4 ms·
Some of the stuff I've seen our cat eating, it's both obvious and a blessing that he doesn't have much of a sense of taste. Goes nuts for the plastic wrappers
by mattkevan 7y ago
Some of the stuff I've seen our cat eating, it's both obvious and a blessing that he doesn't have much of a sense of taste.
Goes nuts for the plastic wrappers you get around Pepsi cans and won't stop licking them. Little weirdo.
- MisterTea 7y agoI have a cat who loves to lick crinkly plastic wrappers and bags. I use shopping bags for my bedroom trash can and I'll wake up to him just sitting there licking the folded over edge for upwards of 10 minutes. Two theories I've heard are that beef tallow is sometimes used in the manufacture of such bags so they might be smelling that. Or it could be as simple as they enjoy the sensation and/or sound of licking the bag. Though, they certainly are weirdos.
- MereInterest 7y agoHuh, one of our cats does the same. We don't want her to choke on plastic, so we no longer leave any plastic bags out in the open. She also tries to lick olive oil and butter, so the beef tallow theory would follow the same pattern of looking for fat.
- ncmncm 7y agoTry her on taffeta.
- mattkevan 7y agoAh beef tallow, hadn’t thought of that. Good suggestion. The best theory I had was that he was getting a buzz from solvent in the ink or the plastic itself. Or that he was just odd.
- MisterTea 7y agoFrom memory, I think the tallow is used to lubricate the rollers in bag making machines. Though if that were the case I'd expect dogs to do the same. Those dummies will eat anything.
- mark-r 7y agoCats can be motivated by texture, so that may be part of it.
- kjs3 7y agoThat's my theory. Every cat I've had had some level of addiction to licking/chomping plastic. All kinds of plastic, so I don't buy the made-with-tallow theory. Grocery bags, cling wrap, rubber bands, 6-pack rings. One of the current ones likes to chew holes in the plastic shower curtains. Little freak. :-)
- klyrs 7y agoThis is great. I have a partner whose cat loves chewing plastic, rubber bands and hair elastics, foam... we always thought it weird but I haven't heard of others with this experience til today. So now I wonder if his other peculiarities are common. The cat is very attached to my partner, and won't let anybody else touch him (always ready with tooth and claw). Not quite as possessive as a parrot, but he's a bit of a terror. He gets especially violent when he's hungry -- you're allowed to walk past his bowl once, but if you don't return with food, watch out.
- freeflight 7y agoI remember reading that it's the chemical used as a softener for plastic products, at least for cables, wouldn't be surprised if the same stuff is used with other plastic products.
- pitzips 7y agoI hear ya! Mine is obsessed with eating cobwebs.
- magic_beans 7y agoMy dog used to love eating bees. Then her little muzzle would get all swollen. Silly gal :)
- LifeLiverTransp 7y agoThe forbidden flying crispys
- snagglegaggle 7y agoSpicy flies
- mattkevan 7y agoA friend’s dog used to catch the bee in his mouth, carefully turn it round and bite the stinger off.
- GuiA 7y agoThat’s pretty wild. Do you remember what breed?
- ajross 7y agoCats' taste (in the strict sense) sense isn't great but isn't awful by mammal standards. What's notable, as pointed out in the article, is that the specific receptor for sugars is broken. Their ancestor lost it due to a mutation, and because the species was a strict carnivore it wasn't selected against. But the "taste" you're talking about is the one we tend to use in general language, and it's a complicated mix of touch/texture/temperature sense in the mouth and tongue, taste bud chemical reception, and more than anything else smell, which "fills in the chemical blanks" that the coarse taste senses miss. Cats miss one but have the others in spades. When they lick and eat random junk, it's for a very good sensory reason. Still weirdos, obviously, but ones with a good excuse.
- gwern 7y agoOne thing I've noticed with cats in general is they seem to have a thing for human earwax. I'm not the only one to have noticed this: https://www.gwern.net/Questions#cats-earwax https://www.gwern.net/Questions#cats-earwax
- xKingfisher 7y agoInteresting. On the rare occasion that I use a q-tip I've noticed my kitten would aggressively fish them out of the trash and chew on them. I always figured that they were just fun to bat around. This explains a lot.
- keitmo 7y agoOne of our cats loves to lick the adhesive side of packing tape.
- Smithalicious 7y agoI had a cat that went nuts for spaghetti. He'd jump up on the counter and slurp the noodles. Same cat also loved cucumbers. My mom's cat prefers to drink water from a glass like a human. Either that, or from the toilet (to which he can open the door).