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My cat eats plastic and string. How can I stop this pica behavior?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 2 years and 4 months old | 4 lbs

My cat is constantly finding plastic and swallows it. Recently he also ate a long piece of string. Other thins such a foil and fuzzy substance has been swallowed. He recently brought up a piece of the strong and a piece of plastic. I know how dangerous this can be . I'm very worried/concerned. What can I do about this?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Jenna Beyer, DVM, MBA, cVMA

Veterinarian, Certified Veterinary Acupuncturist

Published on August 11th, 2019

This is really common in cats. It's called "pica." There isn't a way to treat it, though. The best thing is to keep all of the objects that Sampson likes to eat picked up and out of his reach. Make sure he has plenty of toys to occupy his time and prevent boredom. Look for puzzle toys. You can even use the puzzle toys to feed him his meals. You can discuss anxiety medications with your vet, if you feel that may be a component of his pica. Here is a great option for allowing cats to hunt for their food: https://docandphoebe.com

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Dr. Elizabeth

    Veterinarian

    Published on January 14th, 2019

    As long as you feed Sampson a normal, commercial cat food his diet is complete as the diets are fortified. Most people know that dogs can have oral fixations and chew/swallow things but they don’t know that cats can have this too! It’s unknown at this time why they want to eat things like plastic bags, hair ties or strings but as you found out, it can cause a serious problem. Some cats will out grow this behavior and some won’t. You definitely want to make sure to keep everything up and out of the way so Sampson can’t eat things. You can also ‘Sampson proof’ a room where he hangs out any time you are not directly supervising him. Also set aside at least 30 minutes a day to play with him. Build some shelves or get a cat tree with a hiding area on top to stimulant his brain. This may help to decrease the behavior (however unlikely to eliminate it). I hope this is helpful and please feel free to post any additional questions.

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