Cat humping blankets with certain texture?
Hey guys. Probably the weirdest post I’ve ever made but here goes.
So first-the blankets.
Both mine and my daughter’s favorite blankets are the same texture. I don’t know how else to describe it but it’s kinda like a shag rug but soft? Idk if that makes sense. I’m sure it has some specific name.
My cat- we adopted him through a local rescue after my MIL found him and his mama and siblings in a box on the side of the road. She fostered him because she worked at the rescue at the time. He looked every bit like a cat of mine that ran away a few years ago and my husband saw him and knew he couldn’t possibly not let me have him. He’s like “Ok that one’s spoken for.” He knew I’d been heartbroken over my cat and this cat is the SAME. Every marking, color. He was/is perfect.
The rescue is supposed to pay for and take the animal to the spay/neuter yet it all goes into the adoption price (don’t see how that’s paying for it) which was kinda hefty for a male orange tabby cat but my husband knew it would make me unbelievably happy so he paid it. My MIL pulled some crazy drama (as usual) with the rescue owners like two days after we signed papers to get him. So they refuse to speak with her. In turn, they refused to schedule the neuter appointment and dropped him off with us without explaining it. We of course noticed it hadn’t been done and tried to contact them. No response.
So it’s been about a year with this crazy boy. We haven’t had the money to get him neutered yet because they want 350 for the whole appointment and with four kids, high bills and me not working (quit my job due to hostile treatment and my MILs crazy, abusive acts toward my babies) that amount of money just isn’t in the cards for us right now. We plan to do it at tax time.
But we have an issue and I don’t know if this could possibly be related to his not being neutered yet..
He humps mine and my daughter’s blankets. At first it was just him kneading them. Which was cute initially. But then he started nearly attacking us if we got close to the blanket. He’d let out out quite the vicious meow and try to bite/scratch. The other day I noticed it looked like he was humping it and mentioned it to my husband but neither of us have ever heard of a male cat doing that so we shrugged it off. But tonight my husband caught him doing it and said he for sure was and that I’d been right before. I took the blanket from him but then he did it to my daughters.
Hubby said he’s making me get a different blanket so he will stop (I love my blanket and aside from neutering I’m looking for any other suggestions so I don’t have to! And my daughter adores her blanket too. It’s her comfort item.) and I’m a bit bummed. Like ok it’s just a blanket but damnit lol.
So do yall think neutering will help and is there anything I can do in the meantime to make him keep his feline junk off my damn blanket so I can keep it? He only does this with these two blankets. Could it be not even about his lack of neutering at all?
Help me save our blankets! 😂😂
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My big boy cat used to do the same thing, even though he was neutered when we rescued him. Anything that had a soft texture like blankets, some pillows we had, my mom's robe, he would get hold of, drag into the middle of the living room and meow loudly while humping it. He would only do it if he was left alone with the things so we'd just put them up in a linen closet or our rooms with the doors shut when we weren't using them so he couldn't get to them and it worked. Idk if neutering will help since again mine was neutered when he was doing it but it's prob worth a try. Look up low-cost spay/neuter clinics in your area. There's one in my area that would do a spay for $60 and a neuter for less. You could also ask whatever vet you got the quote from if you could do a payment plan for the procedure so you can pay less at the initial appointment and just pay it off over time, a lot of vets are understanding and willing to work with you on that kind of thing.
"Cat humping can be related to stress and anxiety. This is most likely when something has recently changed in the cat's environment: the addition of a new family member, a move, or even a neighborhood cat appearing in the window. Boredom is another cause of humping in cats."
Thankfully it’s none of those! Lol.
You stated that it is a rescue. That in itself is both a "recent change" and "stress" for an animal. With all due respect given that he is newly fostered it may take time for you to see his true personality.
We’ve had him for a year.
we've had ours for 5 years he starting doing the same thing 2 years ago.
It's those types of blankets. All of our cats love them, too. It's probably because they feel like fur. For most cats kneading a blanket is a comfort thing, and it's associated often with cats that were weaned too young. But in this case it is very likely because he isn't neutered. I would have a word with a few veterinary surgeries to see if you can find one that will allow a payment plan - or make a JustGiving and ask for help. Meanwhile you might be about to reduce his possessiveness by using Feliway or Pet Remedy.
Is it safe to use those with a toddler around? Like will it cause any issues for her? She has extremely awful eczema so I try to limit what she’s exposed to
I'm not sure on Pet Remedy, but Feliway is a combination of feline hormones that can't affect humans at all because we don't have the receptors for them.
I’ll look it up :) thank you!