My cat sucks on a blanket and sometimes ingests fuzzballs...?

Question

Could this be harmful for her health in any way? She is almost 9 and I got her as a stray when she was about 5wks. It was my baby blanket that I kept in the closet but she loved it a lot so I have just let her basically eat the blanket her entire life. If its harmful to her health in any way I would really like to know, thanks so much!

Answer 1

my mum's maltese dog does that, it's a comfort thing. she thinks it's her mum as she was taken from her mother too soon.

Answer 2

It's not good for an animal to eat material but I imagine if it's just fuzz she will cough it up or not much is really getting into her stomach.  I think she'll be fine and unless you can find something she will love as much as the blanket I'd let her keep it.  It truly is her security blanket.

Answer 3

It depends. If she is literally eating it (like large chunks that would be hard to swallow), it is not good as this can hurt digestion. If it is some fuzzy things that can be blown away by wind, it won't harm her. I would look at her f***s (a casual look- don't go through it) and see if there is any large chunks there. It is disgusting but its a good indicator. If there is nothing or you see little fuzzes, don't worry about it. Good luck!

Answer 4

When cats suck on blankets and/or dig with their paws it's not always because they were taken too young but it's usually because of this. When my cat had kittens I noticed that when they are feeding off the mother they used to take both their paws and do this digging action on her breast, and I'm guessing it was to help get the milk flowing better. If a cat does this, they will never stop, your cat just does it to that blanket because something about it makes her feel comforted, obviously it's because of the smell of you or something, especially if you did everything you could to be her replacement mother because she was taken young, the eating part is not harmful if its just like fluffy bits here and there, they will cough it up, but if it is large bits, like if she is ripping off chunks and eating them then maybe you should just call up the vet to ask if this is harmful or not. The you don't have to pay for a consult lol.