Why do cats lick plastic?

[MosMom]

My cats love to lick plastic bags. When we bring fresh groceries home, the lick the bags, they lick the toilet paper bags in the bathroom and will paw at the cabinet door to get in so they can lick, they lick shopping bags when I bring something home.

What is wrong with my cats and why do they do this? There is no moisture on these bags and they don't eat them. They only lick. Anyone else have a cat that licks plastic bag?

 

[WDWFOREVER]

Nope - but I did have one that ate it! Believe me, you would rather have them just lick in than eat it. What goes in, must come out!!!

 

[Dax]

My cat does it occasionally too...

My cat also wont eat grass....He puts it in his mouth, but doesnt actually "eat" the blades of grass..

 

[grinningghost]

My cat doesn't lick plastic, but he sure does love to lick photographs and the adhesive on envelopes. I collect autographs through the mail, and I have to hide the signed photos right away or he'll lick them and ruin them.

 

[winniedapooh]

My cat's don't do that but our newest addition, a shelter cattin-lol she was supposed to be 4 mos. old but is more like 8 mos. , love to drink out of the toilet! Blech, I have never had an animal do this and I find it disgusting! DS named her Minnie. Now doesn't that name sound sweet and charming not a toilet lurker!

 

[grinningghost]

Originally posted by winniedapooh
My cat's don't do that but our newest addition, a shelter cattin-lol she was supposed to be 4 mos. old but is more like 8 mos. , love to drink out of the toilet! Blech, I have never had an animal do this and I find it disgusting! DS named her Minnie. Now doesn't that name sound sweet and charming not a toilet lurker!

My cat drinks out of the toilet too.

 

[jacksonsmom]

YEAH!!!! I thought my cat was the only crazy one!!! Sure glad there is more then one nutty cat out there

My younger cat like to lick & chew on platic bags. He doesn't eat them but just chew on it & then spit it out.
We really are careful about leaving any plastic type bags out, including ziplocs!!

 

[helenabear]

My cat only did it on plastic bags that had food in it... now she does it because she knows I will come running and give her attention... she doesn't really lick now, but kind of gnaws on it while looking around for me to come

 

[peg2001]

I'm not sure but it's better than what one of my cats used to do. . .he couldn't resist peeing on plastic bags. Argh.

Peggy

 

[nuke]

My cat likes to play in the plastic bags.

He licks magazine covers and photographs.

 

[Melora]

My cats licks bags and it drives me NUTS.... Lick lick lick... chew chew chew....What a horrible noise!

I HATE the noise and she will find one in the dark at night and start licking/chomping away. EWWWWWWwwwwwwwww

I have to get up and turn on a light and find the bag and yell at the cat and stuff the bag where she won't get to it.

I always wonder why she likes them. She also likes to chew on bubble wrap. Anything plastic. Her sister does the same thing but not as much and our little kitty never does it.

I posted about this same thing several months back.

 

[goofy4tink]

Wow!!! I thought I had the only wacko cat out there. He loves to lick plastic bags. He doesn't touch meat defrosting on the counter, but will eat thru the plastic wrap on bread!! He loves plastic for licking and fresh bakery bread for eating. The other cat is perfectly 'normal' tho. No one seems to be able to tell me why the plastic licking.

 

[minniecarousel]

Mine only gnaws through the plastic bag to get to the food inside. He loves sourdough fench bread and croissants. A few weeks ago he chewed through a ziploc to get to a leftover pork roast that I had forgotten to put in the fridge!

 

[goofygirl]

My cat licks photographs. She also has a thing for curling ribbon! She'll chew it off of balloons and gifts. I can't leave gifts under the tree at christmastime that have ribbon because she'll go after them!

I also caught my cat licking Vaseline! (eew!)

 

[shelbyjosh]

My cat doesn't do the plastic bag thing, but boy does he love photos. Not so much the digital ones I have been doing 2+ years, but the processed kind. I think there is something in the chemical that they like. He will lick away. Also, the cat won't drink the water out of the dog's water bowl. He has his own little (I mean little) bowl in the bathroom. It has to be changed daily since he likes fresh, cold water. He has some funny quirks!!

 

[skiwee1]

I thought my cat was the only goofy one! She will lick a bag for an hour. Drives me nuts!

 

[Chattyaholic]

Think about it, they lick their butts so there probably isn't anything else they won't lick!!

My cat loves to play with plastic sacks, I think she likes the crinkling sound they make. She has a little stuffed frog to play with, that makes that same crinkling sound, she loves it!