First of all, don't worry and calm down. This is a very common bad habit of cats. They most often lick, suck and chew woolen items, but they may also choose other types of fabric or objects such as human hair, plastic or paper bags, shoelaces, clothing, and bedding. It is a self-comforting obsessive-compulsive behavior similar to thumb sucking in human children.
Most often this is not associated with health problems, however, there are several diseases (such as anemia, diabetes, mineral deficiencies, feline leukemia, feline immunodeficiency virus, brain tumors) that can cause this behavior, so it makes sense Get examined by a veterinarian to rule out any medical causes.
Reasons for the habit
A deviation in pet behavior in which a cat sucks or licks clothes, blankets, carpets, its own fur or the tail of another animal is called “sucking syndrome.”
Veterinarians identify the following factors influencing the appearance of the habit:
- The kitten was weaned from its mother before 8 weeks. The problem arises due to lack of care and concern on the part of the cat.
- Various diseases. These include brain tumors, diabetes mellitus, anemia, lack of vitamins and minerals, leukemia, and immunodeficiency virus.
- Stress suffered by animals. Separation from the owner, moving to another apartment, the birth of a child, divorce, unsanitary conditions can lead to such deviations in behavior even in adults.
- Lack of attention. In this way, the pet tries to attract the attention of its owners.
- Sedentary lifestyle. The addiction occurs in cats that do not go outside. Due to lack of stimulation and physical activity, the cat becomes bored and thus seeks care and attention.
- Breed. Scientists have proven that cats of oriental origin are prone to bad habits.
Taking care of hygiene
Well, of course, when licking a person, a cat tries to clean his “skin”, just as she is used to caring for her kittens. In the wild, a strong smell can give away an animal and attract an enemy. To destroy it, the cat will carefully lick hands washed with scented soap or neck or hair scented with shampoo.
You should not show your cat dissatisfaction with such a toilet. If you often drive a cat away, avoiding its rough tongue, the emotional connection and trust in the person may be disrupted. Saving him from danger, endowing him with the aromas of his “group”, the cat expects recognition and affection in return.
Why is it dangerous?
If the pet then starts eating the owner's things, the risk of intestinal obstruction increases.
First of all, it is necessary to find out the reason for this behavior of the pet in order to exclude serious diseases. If the animal is healthy, then the worst thing is when the cat goes from sucking things to chewing and swallowing them. Which can lead to blockage of the esophagus and intestinal obstruction, and such conditions often result in death. If the fabric is synthetic or contains toxic dyes, the animal will develop severe intoxication.
Why does a cat lick the wall?
Generally, cats use their tongue to clean themselves and drink water. However, you may have noticed that your cat likes to lick the wall. From our point of view, there is no point in licking the wall at all. Cement or concrete has no nutritional value and certainly can't be fun, can it?
There are many reasons why your cat may be acting so strange. We'll look at all the possible causes, as well as some steps you can take to stop your cat from licking the wall.
How to wean it off?
In order for a cat to stop sucking a blanket, the very first thing you need to do is eliminate or reduce the number of objects around that can be used for sucking. No source, no problem. You can repel with a spray bottle of water or aromatic oils with citrus scents. Veterinarians also insist on conducting a full examination and identifying possible causative diseases or complications. If a deficiency of nutrients and vitamins is detected, the cat is prescribed a special diet.
It is important to distract the student from unwanted games. Especially important are those that will develop trust between the purr and the owner. When you see your pet doing an obscene activity, you need to distract him for at least 10-20 minutes so that the cat’s brain has time to switch. At the end of the game, you can pet the animal or offer it a treat. Then he will enjoy the entertainment, and not from sucking on the blanket. It is important to provide the child with toys that will not let him get bored during the day when the owners are at work.
Breeders remind you that care should be taken to have several scratching posts, high shelves or a whole complex. The tray and feeding area should be kept clean. Then the animal will feel comfortable and safe. You should never punish or beat someone for bad behavior or strange habits. On the contrary, you need to surround your pet with care, affection and attention, then he will not have the desire to attract attention to himself by sucking on the blanket.
Why do cats lick each other?
The fact that cats lick themselves at every opportunity (after contact with people as well) is known to all purring owners. If two mustachioed animals live in an apartment at once, then the owners will witness synchronized washing and even licking each other. Why do cats and cats do this?
There are several reasons. They are simple but interesting. The cat's logic immediately becomes clear.
Animal behavior defies human logic. Bipeds do not understand much about the movements of pets. Today we will figure out why cats living in the same apartment wash each other.
Firstly
, there could really be sympathy between them. Not necessarily blood ties, but mutual love, as between close relatives. After all, two pets share the same territory without quarrels, why not help wash your neighbor? This is how they show affection for a member of their family or pack. A cat will never lick an unfamiliar animal! Most often, cats that were adopted into the same family at the same age groom each other.
