They don’t call them “cat burglars” for nothing. We just wish they would steal diamond jewelry or expensive watches for us instead of trying to gnaw on the piece of plastic we just threw away.

You know what they say about cats and curiosity, right? 

I’m not sure where the stereotype of cats being “picky eaters” came from because every cat I’ve ever owned has loved to eat everything, including things that are not food. From plastic containers to sewing thread, my cats love to sneak into my craft room and gorge themselves on a buffet of whatever they can find. Why do they do this when they have a purrfectly healthy and tasty bowl of wet and dry food waiting for them in the kitchen? It’s not a rhetorical question – I actually have some answers for you!

Small items like hair ties, string, or ribbon move unpredictably and resemble small prey. Cats usually start off by batting them, playing with them, and then dive into the deep end and try eating them. They may not be “tasty”, but they do satisfy an instinct deep down in your feline’s DNA. Also, just like hoomans, cats might start eating things out of boredom, or to self-soothe. Have you ever been stressed and felt like you wanted to eat a giant candy bar? Well, it’s pretty much the same thing. Repetitive chewing can become a comfort behavior in cats. 

So, all in all, they’re combining prey drive, curiosity, sensory preferences, and sometimes self-soothing behavior with the unfortunate inability to understand that a hair tie is not a mouse. Below, we gathered some hissterical, and slightly concerning, responses from cat owners who named the non-food item their cat will 100% try to eat the second they look away. Use these answers as a guide for your own cat, or just simply to laugh at how strange cats can be. There is no right answer, except that the string on your floor is not even close to being a real snake.