I wonder if cats love the wool mats due to the odor they can give off? If you get the mat wet a bit, you can smell it and some say it smells like .... well, sheep I guess. I put a cotton piece of fabric over mine after scorching it due to spray starch or too hot an iron, not sure which. Now I just use the mat and maybe a bit of spritz of water if needed but still keep the cloth (pillow case as someone suggested on another thread) on top of the mat. They do a nice job on pressing pieced units and such.