Why do cats steal and chew on underwear?
Cats are intensely attracted to dirty laundry and will break into drawers, bins, and hidden spots specifically to chew on or hoard underwear. This leaves garments slobbery, chewed apart in the fabric, and forces owners to constantly guard their clothes.
What the numbers show
Counted from the threads quoted below. How we count
- This comes up 12.9× more often in r/cats than across the site as a whole.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
Why do cats steal and chew on underwear?
- 1Putting underwear directly in a bin with a lidDid this help you?
- 2Putting them in the hamper right after taking them offDid this help you?
- 3Doing laundry every day or using the washer as a laundry basketDid this help you?
- 4Buying cheap underwear that they don't care aboutDid this help you?
- 5letting the dog self-soothe via cobbingDid this help you?
- 6Accepting that the items belong to the cat nowDid this help you?
- 7Putting items away or ignoring the behaviorDid this help you?
- 8Folding laundry as soon as possibleDid this help you?
- 9closing the drawer well, not leaving ANYTHING poking from a cornerDid this help you?
- 10Put your socks somewhere else and make that a dedicated kitty hideaway.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“My cat keeps taking my pasties and running off with them, she has now moved on to trying to steal my Apple Watch.”source ↗
“She does this thing where if one sock is poking out from the drawer when closed she uses the sock to pull the entire drawer out, and digs out almost all of the socks. Then promptly relocates herself to become her drawer. Rip my clean socks 💔”source ↗
“The little puff loves to eat pockets and holes out of my underwear.”source ↗
“My cat digs all the clothes out of an open drawer. Then leaves. I have no idea why his brain cell has him do this”source ↗
“I even cleared one dresser drawer to put dirty laundry in, just to find one of them stuck inside because they went behind it and pulled the paneling off.”source ↗
“Ruby Delores the tortie will clean out my sock drawer if provided the opportunity. This was with the drawer open no more than 2 in. Those little claws go into action and she grabs everything she can reach!”source ↗
“As I just responded to someone else, they broke the bin and the lid. Twice actually. They love dirty clothes but really love underwear.”source ↗
“When I put down my clothes after wearing them such as getting changed for bed, out of the shower, back for the gym, or just folding the laundry, my job will lay beside them (not on) and do very fast nibbles on them.”source ↗
“I don’t know if I should scold or correct this and aside from it just making the clothes damp or slobbery, I am not too upset (except when its right before I put on the clothes to leave).”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 14Why do cats eat non-food items like plastic and fake plants?
- 2Cat chewing through treat bags to eat everything inside
- 5Why does my cat scratch furniture instead of her scratching posts?
- 3My neutered male cat keeps mounting my leg
- 4Why does my cat lick my feet?
- 2Why does my cat constantly lick and suck on his blanket?