Nursing behavior (but not sucking) on blanket

by Suzie
(Ann Arbor, MI)


My male cat Edwin is 2 years old and since he was a kitten (an abandoned kitten that I rescued from a shelter) he sometimes "nurses" on a fleece blanket I have. He paws at it and from afar looks as though he's sucking but I've gotten a good close look at him while doing it and he's not, he's just drooling all over it and touching it to his closed mouth. I stop him whenever he starts (mostly because it's annoying and wakes me up while I'm trying to sleep) but I want to make sure that it's a normal behavior for an abandoned cat. How can I keep him from doing it all together without having to take the blanket completely away from him (he loves sleeping on it as well as drooling on it).


thank you
Suzie

Answer by Kate
well I don't think you should try and stop him from doing it. it is not causing him any harm and most cats have their favourite toy, cushion etc and the pawing and drooling is just happiness and completely normal.

My own cat can be heard at night pawing her cushion and rubbing her chops over the cushion she is on. It is normal, i really wouldn't worry and after all it makes your cat feel happy and safe and this is what you want after all for your cat, especially as he had a rough start to life.

best wishes and a happy Christmas
Kate

Comments for Nursing behavior (but not sucking) on blanket

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Nursing behavior
by: Anonymous

I also have a 2 year old male who does this with a throw blanket, and yes he was also a rescue,(along with 3 other siblings, 1 male and 2 female), but about 9 months ago one of the females had a litter of 5 females and in which one of these are are doing the same with the same throw. So I don't think that it's only from orphaned cats
Nursing behavious
by: Donna

My 10 month old Daisy still does this. I got her from a rescue centre at 12 weeks and she likes to nuzzle under my chin and paw and she dribbles as she does it. Its rather sweet apart from the fact that i end up with my neck and chest clawed to pieces :)
one of mine does that too, except she sucks it
by: Anonymous

my family and I rescued my female cat when she was very young (I can't remember how young but she did have her eyes open and she wasn't tiny tiny just small if you get that...) we rescued her from a city and I think she was abandoned because she was meowing and she was alone. sometimes she wil lstart to knead this one very soft and fuzzy blanket and she will pick it up with her teeth and I geuss suck on it. it is really adorable actually, considering she is fat and grumpy (before we got MY cat, another stray(I say my cause he likes me best) she would randomly bit me) anyways just wanted to comment. I think they do this on fleece blankets because they feel like their mothers fur and makes them feel safe and happy.

bye!
Cat sucking on blanket
by: Anonymous

My cat does the same, although I do think she soemtimes sucks on the blanket, but for the most part she puts a little corner in her mouth and drolls all over it. She was a feral that got rescued. She has been doing so since she was a kitten. I have a fleece blanket specially for her. I wondered if it was normal, but it seems to make her specially happy.

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