We adopted Loki just before he turned 7, he is 8 now and ever since we adopted him he has chewed on certain types of plastic like shower curtains, storage bags, ect. Anything that is a thick kind of plastic. It is really annoying, he chewed up my space saver bags so they can't seal any longer, the bottom of my shower curtains are a mangled mess and he always does it at night when I can hear the loud obnoxious sound of crunching plastic. He doesn't eat it, he just chews on it, if he manages to gnaw off a piece he spits it out and starts chewing on another part. None of my other cats have ever done this. Why would he be doing it? I leave the bathroom door open with the light on for my children though my storage bags are out of his reach now. I'm not sure how to discourage it in a good way because it normally happens around 3am when I'm not in the most patient of moods. Normally I yell at him to stop and he does for a little while before starting again. I try to remember to tie the curtain up out of his reach but I forget a lot. Is there some reason he is doing it? Is there a toy I can get him that will replace this need to chew on plastic? Or is there a way I can get him to make him stop without losing sleep, like a way to discourage it while I'm sleeping. I love the old man but I REALLY don't want to get up at 3am every night to lovingly tell him cut it out.
monsters mom
My cat LOVES the thick plastic. Loves loves loves it. I think he likes the sensation of puncturing his teeth through it. He gets so into it that he'll chew the air long after the plastic is out of his mouth.
And yeah, it's only the thick plastic. I bring it to him as a treat.
If I buy myself flowers, I give him the plastic they are wrapped in (that's his favorite).
Biting the plastic doesn't get on my nerves, so I haven't done anything about that. But he also likes biting through the thick leaves of my plants (Janet Craigs, corn plant, lady palm). So for that we've tried both NaturVet Bitter Yuck and Grannick's bitter apple.
We like the Bitter Yuck the best - it's water-based & potent. I only respray it on the plants every few months. Plus, the label says its safe for furniture, drapes, paws, tails, wounds, bandages, etc. (I can say I've gotten it on my carpet unintentionally & the carpet isn't discolored or anything) The Bitter Apple is Isopropanol-based (a chemical commonly used as a disinfectant, antifreeze, and solvent), and killed my plants (where ever the spray touched - the plants died). On the bottle, it states "may stain surfaces."
Note: after you spray them, wash your hands. I have tasted bitter yuck WAY too many times
If you really want the bitter apple stuff rather than Bitter Yuck, I'm happy to send you two bottles of grannicks bitter apple we have sitting around - one 8 fluid oz & one 16 oz bottle still wrapped in plastic. I haven't touched them since they killed the plants.
And yeah, it's only the thick plastic. I bring it to him as a treat.
If I buy myself flowers, I give him the plastic they are wrapped in (that's his favorite). Biting the plastic doesn't get on my nerves, so I haven't done anything about that. But he also likes biting through the thick leaves of my plants (Janet Craigs, corn plant, lady palm). So for that we've tried both NaturVet Bitter Yuck and Grannick's bitter apple.
We like the Bitter Yuck the best - it's water-based & potent. I only respray it on the plants every few months. Plus, the label says its safe for furniture, drapes, paws, tails, wounds, bandages, etc. (I can say I've gotten it on my carpet unintentionally & the carpet isn't discolored or anything) The Bitter Apple is Isopropanol-based (a chemical commonly used as a disinfectant, antifreeze, and solvent), and killed my plants (where ever the spray touched - the plants died). On the bottle, it states "may stain surfaces."
Note: after you spray them, wash your hands. I have tasted bitter yuck WAY too many times
If you really want the bitter apple stuff rather than Bitter Yuck, I'm happy to send you two bottles of grannicks bitter apple we have sitting around - one 8 fluid oz & one 16 oz bottle still wrapped in plastic. I haven't touched them since they killed the plants.
One of mine likes to chew on and lick plastic shopping bags, though she never chewed on the shower curtain. It wasn't one of the clear liners though, so maybe the material was different. I never noticed that it was particularly noisy, but I don't leave them out at night, and I sleep like a log anyway.
There probably are toys - or if not toys that are specifically for that, something you could use - that might attract him more than your shower curtain. Will he go in the tub if you leave it on the inside? What if you run some water before you go to bed, so that the floor of the tub is wet? That might be enough to turn him off. But it does sound like you may need to come up with something else for him to chew on. Would he chew on one of those mylar crinkle balls? Of course, I don't know that that would make any less noise...
There probably are toys - or if not toys that are specifically for that, something you could use - that might attract him more than your shower curtain. Will he go in the tub if you leave it on the inside? What if you run some water before you go to bed, so that the floor of the tub is wet? That might be enough to turn him off. But it does sound like you may need to come up with something else for him to chew on. Would he chew on one of those mylar crinkle balls? Of course, I don't know that that would make any less noise...
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