Help. Cat eating Plastic.

[TheendisNi]

So I've had an issue that's been arising recently.

I have 2 indoor moggies who are usually complete sweeties.
I usually have dried food in a feeder 24/7, both of my cats were brought up on that but unfortunately over lockdown one cat gained a significant amount of weight (we believe she was over fed treats by a housemate), so since then I have been limiting food in take for the pair so she can drop the weight.
The problem I'm now having is my other cat, he is always the first to eat and he eats a lot, more than her, but never gains weight. (he's been checked he's healthy, just a great metabolism ) but the second the bowl is empty, he goes to eat plastic.
It's always thin plastic like shrink wrap or packaging, he goes rummaging in the bin, pulling it over half the time until he finds the kind he likes. I've been woken up to many times at the sound of him munching on plastic he's found from somewhere and I'm scared for the day I'm not there to pull it off him.

[Mollycat]

Sounds like a similar form of food anxiety that my girl had. My boy was a slow thoughtful eater, girl was anxious, she got very fat and anything I tried made things even worse - if I made set meal times he didn't eat enough and was miserable, if I tried restricting amounts he never got enough and when it ran out she would still be overanxious. It was a disaster that went on for 4 years. Her anxiety showed up in different ways to yours, she didn't start eating inedible things but she got aggressive.

Eventually he got diagnosed with mild kidney failure so I bit the bullet and invested in microchip feeders so that they could have their different diets. It was like a miracle, she finally could be more secure knowing her food was hers and nobody else could get it, and he always had his food. Then I put her on calorie restricted slimming food so she would feel full but lose weight. You can also introduce wet food if you want to, that can be a help in controlling weight.

A word of warning - my fat cat turned out to be hyperthyroid, after all this. If you're sure it was just an overdose of treats fair enough but a full panel blood screen next time she goes to the vet wouldn't hurt.

[Ruth B]

I can sympathise, one of my cats suffers from Pica and will try and eat plastic if she gets the chance, if as Mollycat says it is a food anxiety then you might be able to treat it, if it is Pica then the only option is to try and prevent them getting at the plastic.

Make sure anything that comes in thin plastic such as some food products or magasines is taken out of it straight away and the plastic is put in a bin that he can not get into or pull over and empty. One we have to make sure of is that a bin bag doesn't over hang the outside of the bin as she will chew that. If you need to invest in a new bin that is cat proof and keep that for all the bits of plastic. I'm lucky that mine also goes for thicker plastic, like a good quality plastic bag, which she will chew, but as it is thicker she can't bite bits off to swallow, so I actually leave one out for her so she can get her plastic fix safely. While small bits of plastic can pass through the digestive system there is always the danger of it causing a blockage which would require surgery to fix, so prevention is very much better than the cure.

If it is partly tied to food then you might find some of the feeder toys help, things like plastic balls with holes in, you put dried food in and then as the cat knocks it about the food comes slowly out of the holes, It means they eat slower, eating keeps them entertained for longer, and it does give them a bit of exercise to help control the weight. Other ones are just puzzles that they have to solve to get a piece of food as a reward, again it is a way of making meal times last longer.