Why Do Cats Like Plastic Bags. The reason your cat likes plastic bags is that she can experience a variety of different smells and sensations through them.
Cats enjoy the feeling of wrapping themselves inside the bag which usually contains some food remnants from your own consumption, so there’s definitely more than one thing that attracts felines to this material.
Why Do Cats Like Plastic Bags
Plastic bags make a lot of noise when your cats brush up against them, so they get curious and start gnawing at them. If you’re wondering why your cat likes to eat plastic despite the immediate risk it presents, you may want to investigate ways that you can divert their attention away from them altogether.
Soft Plastics
Just because they’re called “soft plastics,” it doesn’t mean they’re safe. In fact, this is one of the most common pet-poisoning culprits because cats’ and dogs’ sense of smell is strong enough that even a faint scent from whatever was contained within them will lead to licking.
Plastic Bag’s Appeal
Plastic bags are generally made out of polyethylene or polypropylene or a combination of the two, but some could contain traces of animal fat and stearic acid in the form of additives to ‘lubricate’ it.
If you find that your cute little feline friend rubs and brings a plastic bag into your home calling it her own, you might want to consider cutting out plastic bags altogether, because this may attract cats due to the fact that they contain oleochemicals like stearic acid.
Nowadays there are biodegradable bags that use natural materials like starch derived from plants so there’s no need to worry about potential harm coming to your beloved cat.
Smells of Food
Cats have a fantastic sense of smell. Just 14 times more powerful than that of humans, it’s for this reason why we tend to let them know about all our tasty delights by leaving the dirty dishes on the counter for them to detect.
In other words, your cat can smell those delicious meats you left out the night before and which are now sitting in your plastic bag full of odds and ends from your grocery run from yesterday.
Sounds
Cats can hear things in the human ear range, but they also can hear sounds that humans cannot. They use ultra-sonic sound communications by mice.
They can hear these sounds and listen to them as if they were listening to a human conversation. Cats like to play with bags because they remind them of a mouse scurrying around in the bushes.
Is it Bad for Cats to Lick Plastic?
Chewing on plastic isn’t uncommon for some cats, but it can be quite harmful to them if they continue to chew or eat the plastic.
While your cat’s digestive system often passes a tiny piece of a plastic bag without much difficulty you might actually see small pieces floating around within their or vomit within 24 hours, consistently chowing down on plastics such as hair ties could very well turn out to be problematic.
Take caution and submit a report in case you spot any odd behavior from your kitty.
How do I get my cat to quit licking plastic?
No matter what it is, whether it comes from fabric or perhaps it’s plastic that your cat becomes obsessed with licking constantly, the first step to changing this behavior is to limit access.
Tuck blankets in, put away string and yarn and keep all plastic bags out of reach. If you don’t want your cat to bite or chew things they shouldn’t be chewing on, then replace them with new and engaging toys.
If the issue persists, try spraying the object with scents that cats don’t like such as lemon or rosemary so as to deter cats from biting, licking, or licking things they shouldn’t.