I have a two year old male short hair taby that constantly licks plastic bags. Regardless of color, smell, full, empty, new or old, he can spend hours licking these bags. Does my cat have some kind of medical condition? Is this like eating grass or what? Is there treatment?
One of my mother’s cats licks plastic bags, too! It’s a two-year-old Siamese, and he’s been doing it for as long as I can remember. It doesn’t seem to be harmful, though (he doesn’t eat the plastic) and gives us all a lot of laffs. He probably just likes the feeling of it on his tongue.
A lot of cats are vaguely nuts and have odd habits—when I was a kid, we had a cat that ate paprika and played the ukulele with his teeth. So as long as the cat doesn’t eat the plastic—which could kill him—I’d say just sit back and enjoy.
My cats leave the plastic bags alone, but I can’t leave photographs out because they’ll lick 'em until they curl. Never could figure that one out.
I’ve seen cats lick both (especially plastic bags) and have no idea why they do it. Nor have I ever spoken with anyone who knows why they do it! I assume that there is some pleasing texture that they enjoy, as it doesn’t appear to taste good - otherwise they’d be eating it. Anyway, it’s always puzzled me, too.
BTW, some cats like to pee on plastic bags, too. (maybe they like the neat sound?)
I can’t see where licking plastic bags would be harmful in any way, but I’d be careful about the photographs - the chemicals and special paper might be toxic.
Some days you’re the dog, some days you’re the hydrant.
Maybe the first time she licked one it tasted good. Probably the texture though.
We Have a dog that will lick the wool carpet for hours. Heck we figure we won’t need to shampoo it.
My male cat licks plastic bags and scrapes his tongue on the laundry basket.
My female cat chews paper…but it’s usually when she is dissatisfied with the food in their dish.
When I was 18, a long time ago, we came to the conclusion that cats are aliens here on Earth to observe people and report to the great cat God of some planet.
I don’t have the answer, obviously, but am interested in the reasoning myself.
I am amazed to hear this because I did not know this was a common thing. A good friend of mine has a cat that will sit for hours licking the plastic roller on a computer chair. Even stranger is that the cat is only happy if he is spanked really hard while is is licking. He will sit and lick for hours on end. I just figured that it was an isolated fetish thing. Wierd
Openfist
The hate I bear thee can afford No better term than this,–thou art a villain.
One of my three cats (the male) eats plastic! The garbage cans in the bathroom have liners hanging over the side, all chewed up. When he was smaller (he’s a year old now) he once ate part of the mesh scrubber you get with body wash. I didn’t realize it till I saw it in his crap. I still don’t know how he passed that.
“If I pinch my nose with my fingers, close my mouth tight,
and blow real hard, I can make my ears bleed. It’s
not as cool as Superman’s X-ray vision, but it’s my own
special talent.”
Chalk me up as Straight Doper number 83 to know a cat who has a thing for plastic bags. This cat is a Persian, female, and far too delicate and refined to lick anything. Well, she licks it a little, but mostly she just rubs her flat nose against it. Her favorite are sandwich bags. Never figured it out, but now I know I am not alone. Empowered at last! Friends of plastic-fetish cats rise up! You have nothing to lose but some money to the Glad company.
One of my family’s cats likes to attack plastic bags too. He doesn’t just lick them, he bites them. I think he likes the feeling of his teeth puncturing it.
He’s ruined quited a few loaves of bread for us.
I would allege that the photographs are coated with a glossy coating. My old Siamese, Cocoa, would lick them too. Now, I Lightning, a basic cute Cow Look-alike DSH. He, for SOME reason, LOVES Latex. Balloons, and latex gloves. He will go through ANYTHING to get to them. He won’t eat them ( thank god) but he loves to carry them around in his mouth. I wonder if it’s the latex, or the powder on the inside. I just bet there’s a web site dedicated to Feline Latex Consumption Compulsion Syndrome ( FLCCS )…
Cartooniverse
If you want to kiss the sky, you’d better learn how to kneel.
Cartooniverse:
Does your cat have a girlfriend? 
–It was recently discovered that research causes cancer in rats.
“We Have a dog that will lick the wool carpet for hours.”
—Well, according to Cartman’s late, lamented Mom, your dog is a lesbian!
my cat likes licking plastic bags too, shes a female, about 3 years old. she really seems to get into to it too, closing her eyes and stuff and licking away. she also likes to chew on plastic bags, especially the little bags that hold my dads cigars. she also chews on those cigars.
none of this surprises me b/c she is a very weird cat.
“I am so smart, I am so smart, s-m-r-t, i mean s-m-a-r-t”
If your cat LICKS plastic, sit back and laff.
If your cat EATS plastic, get it away from her, as it may kill her!
If your dog licks carpet, send it to Big Gay Al’s Big Gay Animal Sanctuary.
Eve, I haven’t laughed that loud that long in months. Thanks for giving me a story to tell at lunch. I can tell I’ll be chuckling all day.
Not as of yet. You gonna make me an offer I can’t refuse ? :0
Cartooniverse
If you want to kiss the sky, you’d better learn how to kneel.
Heck, I have a cat that loves to lick open containers of vaseline (OK, everyone, hold your tongues, the jokes are way too obvious). Seriously, she dives right in like it’s tuna. At first I thought it might be harmful, but her coat’s awfully shiny (I can’t hold on to her anymore, but she looks great!)
Openfist, I think you’re still pretty safe on the whole “isolated fetish thing.” He only enjoys it if he is spanked really hard while he is licking? If I tried to spank my cat, he’d take my hand off. That’s why I bought a monkey instead.
I have a cat who likes to lick plastic bags too…
But my Sidel used to like to lick window blinds. It didn’t matter what they were made of… cloth, vinyl, paper… she just had a thing for licking blinds. She also liked to grab string and hold it taut while she licked it.
sniff god I miss her…
–
From an actual catalog: “Disco balls create an enchanting, dazzling effect of light shafts, adding movement and glamour to any occasion”
the Abrams’ bris was certainly memorable
O p a l C a t
www.opalcat.com