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/b5a626/32.png) [@Merhouse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Merhouse)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2008, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-eats-plastic-what-to-do/442408/7 "2008-03-23T04:35:40Z")
I’m sorry, I just can’t help myself. When I saw the title, my immediate thought was “Let her eat cake.” :eek: Hey, at least I’m hijacking a thread where you’ve already gotten helpful answers 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/it_s_not_rocket_surgery/32/312_2.png) [@It\_s\_Not\_Rocket\_Surgery](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/It_s_Not_Rocket_Surgery)\ **Post date:** [March 23, 2008, 9:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-eats-plastic-what-to-do/442408/8 "2008-03-23T21:21:30Z")
Have you submitted Pudding’s picture [here](http://www.catsthatlooklikehitler.com/cgi-bin/seigmiaow.pl) yet? ---
**Author:** ![squeegee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/squeegee/32/14537_2.png) [@squeegee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/squeegee)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-eats-plastic-what-to-do/442408/9 "2008-03-24T01:52:25Z")
One of my cats likes to _lick_ plastic bags. I recall there was a thread a while back\* that talked about some organic additive to some plastics (bags) that cats seemed to like, cow fat or something as unlikely. \*but unfortunately the search function is disabled or I’d refer you to that. ---
**Author:** ![Pullet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/edb3f5/32.png) [@Pullet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Pullet)\ **Post date:** [March 24, 2008, 5:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-cat-eats-plastic-what-to-do/442408/10 "2008-03-24T05:10:24Z")
[QUOTE=squeegee] I recall there was a thread a while back\* that talked about some organic additive to some plastics (bags) that cats seemed to like, cow fat or something as unlikely. [/QUOTE] Cats are just weird. I have a cat who would drink rubbing alcohol if I let her.