Conference misery::feline

    Pippin is a plastic freak - loves to chew on the plastic shopping bags,
    etc.  I've gotten real good about putting all of them away since I
    started to notice that she sort of coughs after she's torn one apart. 
    Then too, she has a kidney problem and I don't want her injesting any
    wierd stuff.  But I can't leave one out for more than a minute before
    she's into it.  Amazing.
    
    Giudi

    Fargas is also a plastic eater.  It drives us NUTS.  No plastic is safe
    around him - can anyone tell me WHY he does it (is something lacking in
    his diet?) and how to cure him?
    
    We used to notice little blue shreds in his poops occasionally when we 
    lived in Chicago...couldn't figure out WHAT it was just by looking and
    didn't really want to probe manually, you understand...until I caught
    myself one morning leaving for work and tossing the Tribune in the
    front door, delivered snugly weatherproof in its blue plastic bag...
    
    :^)  Deb  :^)

    One of mine, Kikay, love to *lick* plastic - but does not eat it.  He 
    gets this look of absolute extasy, and will lick to hours!  I watch him
    as I know eating plastic can be dangerous, but let him continue - he is
    so happy!
    
    Linda
    

    My cat eats plastic and seems to be attracted to the new plastic bags
    that use/contain corn starch to help them break down at the land fill.
    

    Guys, plastic can form an obstruction in the intestines and is quite
    dangerous....

    You could consider putting the child-guard things on your cabinets. It
    might keep them out of the cabinets.
    
    Deb

	Bandit also likes plastic bags but only the ones from the grocery
	stores.  I always keep them in a safe place and the only time
	he gets to them is right when I bring the groceries home since I
	usually dump the bags on the floor.

	Plastic is very dangerous for cats.  

	I believe that cats like the sweet taste of plastic.  I read
	that in the old Feline Notes file so I chewed on plastic and
	sure enough... it has a sweet taste (at least sandwich baggies do).

	Karen

	
	Our two love to chew plastic also..  This didn't really bother me
	so much until one day, I found benedryl package chewed up, and the
	capsule inside was punctured...  After that I became a strict 		
	daddy when it came to plastic... 

	They don't do it much anymore unless one of us starts to play with
	them with a piece of plastic.

	-Rob

    Misty likes to lick plastic.  She doesn't do it very often, sometimes
    after she has thrown up, sometimes if she's in a snit, and sometimes
    just because.  She has awaken me many times licking plastic bags. 
    Misha likes to tear pieces of plastic off the dress bags from the
    cleaners so I keep those away from him.  Kids!
    
    Steffi

    What about licking photographs.  I can't leave any around my place
    unless I want to find teeth marks all over them.
    
    Giudi

    Me too Giudi!  Carrie will dig through anything to be able to 
    wrap her teeth around a good photograph.  I can't for the life
    of me figure out what the attraction is.  She licks and bites
    them like crazy.  I mean, really, it's not like she could 
    possibly have a defficiency in "photo" vitamins.  I had to start
    storing all my photographs up on a shelf in the closet.
    
    Jan

    Jan:
    
    The only thing that I can think of is that it's in the "photo-finish".
    
    It's late in the day and I'm making a very poor attempt at humor - but
    I do believe that it must be the chemical they use in the process. 
    Drives me crazy - expecially when you only have one copy and it's been
    mutulated. 
    
    Giudi

    Tiki loved to lick canvas.
    
    K.C.

    I thought Skeeters was just weird.  She also likes to lick photographs,
    she can't get enough!
    
    Karen

    Callie has a plastic fettish, too! What I do to get her from eating it
    is, I let her have the milk caps when the milk is gone. She doesn't
    bite thru them, but LOVES to run around w/ them in her nouth. This,
    and I keep plastic bags out of sight so she won't eat them. Ya know 
    what else she likes? Plastic box tops...like from cheap jewelery or
    christmas orniments. The "snax-pax" Crackers and cheese in the
    individual servings are cool to, she says!
    
    She's a weird-o!
    
    Bonnie

    Film containers filled with bells or pennies are also a great fun play
    toy.
    
    Milk container rings and (for smokers) folded up cigarette packs are
    also interesting fun toys, especially when tied with string.
    
    K.C.

Peter, my male cat is opening doors still to get at
plastic...I cannot keep up....I nearly killed him
one night I was so mad...

I woke up recently one morning and he was eating
the bag in my garbage can in the bedroom...soon as
he heard me he went running out of the room...

