One of my cats likes to hump blankets, even though he is neutered. He is about 8 years old, and has done it ever since we adopted him 3 years ago, so I suspect he has done it for a long time before we had him. I have seen cats knead blankets and purr like they would do when feeding from their mother as a kitten, but not this...he actually humps them, and purrs really loud while doing it.I have tried taking them away from him, and putting blankets out of reach, but this has not been able to get him to stop. If I put away all the throw blankets, then he just gets up on the bed and goes after the bedspread. His favorite action is he likes to grab a throw blanket on a chair with his mouth, drag it to the floor, then wad it up and go to town on it! He also drags blankets with his mouth all over the house! I have read it is a nervous habbit with some male cats and has nothing to do with sexual activity. He is kind of a skiddish cat to begin with. No matter how much I take the blankets away from him and give him a firm "No!", he keeps doing it. I know it is not hurting anything, but it is kind of weird and gross, especially when guests are over at the house. Does anyone have any ideas for discouraging this behavior? Or should I just allow it to happen because it is a stress relief for him?
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Can/should blanket humping by cat be stopped?
- Thread starter lon1
- Start Date
If you feel it's awkward around your guests I'd just remove any blankets from rooms they might be in when they visit your house, so that problem is an easy fix.
At this point, after 3 years, I probably would let it be. I strongly believe in picking my battles in general, and this is not one I'd pick with a cat who is otherwise well behaved. If it 10 out of 10 bothers you, that is a different story, but it sounds to me more like you just think it is weird/slightly gross. I think it would be more trouble than it is worth to you to try to change this behavior now, but maybe I'm wrong.
At this point, after 3 years, I probably would let it be. I strongly believe in picking my battles in general, and this is not one I'd pick with a cat who is otherwise well behaved. If it 10 out of 10 bothers you, that is a different story, but it sounds to me more like you just think it is weird/slightly gross. I think it would be more trouble than it is worth to you to try to change this behavior now, but maybe I'm wrong.
