Why Does My Cat Eat My Hairs When i Sleep? Even if you are experienced with cats it’s not always easy to understand their behavior.
Cats have a wide range of emotions, just like humans (happy, sad, scared, relieved and even disappointed). It’s important to pay attention to your cat’s attitude and correctly interpret her behavior. This way you will be able to recognize these feelings and respond where needed. This is the key to a good relationship with your cat.
One of the usual topics of conversation between cat-lovers is “why my cat eat my hairs”.
This is one of the “strange” behaviors of a cat – it is also called “wool sucking”.
Why my cat eat my hairs (chew, suck or lick) and even wool fabrics (blankets, mats, socks, etc)
There are various reasons for that:
It is rare but there is a chance that this behavior is provoked by nutritional problems (need of high-fiber diet) or medical conditions (anemia)
- Socialize
When my cat eat my hairs she may be mimicking her mother that cleaned her fur. She may try to socialize with me and show her affection.
- Stress and anxiety
Not everyone knows that animals can suffer from compulsive behaviors similar to obsessive-compulsive disorders (OCD) in humans
Wool sucking is classified in this category (same as the dog that chases its tail).
Repeating this familiar behavior, the cat tries to reassure herself, since every time she attempts it, endorphins are produced in her brain. The behavior usually starts at a young age (less than one year). When a cat can’t breastfeed her mom chooses to breastfeed fabrics or hairs as a second choice, in an attempt to make up for it.
Statistically, this occurs more often in eastern tribes, including Siamese, Birman, and Burmese, because they have a longer period of breastfeeding than the others.
stressful factors that may have led my cat eat my hairs:
Did the cat was removed early from her mom?
Did she suffer any stress during the period when she first started the behavior?
Did she, in other words, change anything in her life or the family at that time (moving, new member, loss, repairs, new noisy construction in the area, etc.)?
Is it dangerous? Should I stop my cat eat my hairs?
Usually, this habit is not dangerous.
Some cats stop “wool sucking” on their own as they grow and mature or if the stressful factor is over. But others never stop.
This can become harmful especially if the cat becomes obsessed about it and start to swallow pieces of the fluffy things she sucks. This, at some point, can provoke problems for their intestines.
That’s why you’re going to have to help her quit the habit.
What can I do to stop my cat eat my hairs ?
Here are some tips to help you:
1) Find out what causes her anxiety and stress and remove it from her life
2) While she’s sucking, remove gently the inappropriate cloth (or your hair) and give her something else to chew on (e.g. a cat toy with catnip, a cat biscuit or even her meal). You can also try to draw her attention to something else.
3) Increase the daily game. Play with her twice a day until she gets tired.
4) spend more hours with her because she may need more attention. Add activities within the day because she may get bored.
5) Proceed to what experts call the “catification” of the house (cat renovation). This will increase her interest in the environment. In other words, enrich the house with activities for cats (furniture and toys).