Is There a Kitty AA?

Ross has an addiction problem. He won't admit it, but the signs are all there. He lies about where he's been and what he's doing. I'm sure he'd lie about who he was with but Betsey is his only choice and she's quite the nark. He's got the constant munchies and sleeps away much of his day. His motivation is severely lacking. All classic addiction symptoms.

What is he addicted to? Licking plastic.

I brought home some dry cleaning the other day and hung it in the guest bathroom. Last night I woke up about 3am and discovered him sitting on the toilet in the dark licking the plastic bag. When I confronted him about what he was doing, he refused to respond, but just looked at me with these glazed over eyes. This morning I pulled the garbage bag out of the can to take it to the curb and he whined when I took it away from him. He's so desperate to lick plastic that he sits next to the litter box and licks the plastic box liner!

Ross would rather lick plastic than sun himself. He would rather lick plastic than snuggle in clean, unfolded laundry. He would rather lick plastic than irritate his sister.

I must confess, I've known about Ross's experimentation with plastic for almost 12 years now and I've always looked the other way. I assumed (incorrectly) that it was a phase he would eventually outgrow and that it was not getting in the way of his other activities. I was wrong. I've been a bad parent.

So now I must deal with this problem. Ross is an addict. And I've been an enabler.