Licking plastic is generally not dangerous for cats, vets say, but caution should be taken if your cat chews on it. (Image credit: ramustagram via Getty Images)
Cats can sometimes seem like they live in their own little world. They scurry around the house like they own it, communicate with subtle signals, and don't like it when we close doors.
Cats also love to lick — a lot. They lick a lot of things that aren’t food. When cats lick or suck on non-food materials, it’s called “fur sucking.” But it’s not just fur they suck on — they can also do it on leather, rubber, and plastic.
“Every cat has its own unique preferences,” says Dr. Nicholas Dodman, professor emeritus of animal behavior at Tufts University and a veterinarian who has studied compulsive behavior in animals for more than 30 years.
But why do cats lick plastic bags and other inedible things? And is there any danger in this?
One hypothesis is that the behavior is related to the cat's desire to suck as an infant. Siamese cats tend to have a greater tendency to suck fur, and they are also the breed that stays with their mothers the longest while nursing, Dodman says.
“They want to stay with their mothers for another 12 or 14 weeks,” he explains. “And then they get taken away at nine weeks. They still have that sucking instinct. It has to go somewhere.” He believes it is this instinct that drives cats to suck on wool, leather and plastic.
Other breeds of cats only nurse their young for about seven weeks, he said, so if they leave their mother at nine weeks, they no longer have the desire to suckle.
Dr. Valarie Tynes, a veterinarian who specializes in animal behavior, is less convinced of Dodman's weaning theory, as it has not yet been experimentally proven. However, she agrees that sucking on plastic is a kind of self-soothing behavior for cats, similar to how human babies suck their thumbs.
As for the safety issue, licking plastic itself isn’t a concern for Tynes. “If this cat has always licked weird things since he was young and doesn’t do it at weird times of the day, I’m less concerned,” she says. “As long as [the cat] doesn’t eat it.”
If a cat swallows plastic or anything else that is not food, it is called pica, and it becomes a problem. If a cat swallows non-food items, they can become lodged in their intestines and require expensive surgeries to remove them. If left untreated, these blockages can be fatal.
If your cat ingests anything non-food, you should see a veterinarian, both experts recommend. And if you don't get the treatment you need, consider consulting a behaviorist, Tynes added.
“The saddest thing to me,” she said, “is the clients I've seen who have perhaps spent thousands of dollars on multiple surgeries to remove something from their cat” rather than working to resolve the cat's behavior problem.
When a cat with pica is brought to the vet, the cat will first be checked for other possible gastrointestinal problems, such as parasites. Once the problem is determined to be behavioral, there are several possible treatments.
Dodman said some veterinarians may prescribe medications similar to human treatments for obsessive-compulsive disorder, such as Prozac. Owners can also distract their cats when they engage in unwanted behavior, as well as provide them with more toys and other activities to play with. Tynes suggested growing cat grass or buying a chew toy so cats can eat instead of eating harmful plastic.
It is also important to remember that your cat is not aware of what she is doing.
Sourse: www.livescience.com
