Why is My Cat Sucking on My Blanket
Jan
There are times when I wonder why is my cat sucking on my blanket. Are you like me? You are also curious, wondering why you can fix it easily, helping the cat not to suck his blanket anymore.
Don’t worry too much about it! Here we will answer questions about why cats suck on blankets and give you a few ways to overcome this situation. Please read this article to the end, I hope they have a lot of useful information to help you easily solve the problem!
Contents
1. What is Blanket Sucking in Cats?
Do you know what the act of suckling kittens on a blanket is actually called? It’s called sucking wool! Wool sucking is the act of describing when a cat sucks on blankets or other fabric items, such as sweaters, rugs, or tapestries.
Any cat can have wool sucking behavior, but it is especially common in some cat breeds such as: Burmese, Siamese and Oriental mixed breeds,… often with kittens nursing in blankets. You can observe that the dog breed with wool sucking behavior, the kittens are also more likely to suck on blankets and sweaters because they are exposed to each other during their living.
2. Why Do Cats Suck Wool?
Perhaps the question that comes to your mind the most is “why is the cat sucking wool?”. And without making you wait any longer, let’s go to find out the reasons for that!
2.1. Because Kittens Have to Separate from Their Mother
There are many theories to explain wool sucking behavior in cats because kittens have to separate from their mothers early. However, this is a controversial theory, but it goes like this: the act of sucking is mimicking the act of a kitten sucking at its mother.
The kitten will knead, gently press the areas around the nipple to stimulate milk production, and suckle to remove the milk from the nipple. Watch a cat as it sucks on a blanket, it is repeating these actions, leading many cat owners to assume it happens when a kitten is separated from its mother at a very young age.
We say this is a controversial theory because there are so many examples of cats and kittens staying with their mothers until they are a few months old but still nursing under a blanket. Still, it’s been asserted that this behavior is certainly similar to what a mother cat does when nursing her kittens, but it probably won’t have anything to do with how old the kittens are when they’re separated from their mothers.
2.2. Due to Race
It is often said that Eastern breeds such as Siamese cats tend to suck more than other cats. These crested breeds have a longer weaning period than other cat breeds, which means they are more likely to be separated from their mothers sooner.
This could back up the argument that wool sucking is more likely to occur in kittens that have stopped sucking too soon, and most Eastern breeds do! In other words, early lactation and the formation of wool sucking behavior in cats have become the custom of Eastern cats.
2.3. Reduce Stress
Kittens often feel safe with their mother’s protection and when they really don’t have to worry about anything. Therefore, when faced with excessive stress or anxiety, they may engage in blanket-sucking behavior because this behavior is used as a self-soothing strategy in cats, in the same way that some children do.
I like to suck my thumb! When your pet feels distressed or anxious, they begin to latch on to the blanket to help calm them down and make them feel better. This is behavior that occurs only a few times or infrequently, which shouldn’t be too much of a concern, but if your cat is constantly stressed and becomes constantly sucking, it’s a sign that you need to do something about it. Something to comfort your kitten.
2.4. Show The Love
The feeling of pleasure and relaxation when a kitten is holding a blanket or another woolen item. This is because your kitten feels comfortable interacting with those objects and it reminds them of their mother and siblings. The act of sucking wool is often accompanied by “spring” and kneading, which some people like to call “cookie making”. And that could be a sign that they feel the love they have for you and trust you completely, wanting to be petted.
2.5. Habit
Whatever the initial cause of wool sucking, if the cat continues to suck, especially after certain events and at certain times, this act of sucking can quickly become a habit. Kitty. In these cases, your cat sucks for no reason, it’s just a habit.
3. Ways to Prevent Wool Sucking Behavior in Cats
Wool sucking will be normal as long as it doesn’t happen too often and doesn’t affect the surrounding objects as well as the cat itself. However, if wool sucking becomes more or more frequent, and if your cat begins to chew, or even swallow, wool, then it could be a problem that needs to be addressed.
3.1. Limit Your Cat’s Access to Your Blanket
If your kitten only sucks on the blanket in a particular spot, it’s best to limit your cat’s access to that spot or even stop covering it there. When your cat has a single blanket that it likes and it only feeds on that blanket, you quickly hide it and can get rid of it completely.
3.2. Replace the Blanket with Something Else
The way to prevent the cat from sucking on your blanket, you can replace the blanket with another cat toy such as: woolen roll, fish, … And you start playing with it, to create Giving your cat some fun, wonderful moments that can help your kitten forget about the act of sucking her blanket.
3.3. Play with Cats
Kittens get bored easily, especially with indoor cats, and this can lead to anxiety. If this anxiety makes your cat want to suck on wool, one way to enrich her life is to create more recreational activities so your cat can eliminate the need to suckle.
Make sure you have plenty of cat toys, scratching posts, cat grass, and other items they can use to fill their time. Try to make time to play with your cat every day. Or you can entertain your kittens by relaxing watching TV while petting and cuddling them. Not only will this enrich their lives and yours, but it will also help strengthen the bond between both of you.
3.4. Go See a Vet
In some cases, wool sucking in kittens occurs only occasionally. As long as the cat does not chew or swallow the material, you can allow it to continue sucking the wool.
However, if you find that wool sucking is abusive and is starting to affect your kitten’s mental health, then I think you should consult your veterinarian or professionals. about the cat’s behavior for more peace of mind. You should also make sure the behavior isn’t a symptom of an underlying medical condition.
And you can also adjust your cat’s diet. As with increasing the amount of fiber in your cat’s diet, this can make her feel fuller and may help reduce the urge to suck or eat lychee. I think you should discuss these dietary changes further with your veterinarian.
Conclusion
Above is information on why your kitten sucks on blankets, causes and ways to limit those causes when they become a danger to your kitten! These reasons will sometimes become habits that will cause trouble for you and affect the health of your cat.
With this meager amount of information, 9Blanket hopes you won’t be too worried about your cat’s condition. Provide you with information and first steps to help you recognize and respond when faced with such a situation. But if there are any other serious problems, we strongly recommend that you take your cat to the vet.
Hope this article will be useful to you, thank you for reading our article!
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