I nearly killed him when I caught up with him...now
he hides when I come home....

think we both need help.

someone out there has got to know what to do, the
vet just smiles a lot.....

    I think for Peter's sake and your own, you need to remove
    the plastic.  In my experience, "strange eating habits" in cats
    aren't correctable, and he can die from ingesting plastic.  Also,
    it sounds like this is really stressing you out, and removing the
    plastic as opposed to trying to keep him away from it seems
    to me to be a lot more likely to successful.  Perhaps if you
    list the places you feel you need to have plastic, we can
    come up with some alternatives -- off the top of my head:
    
    plastic bag in garbage can in the bedroom -- I actually
    don't line the wastebaskets in my bedroom or living room;  it's
    pretty easy for me to walk into the kitchen whenever I have to throw
    out anything "gloppy" and put that in the kitchen wastecan.
    
    plastic bag in the kitchen wastecan -- I use a paper shopping
    bag.  This works pretty well;  really liquid stuff I empty into
    the sink drain first.  Every so often I take the wastecan outside
    and pour a couple of pans full of hot water into it, let it sit
    for twenty minutes or so and then scrub it out.
    
    plastic shopping bags -- I have canvas bags I take with me to the
    store, or I ask specifically for paper instead of plastic.
    
    plastic bags in the closet -- are these dry cleaner-type plastic bags?
    I have a few "plastic" dust cover things that are only about a foot
    long;  they cover the tops of things and are pretty effective.  Perhaps
    Peter would leave these alone;  he'd also have a hard time getting to
    them.  Or if the things you're covering up can be laid flat, you can
    get non-plastic type storage boxes.  Sears or Holds Everything carries
    this stuff.
    
     

baby-proof door latches for kitchen cabinets are available at any hardware
store...and with an hour or two of effort, you can make all cabinets cat-proof.
They add a small amount of hassle to your life, but it is worth it to keep
a furface healthy.

Immediately discard all cleaner plastic covers for clothes...they are really
dangerous.  If you wish to protect clothes while hanging in the closet, get
some garmet bags (plastic or cloth)...or simply pin a sheet around the clothing.
I buy sheets at garage sales and discount houses (imperfect ones are cheap)..
and use them to cover clothing in the closets.

re: garbage can liners - if you tape the ends over the top of the can, then
there isn't much of anything for the cat to chew.  I also have a can that
takes a cover - when a cat gets curious, I simply cover the can for awhile.

    Pippin is the plastic junkie - she's drawn to it like a magnet.  None
    of my trash baskets in the bath room, bed room or Richards' office (ha
    the dining room are lined with plastic any more.  I put aluminum foil
    down at the bottom and up around the sides-the kitchen one is tall/deep
    we have a trash liner in it but taped on the inside with paper inside
    of that.  When coming home from shopping I have to be very quick.  I
    had gotten somethings from the drugstore the other day and hardly had a
    chance to get them out of the sack and she was attacking the little
    plastic bag with vengence. (I think she's going through plastic
    withdrawal).  I really believe that the stuff is awful for them -
    eventually it's got to do something to their organs.  Being that she's
    got a kidney problem I'm just extra careful about what she's ingesting.
    Any plastic bag that needs saving (small ones for poop disposal) are
    now stored in boxes up and out of reach.
    
    Giudi

    
            also available are those scented bags that supposedly repel
    animals.  I've never tried them as my guys don't go for plastic, but
    my neighbor says they work well in keeping their dog from munching the
    garbage.  I have seen them in Purity and Demoulas stores.
            My kitchen can has a plastic garbage liner, you really need one
    there, but the can has a lid anyway.   In the bathroom I use paper bags
    recycled from grocery shopping.
    
           Denise

    Zeno *loves* plastic bags!  He chews on the plastics grocery bags as I
    am putting the groceries away.  He also loves the plastic that comes in
    the sunday paper that holds all the comics, coupons, and stuff.  He
    does't really *eat* any that I've seen, just chews.  He also loves to
    chase paper balls. We'll scrunch up some paper, he'll hear and come
    running.  What's really funny is when we throw it at the trashcan like
    a basketball, he'll follow it with his eyes and run over to find it-but
    can't!
    
    Pearl is the one who loves to lick photos-maybe it's a better high than
    catnip? :-)
    
    shannon
    

Ready to kill my Peter...he now eats the plastic liner
(specially bought for his large box) and then has
trouble in the box later...sits there looking woefully
and tries to pass the plastic.

