My Cat likes earwax

[sylvanis]

Hi Guys

I'm new here.

Okay, I have a cat that is i think 5 years old he is half main coon, and his name is Java. Well I just discovered that he goes crazy for ear wax!! Okay your probably sitting there reading this thinking EWWW! My boyfriend was playing with him, and this is how we discovered he liked earwax!

He starts meowing like crazy like its cat food and wants to lick it off his finger...he just loves it...i can't understand why!

Has anyone come across this kind of behaviour??
(haha! I know...it's hilarious!)

-Angela
www.frutavida4u.com/nsfrutavida

 

[rosiemac]

I wouldn't let him lick it

Just the thought of it makes me nausious

 

[jane_vernon]

Human ear wax or cat ear wax?? I mean both are kind of gross but then again, some people like to eat boogers!!

 

[rosiemac]

Now i really do feel sick

 

[semiferal]

I have known a couple of cats who were obsessed with earwax. It's really weird. They respond to it as if it were catnip!

But then, I know several dogs who are obsessed with poop. At least gross cat habits are less nasty than gross dog habits.

 

[stormy]

Originally Posted by rosiemac

I wouldn't let him lick it

Just the thought of it makes me nausious

 

[crittermom]

Ewwwwwwwwww. That sounds

Nope, never even entered my mind to let Blaze sniff our ears. As far as using fingers,ummmm we use q-tips

 

[catkid92]

Amos and Toby enjoy it too, and i think it's funny when they lick my ears.....this is what I found on google however....



Consider the following: Cats rarely reject a proffered piece of food on the basis of it's taste. They use smell as the discriminator to decide if something is likely to be good tucker or not. Using their sense of smell, the cats subconsciously realize that earwax has a nutritional value - specific olfactory receptors will be triggered by the scent of the fatty acids, the cholesterol, and also the dead skin cells (mostly protein). Cats are specifically attuned to the scent of animal proteins, hence their preference for meat - also the reason why cats hungrily devour earwax


Hope that helps

 

[zissou'smom]

Ewww? That seems gross. Then again my cat plays with tp out of the toilet! Like, if you blow your nose or something, she will dig it out. It happens alot if people come over and throw a bit of tissue in the toilet.
I agree with the qtip idea, but Z likes to play with those even if I just use it to wipe off extra mascara or something.

 

[bengalsmum]

OMG does your man get lots of earwax then or something? And why does he put it on his finger......

i would die if my cat started licking my ears, i wont be letting him near them now just incase

 

[sylorna]

We used to have a cat named Rasha that would eat my mom's wax earplugs because they had ear wax all over them...she would lock them in a special box and put them in a drawer during the day otherwise they'd be gone. Also, precautions were needed when useing Q-tips, he'd pull them out of the garbage and take a munch. No idea why, but man, Rash loooved earwax!

 

[reddicequeen]

carefully hiding all qtips. Hoping my cats are stupid and never develop a taste for ear wax. *lol

 

[buzbyjlc10]

Oliver's never licked it out of anyone's ears directly, but if a used qtip happens to miss the trash can and he finds it, he'll lick it... and even though he's an indoor only kitty, I occasionally clean his ears out (always right after his monthly bath and then usually once in between baths... I think using a cover potty box might be why - they're not like super gunky ever and there's never ear mites or infection) and he likes the qtips then... also every once in a blue moon he'll come over to get head scritches and move his head about until he gets a finger in his ear, then I know he wants some inside the ear scritches (not too hard or deep of course) and he always licks my finger after... I've never been grossed out by it because I always just think "hey, he licks his bum after he poos, so earwax is much more polite in comparison"....

 

[kittycorner]

Hi and Welcome!
Yes I too have a few that like earwax! It is extremly gross but like someone else said, they lick their own butts. Ginger and Gracie both LOVE earwax! I am disgusted by it, but what can ya do-they do what they please.

 

[coolcalico2001]

My one cat will actually dig the q-tips out of the trash bag to chew on them.

 

[solaritybengals]

Thats the only way Meeka will let me clean her ears...if she gets the cue-tips afterwards. Its gross but I've never had a cat that didn't like earwax.

 

[leilaluv]

Ooooooh.............so THAT's why my ear plugs were missing!!
I was wondering what the obsession was!lol. Makes sense now

 

[bengalsmum]

Q-tips ? Is that american for Ear buds?

Sorry just never heard them being called that before....here in the uk they are cotton buds/ear buds or cosmetic buds!

Q-tips sounds much cooler!

 

[buzbyjlc10]

Originally Posted by bengalsmum

Q-tips ? Is that american for Ear buds?

Sorry just never heard them being called that before....here in the uk they are cotton buds/ear buds or cosmetic buds!

Q-tips sounds much cooler!

I believe we're talking about the same thing, hahah... a cardboard or plastic stick with bits of cotton on each end... I believe "Q-tip" is a brandname which came from the inventer's nickname for his daughter (oh, the things I pick up from watching Who Wants to be a Millionaire...).... The generic ones are often called cotton swabs over here...

 

[bengalsmum]

Originally Posted by BuzbyJLC10

I believe we're talking about the same thing, hahah... a cardboard or plastic stick with bits of cotton on each end... I believe "Q-tip" is a brandname which came from the inventer's nickname for his daughter (oh, the things I pick up from watching Who Wants to be a Millionaire...).... The generic ones are often called cotton swabs over here...

yeah that is the ones