Cats love cleanliness. This is the second reason
, according to which they will wash not only themselves, but also their neighbors, in order to keep everything around clean and communicate comfortably.
A little selfishness: cats cannot reach all parts of the body, so with the help of their cat’s tongue they wash areas that they cannot reach on their own.
Mother cats wash their kittens for the same reason: the babies themselves do not yet know how to take care of themselves, so the adult will often lick them. This is how kittens become accustomed to the daily toilet. From 4 weeks, kittens already learn their mother’s lessons and begin to lick themselves.
Third reason
lies in the cat's hierarchy and strengthening of status. Yes, there are social structures in the cat world. As a result of research, it turned out that cats of higher rank wash their lower relatives.
Washers can also behave passive-aggressively, hissing at those they lick, once again demonstrating their strength and high status. In this way they secure territory for themselves. Suddenly, a cat of a higher rank wanted to lie down in the place of a relative, then she would begin to lick the other animal until it left the occupied area. Sometimes licking is not an act of love, but a consolidation of the power play.
How to recognize that a cat wants to wash itself? When a pet cranes its neck, this is a request for grooming and washing. If there is no cat nearby, then feel free to grab a brush and scratch the one thirsty for care!
The animals are waiting for you to like this post.
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To maintain cleanliness
Self-licking is a natural and very common mechanism for caring for one's own body in the animal kingdom.
Cat licking rituals like these are a demonstration of love for cleanliness:
- The cleanest. Sometimes it seems that keeping oneself clean is the main task of a feline brother. Taking the most graceful poses, Murka licks herself for hours, touchingly washes her face with her paws and rubs her ears. She does this many times a day: after sleeping, feeding, taking care of her natural needs, and even stroking her. A cat's tongue, covered with miniature hooks and therefore rough to the touch, combs and arranges hairs like a brush, removing dirt and foreign odors. During this massage, blood flow is stimulated and the skin glands intensify the production of an oily secretion, which lubricates the hair and protects it from moisture.
- “No” to foreign odors. The desire to lick a person may be motivated by the desire to destroy unusual scent marks. According to the cat's understanding, all perfumes, including perfumes, soaps, shampoos and creams, have unnatural and even unpleasant odors, which must be urgently gotten rid of. This is why the cat spends so much time and carefully licking its own area of the body with medicinal ointment applied to it.
- Tempting aromas. Some cosmetics, on the contrary, can be very attractive to mustachios. Such, for example, is a hand and nail cream with an extract of medicinal valerian, which has a magical effect on cats and activates the owner’s obsessive licking. Some cats love the smell of peony tincture and therefore tend to lick the hands or lips of a person who has taken this sedative. Cats are also attracted to human sweat, which contains odorous substances similar to animal pheromones. So the owner, returning from a morning jog or after a hard work shift, smells very attractive to the murka.
Why does a cat suck a blanket, blanket, tail or paw?
Owners don’t think about how to wean a cat from sucking a blanket if every morning the pet has a happy face:
This behavior is a sign of trust and love between the pet and its owner. Sucking on a blanket saturated with the scent of a person of the highest rank in the family is a recognition of strength and, at the same time, one’s own safety.
If the cat sucks on blankets and other bedding not in the morning, there are several reasons:
- Impaired metabolism.
- Stressful situation (sucking calms).
- The kitten is teething.
- The sucking reflex has not faded in a baby or an already mature cat.
Sucking a tail or paw should alert the owner: perhaps the cat is trying to pull out a splinter. If, when you carefully feel the paw, the cat withdraws the limb, you will need the help of a veterinarian. If no pain is observed, he may have been taken away from his mother early or he is experiencing severe stress.
Inflammation of the anal glands and postoperative sutures
On the sides of the anus there are paired formations - paraanal glands, which are necessary for marking territory, attracting partners for mating, and scaring away large predators. In case of digestive disorders, injuries, pregnancy, the excretory ducts become clogged, the secretion remains inside, and paraproctitis develops. The pet smells bad, he licks the sore spot and rubs it on the floor.
Elderly pets living in high-rise apartments, castrati and obese cats are predisposed. The solution to the problem is cleaning the anal glands, rinsing them or removing them. Prevention consists of feeding with professional nutrition of at least premium class.
If the course of wound healing is unfavorable after castration, suppuration develops or copious exudate is released. The cat begins to lick the seams, which can provoke an inflammatory process. The optimal solution is to treat the defect with an aerosol antiseptic wound healing agent to create a gauze-free dressing. In some cases, a cervical collar is put on the cat.
