# My Cat drags clothes through out our house



## LEC_Trail_Rider (Jan 15, 2007)

(Well, first let me say I am glad I found this forum - since I am MAINLY on a horse forum, I know how much info you can learn.)

I have a spayed, DLH Calico that is very vocal and attached to me. We also have one other spayed DSH cat, that is a different personality. Both were adopted as adults from shelters, at different times. 

Anyway, "Miss Fluffy Pants" the calico, has an odd habit. I am more interested in the WHY rather than "how to stop it" because it is really harmless. I will be downstairs in our office and kitty is upstairs; I will hear her yowling, chirping, meowing loudly - then she will keep doing this and arrives either on the steps or all the way to our foyer, carrying some article of our toddler's clothing. A shirt, pants, pajamas, socks, etc.

For awhile, we thought our 3 yr old was dragging his clothes all over the house, and I was constantly picking them up and taking them back upstairs. Sometimes, it will be a TRAIL of various items. One day, my husband caught her in the act, carrying one of Andrew's sweatshirts in her mouth - so we finally realized WHO it was! 

I am wondering if she is reliving some traumatic event where she was moving kittens from one place or another, or is she bringing us "prey/gifts"? If I leave a drawer open upstairs in the room, she will go into that drawer and find something; if the drawers are all closed, then it will be from the hamper. 

Any ideas? This cat is very vocal, sleeps above my head every night, funny - but this behavior perplexes me. 

Thanks in advance, 

Renee in Ohio :lol:


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

Mellie likes to grab papers off my desk and shelves in my office and drag them onto the floor. She does this when she's looking for attention. I suspect your cat is doing the same. But it could also be the "bringing prey" behavior that you mentioned.  

Cats are funny, aren't they? :lol:


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## MikePageKY (Aug 24, 2005)

The clothes fetching may just be your cat's quirk  All cats have at least one, and some are just plain quirky. Mischief likes sponge baths, Hobo likes to drink from the faucet (not a fountain, just the faucet), Rumpleteaser's favorite toy is an old toothbrush......

Some cats are just quirky :mrgreen:


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## morea (Feb 8, 2005)

my Melina does her "sock trick" when she wants attention... she will go to the dresser or laundry hamper, grab a single sock, bring it to whatever room I am in and lay it down beside me. If I am working away and don't notice, she will go and get another sock, and place it beside the first. 

I remember one day a few years ago I was very involved in a project on my computer and when I finally got up to get a drink there were 14 socks on the floor behind my chair. Poor Melina had obviously given up at that point and gone to take a nap! :lol:

Someone told me that she might be carrying the socks around like that because she was thinking of them as her kittens, but I don't know if that is "like" her, if that makes any sense.


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## horseplaypen (Apr 1, 2004)

morea said:


> there were 14 socks on the floor behind my chair.










I'm just picturing that! That's great!! :lol:


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Your kitty could be carrying the baby's items around and either delivering them to you as 'prey', or seeking attention, or treating the clothing as if they were her kittens. 

I have a spayed female, who has never been pregnant, she would carry a small stuffed cat around by the nape of the neck. She did this for a few weeks and then stopped. False pregnancy feelings or a maternal instinct...I don't know? She also seems to position herself as if she is in 'heat', crouched down with her rump raised, tail to the side and makes little chirps and trills while sort of kneading the carpet with her BACK feet. She does look like she is in a mating position when she does this...
Just odd.

We had another cat who would drag the stuffed animals off the bed and take them into the center of the kitchen floor where he would "mangle" them (bite, claw and rabbit-kick) whenever hubby and I would leave for an afternoon of movie watching at the theater. He was expressing his displeasure. His brother would also bite and tear papers to get my attention. S-Jo carries the little plastic milk ring that comes on gallon jugs of milk. She has a special 'cry' that she makes when carrying this toy.

*I have just observed that the behaviors of these cats all had one thing in common...these were our most vocal cats. Meaning they would 'speak' with us regularly, not just meow occasionally.

It sounds to me, like your kitty is vocal and wants your attention. Next time you hear her crying in another part of the house, call to her. Maybe she just wants to know where you are.


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## cecosugi (Jan 10, 2007)

That is really funny. Did it just start?


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## LEC_Trail_Rider (Jan 15, 2007)

cecosugi said:


> That is really funny. Did it just start?


Nope, we really started noticing it in the last 4 or 5 months; I got her last May from the APL in Pittsburgh; I saw her on petfinder and drove 1 1/2 hours to adopt her. But we seriously thought it was our son, just being a toddler until we saw her with the shirt in her mouth. Just today since I have posted this, on PJ shirt and one pair of shorts have been brought to the foyer! 

I do sometimes call to her when I hear her crying; I just tell her, "I am here, kitty" - but the clothes still come! One day it was by husband's dirty socks from his closet - just a trail of black socks from the bedroom to the kitchen.


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## coaster (Dec 1, 2004)

I guess you'll just have to change your housekeeping procedures to keep those things out of reach. :wink:


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## CataholicsAnonymous (Dec 4, 2006)

My brother-in-law used to have a cat with an underwear fetish......clean ones...... If the undies drawer was left open, she would drag panties and bras and briefs and boxers all over the house. One evening, Marc fell asleep on the living room floor while watching TV. He awoke feeling somewhat 'suffocated' --- the cat had brought out dozens of unmentionables and put them all on his face.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

CataholicsAnonymous said:


> --- the cat had brought out dozens of unmentionables and put them all on his face.


Oh, what a picture that would have made! Perfect for blackmail... :twisted: 
Heidi
LEC, check out this thread:
http://www.catforum.com/viewtopic.php?t ... highlight=


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## ekub (Jan 6, 2007)

When I was a kid, we had a long haired calico as well. She was very vocal and very loving. She had had kittens before we got her (we did have her spayed though after we brought her home) and she would often drag dirty socks and underwear around the house that she would find in the laundry baskets. She would usually try making a nest in the same spot and she would put her "babies" in there. She would even lay down next to them on her side... perhaps she was hoping they were hungry! LOL! We never thought of it as her catching and presenting "prey" because she would always take them to her "nest". Hehe... and when it was nice outside she would sit in the window and yowl. My mom always said she had "spring fever", meaning that she thought she missed her babies. Not too long after that we did get a kitten for her. Oh boy did she want to take care of him! She would try to carry him around in her mouth... although I think he was a bit too big for that! And she would groom him and try to get him to stay in her nest. LOL! Of course the kitten didn't really want much to do with her... he much preferred the dog!


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## Kettle (Jan 10, 2007)

My guess is, if she's bringing the clothing to you, or to a place she associates with you (your bed, your office) then it's a prey thing. If she's taking clothes to a hidey place, it's a maternal thing. Is she taking stuff, or sharing stuff? 

One of the cats we had when I was a kid would always leave her dead animals somewhere visible, for us, but she would sometimes catch live animals (usually baby rabbits swiped from their nest) and she would hide them around the garage. When we caught her bathing one poor traumatized little bun, she tried to pick it up and abscond with it. We found several others when they got hungry. (Ever heard the noise level a scared/hungry bunny is capable of? Impressive.)


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