Why Does My Cat Eat My Hair?

Domestic cats develop idiosyncratic habits, mostly adaptations of wild behaviors. The hair on your head is more recognizable to a cat than bare skin or clothing, so it may become the target for your cat to groom you -- as it grooms itself. The cat may not be eating your hair, but ruffling it because it doesn't lie down in a single direction as cat hair does.

  1. Love

    • Your cat may lick at your hair as a gesture of affection. In the same way your cat, when it was newborn, stimulated its mother to produce milk, and the mother cat licked the kitten to stimulate digestive processes and blood circulation. It's one of the primary gestures of bonding between cats. If you aren't comfortable with your cat's gesture, don't punish the cat, but gently shift it to your lap -- or another place of comfort -- where your hair is out of reach.

    Accident

    • When your cat is highly excited, such as when begging for a treat you're holding, it may catch your hair in a gesture of rubbing its chin on your head or shoulder. This can be as surprising to the cat as it is to you. Try to stay calm and help both of you get disentangled.

    Anxiety

    • Occasionally a cat's interest in your hair -- or other fibrous materials -- does indicate an emotional problem. Veterinarians call this compulsion "wool sucking." Like human thumb-sucking, it may be a regression to the infant comfort of nursing. It can lead to the cat eating harmful things, such as rubber bands and plastic. Again however, punishment is not recommended, as it may simply add to the anxiety behind the behavior. Observe your cat, to find out what triggers sucking and offer healthy alternatives, such as cuddling in your lap.

    Shampoo

    • Your cat may lick or chew your hair because you've used a product on it that is attractive to the cat. While cats are "obligatory carnivores" --- meat is their necessary and sufficient food --- they are also attracted to some plants, especially those that share the mint family with catnip. Make sure that the products you use don't contain other plant materials that can make your cat sick, such as geranium oil, which appears in some natural insect repellents along with peppermint.

    Curiosity

    • Cats' tongues are very sensitive, and one of their best ways of learning about the world. Your cat might test your hair just because it looks and smells a little like its own fur. If you seem to like it, the cat may come back for more, but if you've used a product on your hair that the cat finds more distasteful than the smell that 'roused its curiosity, you may be off the hook.

    If Hair is Swallowed

    • Cats swallow their own hair in the course of normal grooming, and may pass it through their systems or cough it up. Except in extreme cases of wool sucking, there's little reason for your cat to show interest in your loose hair, such as what accumulates in a hairbrush. If it does, simply put the temptations out of reach. Swallowed human hair is likely to come back in a hairball, but a large quantity of very long hair could cause a dangerous blockage or tangling in the cat's intestines.