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Question:

Why does my cat eat plastic?

my loves to eat plastic almost more than cat food. he'll eat candy wrappers, tape, and plastic bag parts. we try to pick up all the plastic but he just goes into the garbage and pulls it out. why does he do this? will it hurt him in the future? how do i make him stop?

Answer:

Plastic can cause intestinal blockage so you need to make sure and not leave anything out- and keep the garbage can under the counter or in the pantry. Anytime you see your cat go for plastic, clap or make a loud noise so he will relate it to the loud noise. You really need to keep the plastic away cause it can and probably will severly hurt the cat.
I don't know the reason,.. but one of my cats does the same thing. Chews and chews on plastic (like shopping bags, etc). You must take all plastic away within that cat's reach. Plastic is non-digestible and can foul up the intestinal tract. My cat is 5 yrs. old (a rescue, I trapped, feral re-habilitated) and he'll still plastic-chew given the chance)!
I've heard about a lot of cats that lick plastic, not too many that eat it, though. Something about the chemicals in the plastic appeals to cats. Eating something like a candy wrapper could be very serious, resulting in intestinal blockage. Maybe you can get a garbage can with a more secure lid.
I thought my cat was the only wierdo who does this, my cat likes to eat plastic too. I don't understand it. She loves the packing tape, candy wrappers, plastic bags. I don't get what is so appealing about it. I just have to keep all the plastic picked up. She has eaten it before, and vomited it back up. But it always scares me that I will miss a piece and she will eat it and get an intestinal obstruction, so I try to be as careful as I can to keep all the plastic picked up. To keep your kitty from getting in the trash you can buy a trash can that has a lid, or put your trash in a cupboard that you cat can't get to. Good Luck, I hope you don't have problems in the future.

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