Does my cat have OCD?

[Donnachaidh]

I'm getting concerned about my male cat. He has this habit of licking plastic bags. He's fed regularly, and otherwise has no physical problems -- but he does this when we're setting up the food dishes. Is this an OCD? Is this common? HOW do I stop him from doing this?

[david13]

1. Put the plastic bags away. Up. In the cupboard. But be sure to reuse/recycle

them.
He just likes the sound. The sound the plastic makes reminds him of mice scrambling across the floor.
My cat was cured of that thusly: I had a plastic paper wrapper from a caramel apple on a stick. It had a bit of caramel on it. He put his paw onto it to hold it down while he licked it, and it stuck to his paw. He panicked and ran around the house with one paw up, with paper attached, shaking the paw. Til it fell off.
He still will paw and lay on a plastic bag, if one is left out. Or dig into it, for the sound.
Just don't leave them out.
dc

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. I don't think it's OCD -- just perverse cattishness.

I had one who licked plastic bags, too; and another who liked to chew on the edge of a metal waste basket, making horrible clanking sounds with his teeth. I now have one who will chew up any rubber band he can find. The only thing you can do is keep the bags away from him. Cats are just weird.

[Sanity Claws]

3. Obnoxious Cat Disorder?

Unfortunately, they all suffer from that disease. Learn to grin and bear it because you are now owned by a cat.

[meow2u3]

9. Purrfect description

:rofl:

[bluethruandthru]

4. One of mine does this too.

She loves to lick plastic bags of any kind. I thought maybe she had some sort of vitamin deficiency. Another one can almost opens drawers in her search for rubber bands to eat. I wish I knew a "cat whisperer". :)

[Donnachaidh]

5. that was my first thought -- a deficiency of something

But it seems as if he's just developed a perverse habit to annoy anyone who doesn't feed him fast enough. Or doesn't pay attention to him when he comes into the kitchen.

I'd love to know a cat whisperer, too LOL!

Thanks for all the responses!

[liberalla]

6. My cat did that also, and the vet said it wasn't

uncommon. She said there is a coating of something (which I don't remember now) on the plastic to make sure the bags separate easily and don't stick together, and that some cats find it appealing. She said it was not harmful to the cat.

However I didn't like it that much, so I kept that bags somewhere she couldn't get to them.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

7. Mine likes to rattle plastic bags to get my attention

He also finds any hair elastics that I leave lying out, knocks them onto the floor, and jumps out at them from behind things. He does this only to hair elastics, nothing else.

He will also facing a corner of the living room, look up the wall, and meow. There's nothing there.

As Ocelot said, cats are just weird.

[ginnyinWI]

8. one of mine likes candy wrappers

The kind that make a lot of noise when you unwrap them. So I made a cat toy and stuffed it with candy wrappers and catnip. She loves it!

[badgerpup]

10. The rattly, crackly sounds are similar to 'prey' noises...

...and they call to the Mighty Hunter that every cat carries in their furry little brain.

I too, am in want of a Cat Whisperer...:crazy: