My cat has started eating my clothes

I have adopted a 10 month old black kitty who is very frisky about a week and a half ago. So far I've done a pretty good job of keeping him entertained with toys, but I don't think he liked being kicked out of the bedroom last night so I could get some rest. I woke up this morning to find my cardigan eaten to little pieces. I'm afraid it will happen again. I would like to know what I can do to stop this from reoccuring and how can he be disciplined if I can't see it happening??

Any input will help me greatly. Thank you.:tounge2:

Inky - that's a cute name - My cat's name is Jinxy, I call him inxy for .... oh, who knows why, I'ma crazy cat owner:tounge2:

Maybe he's teething.... Did he EAT it, or just rip it up? 10 months, huh, I dunno - someone here will though, stand by!

I would do a couple of things, I would make sure that all your sweaters and clothes are put up where kitty can't reach them, and I would give kitty some more stimulus because kitty is saying he is either bored or lonely. Create a room with a bunch of obstacles kitty can play in and around, empty cardboard boxes are good, flip em upside down, cut holes in them at different levels and anchor them down so kitty can't flip em over. Empty drawers work too, natural cat posts are great, and there is always the option of adopting another kitty for this one to play with. Then they just wreck havoc with each other! Anyway, those are my suggestions, others will have more I am sure.

Provide him with plastics straws so he has something to chew on - I hear MdDonalds straws are the best.

Does he usually sleep with you and you just kicked him out last night? Cats do hold grudges, and they tend to get even. If this was a first time of kicking him out he may be trying to train you that he does not like it! Smart little buggers, aren't they?

If you plan to keep him out of the bedroom, pick up everything and leave lots of toys. Even if he can sleep with you, play with him a lot before bed time to tire him out. Although cats are nocturnal by nature you can work on changing his schedule to match yours. Also, don't get up to play with him/feed him in the middle of the night. They pick up on that even after one time and will expect you to get up whenever they want. You'll never get any sleep!

This behavior is called "pica" -- humans get it too -- pica simply means the compulsion to eat non-food items. Hair and dirt are common ones. For Siamese cats and cats who have Siamese somewhere in their heritage (Russian Blue, Orientals, etc), wool eating or wool sucking is common.

There is no single cause of pica. . .in the past people have blamed early weaning and craving for lanolin. . .sometimes there is a deficient mineral (particularly in the dirt eating) but I think mostly the cause of this behavior is unknown.

I would not treat this as a behavioral problem and try to punish your kitty -- assume that he simply has a craving for chewing rather than assume he was deliberately trying to damage your things. He may have missed you and wanted to get very close to whatever smelled like you.

Please do not allow your cat to swallow non-food items. . .playing and chewing is fine but swallowing strings, fabric, etc. can cause intestinal blockage and can be fatal. My cat used to eat cotton socks and her vet chastised me for allowing this to happen. . .fortunately, she never got a blockage.

Try offering grass and a vitamin mineral supplement and put all nibble prone items safely away.

I totally agree with Maui...
I have a siamese and she loves to play with-eat and steal my wool sweaters.
Because she is an indoor cat she wasn't getting enough fiber from her her everyday food source. So what I eventually ended up doing is plant kitty grass.
She loves it -It must taste like what chocolate tastes like to me.
_____________________________
Monica

Thank you very much for all the replies. Inkie just seems to be a mischievous. I've ended up putting all of his toys in the living room when I go to sleep and just closing the bedroom door when I'm sleeping and when I'm not there. I'm going to be looking into planting kitty grass. Can I get that from any pet store?? I just need some reassurance that kitty will grow out of this. I'm also looking into getting a stratching post tower to keep him entertained. I just don't know how many more toys he needs. He has 3 to chase and 1 to paw at. I just get frustrated at times.

A scratching tower is a real must !! Buy one with lots of play-facilities , like a rope , a hiding place , etc. !
The younger yor cat gets it , the better it will adjust to it !!
Have fun Inkie !!!:girly2:

My cats used to eat my shoelaces. Now I have to hide my shoes very high where they can't get to them at. Brand new shoes with half a shoelace missing. They wouldn't eat them, they would just chew them into pieces and move onto more of the shoelace.

is a freak for string. I have throws over my couch and chair in my house and he pulls the threads out and tries to eat them..... what a goober head...:tounge2:


My sister had to rush her huskie (ya I know, not a cat), to the vet because he ate ROCKS! They think he had an upset belly and ate them to make his belly better. Go figure, who knows what these crazy animules are thinking when they eat silly things!

Anyway, I hope your kidden calms down and eats your tee shirts instead of your nice sweaters!:laughing2

hey , you do not have any clothes you want to get rid of ???? like stinky socks ???:clown:
hahahaha , I'm only joking ...!!!