If you’re a cat parent, you’ve certainly noticed your cat chewing its own hair from time to time. This is natural for all cats, but it may make you wonder why they do it. This article will answer all your curiosities, and you will be surprised to learn that cats eat their own hair for many reasons.
If you are here because you are concerned about hairballs, check out our article on the best cat food for hairballs.
Why Do Cats Eat Their Own Hair?
The main reasons cat eat their hair are related to grooming, boredom, stress, dry skin, and flea bites. Identifying the reason is crucial in understanding how to properly diagnose the issue.
Grooming
Grooming is one of the most likely causes of your cat eating their own hair. Because cats clean themselves with their tongues, they may consume their hair. While this isn’t done intentionally, it’s a typical occurrence. Cats are also clean animals; therefore, they groom themselves regularly.
Boredom
When cats are left alone at home, they may tear off their hair and eat it to keep themselves entertained. They may also groom themselves excessively due to boredom. To avoid this, make sure you have a range of safe toys available for your cat to play with.
Stress
Your cat is susceptible to stress in the same way that humans are. A variety of circumstances can bring on stress. Veterinary visits, new family members (whether a new pet or a new baby), moving houses, changes in daily routines, and loud noises are all major causes of stress in cats. When your cat is stressed, they are more likely to rip out its hair and eat it by accident. It should be noted that cats eating hair in this situation is more of a nervous habit and is not done on purpose.
Dry Skin
For many cats, dry skin is a typical problem. Dry skin can cause itching and even skin infections, which can be quite uncomfortable. Dry skin is a symptom of being overweight and can also be caused by cold weather or your cat’s diet.
Furthermore, dry skin in cats can be treated by increasing the humidity in your home during the winter season. You can also feed your cat more omega-3 fatty acid and zinc-rich meals and groom your cat on a regular basis.
Hypoallergenic shampoos can also help reduce your cat’s discomfort. You might also try rinsing with vinegar and water (four tablespoons of white vinegar to one gallon of water). If the situation persists, take your cat to the veterinarian. If you don’t treat your cat’s dry skin, they may try to ease the itch by eating their own hair.
Flea Bites
Your cat may be eating its hair because it’s infested with fleas. Flea bites might drive your cat to bite its own body and fur to ease the bites. If your cat is itching, they may pull out more hair than usual to relieve the discomfort, which may lead to them eating their own hair. Remove any adult fleas and their eggs with a fine-toothed metal flea comb to treat your cat. To kill fleas, soak the comb in a solution of warm to hot water and liquid dish detergent. Use spot-on flea treatments or a flea collar to keep fleas at bay.
Pica
Pica is the desire to consume inedible items. Elastics, cardboard, fabric, paper, plastic, and, yes, their hair are among the most common materials cats with pica consume. Dietary inadequacies, physical difficulties, genetic predisposition, environmental conditions, and compulsive disorders may cause pica.
To help your cat, attempt to divert their focus by providing a chew toy, playing with them, and speaking with a professional who can assist you. If your cat attempts to chew their hair outside of usual grooming routines, this problem will be more visible. Instead of spitting out its hair, your cat may pluck it out and consume it. If there’s hair on the floor, whether from your cat or another cat in the house, a cat with pica will likely see it as a treat.
Keep your cats’ hair short to prevent them from chewing their hair. Hair eating is an odd habit, but it is very frequent among cats. As a fur parent, you must look after your cat because eating their hair can indicate the presence of more serious conditions and lead to choking. While it may be tough to keep an eye on your cat at all times, it will all be worth it when your cat is safe and healthy in the end.
