Oscar's main bed is in our utility room. It's above the boiler and super warm and toasty so he spends the majority of his time there. Oscar has always woolsucked about twice a day (that I see) since we adopted him in October. I did research wool sucking and don't think it's dangerous unless they ingest stuff?
I have recently noticed that he will start this behaviour when I start the tumble dryer. My response to this is to only use the tumbledryer when he is not in his bed. Am I doing the right thing? My husband thinks I should carry on as normal to try and get him de-sensitised to it, and that if he really was distressed by it he would leave the utility room. If we had him from a kitten I would agree but as he is a rescue and we have no knowledge of his past, I am reluctant to cause him any needless distress. Any ideas if this woolsucking is a sign of distress or just a habit?

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Melissa

UK
Oscar - Rescue (Rascal!!!) Bengal

Mellssa, here is a great article on the subject. I hope it helps you and Oscar out.

http://www.catbehaviorassociates.com/wool-sucking/

When I was a child, we had a siamese cat that would suck and chew holes in anything wool. It was a strange habit.

As long as he isn't ingesting any of the fabric, it is fine. I can't think of a cat that I have had that hasn't done it at one point or another. I see mine do it most often when they are falling asleep, I think it is a comfort thing. I don't see any reason to stop the behavior as long as he isn't ingesting it.