I am beginning to wish he eats enough to kill himself.
Its that frustrating....I cannot keep up.

    Try the diaper-type liner.  I used those exclusively before I
    discovered the joys of scooping.  No plastic to chew.
    
    K.C.

    Or omit the liner altogether.  As long as you have plastic around,
    you're going to have a problem with Peter eating it.
    
    Have you considered finding another home for Peter?  It doesn't sound
    like things are very happy.
    

Gasp, find another home, I would die.  He eats
feliners diaper-type too...will get rid of liner
altogether for awhile and see what happens.

What do I do with the stockpile I bought?  Its an
enclosed pan with big space for my 4-5 year old
babies.

Dont get me wrong, I love my cats dearly, but I am
certain they are part of what's kiling me.

Tonight its house cleaning and comb-out day...perhaps
I will bathe them with me too, just to set them down
afterwards.....

hope I live to tell about it.....

Bill

Bill,

I'm sure your local no-kill shelter would love a donation of plastic cat
pan liners.  If you change out the litter on a frequent (at least weekly,
or even bi-weekly) schedule, and clean the litter pan with a solution of
water and a little bleach each time, you won't have an odor buildup.
Just be sure to rinse well with water each time you clean the box.  I
would certainly keep plastic away from your cat - it can be fatal to a cat
to eat plastic as it can completely bind up the colon.  I know the problem....
my Hana eats any plastic she can get EXCEPT the cat pan liner plastic.
I guess she got used to not eating it when TAbby was still alive - she was
a very hit-or-miss user of the cat pan and the liners were pretty icky by
the second day after litter change.

	They have their quirks, but we still love them...

    Sorry if I misunderstand something. Mods remove this if you like.
    
    I have no plastics in the litterbox. I clean the litterbox not
    bi-weakly. I clean the litterbox after EVERY OCCASION, sometimes
    five times a day. It makes no problem at all and I thought everyone
    makes this so... I use a bentonite-zeolite mixture litter, with
    *absolutely* no odor even if I left it there for a whole day. I am sure
    this can be found in America, too. Clean, healthy. No chemicals. Cat
    can even eat it.                   
    
    Nat

>    I have no plastics in the litterbox. I clean the litterbox not
>    bi-weakly. I clean the litterbox after EVERY OCCASION, sometimes
>    five times a day. It makes no problem at all and I thought everyone
>    makes this so... I use a bentonite-zeolite mixture litter, with
>    *absolutely* no odor even if I left it there for a whole day. I am sure
>    this can be found in America, too. Clean, healthy. No chemicals. Cat
>    can even eat it.                   
    
    Nat,

	when I say "clean", I mean remove all contents, wash box thoroughly,
	and replace with new litter.  Daily/or twice daily (for me) removal
	of all solid waste and turning of the litter is an absolute must...
	a cat will not use a "dirty" box...and every cat decides for itself
	just when a box is "dirty"..in my case, my cats refuse to use a
	box unless I make sure to take out all waste in the morning and
	the evening.  They will also demand twice a week litter changes
	in warmer weather when it is easier to smell the urine...or when
	they get in a mood...or, when they just feel like it.

			D

I have removed the plastic liner from my cat box and
put weights in front of my doors (to prevent Peter from
opening them and eating the plastic in the closet - his
favorite trick lately).

So far so good.

    re .30:
    Well I see. But if I *wash* out the box as you describe (I did it in
    the beginning) Smokey does *not* use it until another was there. I must
    not 'clean' the box (cleaning as you say). That's why I use bentonite,
    for it is naturally 'cleaning' up itself in use. Sorry if I cannot
    really explain what I mean... but You'll see what I mean.
    
    Furballs have their own mood. Smokey wants to have a tiny scent
    probably, before doing it. Cats are valuing differences, too! 8*)
    
    Nat
    

>>>                   -< One hates scents. One *must* have it. >-

>    Furballs have their own mood. Smokey wants to have a tiny scent
>    probably, before doing it. Cats are valuing differences, too! 8*)
    
I got a chuckle from this one...isn't it the truth!  If we could predict
their behavior, though, we probably wouldn't enjoy them as much.  And nobody
ever gets lucky and gets two or more cats that want the SAME thing in cat
boxes or food.  Missy Hana will be delighted to know she values differences
just like her "Mom".