Sucking On Blankets

[marvel7703]

Hi,
I have two cats at home who suck and paw on our blankets. Does anyone's cats do this as well? Is there a known reason for this? And is there a way to prevent this from happening? Thanks so much for your help in advance!

 

[abyeb]

My cat does this too. I've heard that sometimes this is a behavior seen in cats who were weaned too early, although there is sometimes a genetic component as well. My best recommendation would be to get some chew toys for them, like this one: Petstages ORKAkat Wiggle Worm Cat Toy

 

[babiesmom5]

I had a male cat who every morning prior to breakfast, pawed, chewed, bit, and sucked on an acrylic blanket we had on our bed. He was obsessive about it. Then sometimes he would throw up, with bits of blanket fibers in it, sometimes with hairballs.

After a while, it became nearly everyday. We became very worried and took him to the vet.
This led to GI ultrasound and biopsy. He was diagnosed with severe IBD to the point of extensive scarring and fibrosis in his intestines. It was a miracle it was not cancer, but it was bad enough. His case was presented at our state Veterinary school as a teaching tool.

Fibers like in a blanket are VERY irritating to a cat's GI system. You have to replace this blanket with one in which cat cannot chew, bit or suckle...maybe a silk or a velux or microfiber...something very smooth, non fibrous. You absolutely cannot allow your cat to chew or suckle anything fibrous.

My cat paid the ultimate price. My hope is that this is a lesson which will help others.

 

[prairiepanda]

Jonesy was found alone on the street when he was less than 4 weeks old, so he was never properly weaned. He suckles on blankets obsessively, and gets upset if nobody is touching him while he suckles. We got a blanket specifically for him, and tested it first to make sure no fibers could be pulled off. He learned very quickly that it's his blanket and that he's not allowed to suck any other blanket. We haven't done anything to discourage this behavior, but as time goes by he's slowing growing out of it. He used to suckle his blanket every time he got near it, but now he only does it once a day or every other day. At this rate, he will probably stop altogether eventually.

I have heard of some cats continuing to do this into adulthood, though. There are cat toys with fake nipples on them to appeal to such cats. Just make sure your cat doesn't suckle on anything that might be ingested.

 

[di and bob]

Perfectly normal. My Casper suckles and kneads on blankets and is 10 years old. He was definitely NOT weaned too early, he was kept from a first litter, and suckled right along with the newborns when his mom had a second litter 65 days after he was born. He nursed until he was 6 months old!

 

[danteshuman]

Awwwww you have a blanket kneader One of my cats did this Sarah. We found her when she was 10 days old along with her sister. Her sister Janey was failing to thrive so I co-opted my calmest male cat into mommy duty once and let her pretend to nurse off her his belly. After that he adopted both kittens and let Janey 'nurse' when ever she wanted. He taught them both how to hunt. Funny enough Sarah was a binkie nurser and Janey who got to 'nurse' off a cat never developed that habit. I think it is strongly linked to kittens being orphaned by their moms to young.

I suggest you enjoy it & take a picture

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

I had a male cat who every morning prior to breakfast, pawed, chewed, bit, and sucked on an acrylic blanket we had on our bed. He was obsessive about it. Then sometimes he would throw up, with bits of blanket fibers in it, sometimes with hairballs.

After a while, it became nearly everyday. We became very worried and took him to the vet.
This led to GI ultrasound and biopsy. He was diagnosed with severe IBD to the point of extensive scarring and fibrosis in his intestines. It was a miracle it was not cancer, but it was bad enough. His case was presented at our state Veterinary school as a teaching tool.

Fibers like in a blanket are VERY irritating to a cat's GI system. You have to replace this blanket with one in which cat cannot chew, bit or suckle...maybe a silk or a velux or microfiber...something very smooth, non fibrous. You absolutely cannot allow your cat to chew or suckle anything fibrous.

My cat paid the ultimate price. My hope is that this is a lesson which will help others.

This is a valid point, and something to keep in mind. I have a cat that was orphaned at 4 days old, bottle-raised, loves to suckle blankies (hence my username). It's a comfort thing for my cat. In fact, I don't know how on earth I would have kept her crated for the required time of cage-rest for her two knee surgeries the last year or so, if she hadn't of had one of her push-purr blankies to ease her stress of confinement. She hasn't done it much since out of the crates, and maybe she's growing out of it now -- but I'm glad you describe the experience you had with this, B babiesmom5 , it is certainly a good consideration.

 

[babiesmom5]

Thank you, PushPurrCatPaws . Each time someone reads...and heeds this warning helps to keep my dear Little Boy Grey's spirit alive. He was so loved, and is terribly missed.

 

[PushPurrCatPaws]

Hugs to you and your dear one's little soul -

I wish there was a 'breaking heart' smiley