Does anyone else's cat love dirty towels?

[sparklexo]

So gross. My cat LOVES dirty towels, but not just the lightly used ones... only the ones that had been used daily and then thrown in the laundry pile and sat there waiting to be washed a week longer than they should. Every time I empty out the hamper to separate all my loads for laundry day, my cat runs into the room and starts rolling around in the nasty used towels. She won't go for the used kitchen towels, only the ones I've used on my body! (I have a lot of clean ones, so I just rotate using clean ones and then wash all the towels together at the end of the week.. sometimes the next week at the latest, since the laundry facility is off site). If I take her out of them or move the towels somewhere else, she gets mad. She wants to lick them and cuddle them and build a gross dirty towel fort and live in it forever, apparently :| Obviously they're not clean so I don't let her do this, but it's so weird. Is it because they smell like me?? I've had house guests and roommates and she doesn't want anyone else's dirty towels, only mine. It's kind of creepy haha. She has no interest whatsoever in clean ones, and my other cats never did this. Anyone else?

 

[chloespriestess]

My cat loves towels but only clean ones. When she was young, I gave her old towels to sleep on, so now she is fascinated by towels. The towels can be old, but she prefers freshly washed ones. I'm not sure why. Maybe the texture of the towel feels good to her. It doesn't have to be freshly out of the dryer, though that seems to be the winning combination. What is good about is that she sleeps on her towel on my bed, so I can just shake the towel a few times a week outside to keep everything tidy. It keeps my duvet hair free too.

My dog, on the other hand, had laundry fetish. She just had to carry it outside too, so I would come home to find my underwear on the front lawn where she forgot it. But this weird habit worked to our advantage as well. When we were gone for longer hours on certain days, I would purposely give her a (dirty) sock or two. This made being by herself for longer hours tolerable for her.

Your kitty loves you and she is having fun, I would say, just let her be. I can't see any harm. You can give her the "bliss time" with the dirty towels the night before you wash them.

Remember to pack a dirty towel with her in the carrier for the next vet's visit! She will appreciate it.

 

[catspaw66]

. Is it because they smell like me?? I've had house guests and roommates and she doesn't want anyone else's dirty towels, only mine. It's kind of creepy haha. She has no interest whatsoever in clean ones, and my other cats never did this. Anyone else?

Yes, it is because they smell like you. My Sugar loves my socks after I take them off, and will snuggle with my shoes, too. She also likes to grab stuff out of the laundry basket.