It's certainly not a desirable habit- there can be meat bones, foul chemicals, little bits of plastic that could be choked on or swallowed, or other hazardous waste in the kitchen garbage at any given time. Plus it's not fun cleaning up after a big cat knocks your garbage can over and trying to "kitty-proof" your trash to keep a determined cat out of it can be an ongoing struggle. That said I'd like to think that if they were filming the kitten rooting through the trash bag they had a good idea of what was in there and it was nothing too gross and they would intervene if she started chewing on something. Probably not kitten abuse but certainly not setting the best possible habits for that kitten's future development. However usually what draws an adult cat into the trash is an exciting aroma, not just a force of habit.

A better way to have fun with a kitten in a bag is to give them an empty paper bag and scratch your fingers on the outside of it to draw them in. Fun but clean!

Cali answered on 9/15/11. Helpful? / 2