Hi everyone, it’s Allegra! Mom says I got myself in trouble a couple of times last week, and I want to tell you all about it!
I told you a while ago that I love opening our bathroom cabinet and explore what’s in there. It was such a fun game, but Mom wasn’t amused, because I pulled a bunch of plastic bags out and chewed them up. So she got plastic bins and put everything in there that might be even remotely interesting to me.
Well, guess what! The other day, she screwed up! When she got a couple of tubes of hand lotion, she just put them in the cabinet, not the plastic bins. So when I went exploring early one morning – score! Unfortunately, Mom is a light sleeper, and even though our bedroom is across the hall, she heard me drag one of the tubes out of the cabinet, and she got up to check on me. I ran to the living room with the tube, but I wasn’t fast enough and couldn’t hide it from Mom, so she took it from me.
Behold what the tube looked like:
Mom was upset because some of the lotion had leaked out, and she was worried that I ate some of it. Well, of course I did! I love the taste of body lotion, and I love to lick Mom’s legs after she puts it on. She doesn’t let me do it for more than a lick or do, because she says it’s not safe for me. Luckily, it didn’t do any harm and I’m totally fine. Mom just worries too much.
But that’s not my only venture into what I like to call plastic art. I also added a lovely stencil pattern to Mom’s plastic Birkenstock sandals. I don’t understand why she was not amused. Don’t they look much prettier this way? If she had let me keep working on them, they would look even better!
And really, the sandals are on her. She knows better than to leave them sitting out. I never chew them when she’s wearing them, but leave them sitting around and they’re fair game.
Kitties, do you like to chew plastic?
Why some cats love plastic
There are a number of theories why so many cats love to chew on plastic. Some plastic is manufactured with fish oil, and they may be able to smell that. They may simply like the feel of plastic on their tongue. They may also detect a smell that mimics feline pheromones.
Obviously, we don’t want our cats to ingest plastic, so if you have a chewer like Allegra, keep plastic out of reach.
We’re just glad you are ok Allegra.
I would have to keep anything plastic away from Garfield too. He stopped chewing shoes in his older age but not other stuff. Looks like a work of art to me.
Allegra has always been fascinated with shoes and isn’t showing any signs of growing out of that!
My beloved cat does not covet plastic, but she does like to lick lotion on my arms and legs, especially shea butter or rose. Years ago, when she was gradually becoming an indoor house cat, which she now loves being, I used some Jackson Galaxy flower essences on her brush, as these seemed to calm her and they were safe to lick. I wonder if this practice didn’t nurture an association of pleasure and security with some scents?
That’s an interesting theory, Marie, but the Jackson Galaxy solutions don’t really have a strong scent. Then again, to a cat’s nose, what seems subtle to us is probably very strong.
The topic of chewing has come across my path a few times recently, so it’s leading me to wonder what pawsitive alternatives might we offer to our feline friends who ‘like to chew’ on stuff? Dogs seem to have tons of options. I’d love to hear ideas.
Yeowww! Catnip bananas–only the real Yeowww! Brand (Amazon) or the wool mouse toys (TripleTStudios and Amazon) satisfy my cat’s chewing desires.
There’s a small 2″ chewy catnip toy Hartz Mt sold everywhere that some cats like batting around and chewing
Other ideas, Ingrid?
Allegra has a ton of catnip toys that she likes to chew on regularly – but if she has a choice between catnip and plastic, she’ll always go for the plastic!
A quick search on Amazon actually turned up a number of chew toys for cats that look interesting: https://amzn.to/48B1B7s I’ve never tried any of them, but I like the idea of the sisal covered silvervine sticks. I’d have to see them for real, though, to determine whether they’re well made with no sharp bits sticking out.
Oh Allegra! I love you, but you are such a naughty girl. The lotion is bad enough. But please don’t chew the Birkenstocks. Miss Kiki is also a plastic chewer. Her favorite is the plastic bags groceries come home in.
Allegra is an all opportunity plastic chewer. I think she really liked my Birks because she could really sink her teeth into that material!
That is some nice thick material. One time I had a dog that chewed my shoes and I didn’t realize it. I went to work with holes in the back and someone pointed it out to me. It was so embarrassing.