My cat’s licking her fur off. Help!
Posted on | November 4, 2007 | 34 Comments
Greetings, kind readers. We’re letting Mama take a break from her NaNoWriMo efforts in order to help her write this week’s column. We told her she should do NaNo because it’s been years since she’s written a long work of fiction, and she’s been wanting to write a story to honor our beloved sister Sinéad (may she frolic forever in the catnip fields). Sinéad says it’s about time Mama got back to writing novels! But for now, here’s our letter of the week.
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties:
I’ve got a female kitty named Trinity who has recently been licking all the fur off her lower abdomen, tail and legs. I’ve seen this behavior in other cats, and the vet tells me it is nothing serious, maybe just an allergic reaction to something. I have recently been feeding her Hills’ Science Diet, which seems to help some, since she no longer looks like (and forgive me for this) a mini poodle with a bad furcut.
Other than the naked belly, she is happy, affectionate and playful, emphasis on the last two, as she has taken to begging for attention when we (my boyfriend and I) stop paying attention to her. The only health issue I know she has is a mild form of either epilepsy or something, since she has tremors when she sleeps. There is one other cat in my houselhold named Tyga, but she has never exhibited this behavior. My father has a long-haired cat named Fuzzy who began doing this a couple years ago, but I know he has allergies, since his sinuses run constantly.
Have you come across anything like this before, and if so, have you any advice for Trin and myself?
~Belinda
Siouxsie: This compulsive fur-grooming is not at all uncommon in cats. In fact, my sister Sinéad went through a very similar thing — although she only licked the fur off her tummy.
Thomas: Sometimes allergies do play a part in this compulsive self-barbering. We cats generally show symptoms of allergies through changes in our bowel habits or through issues related to our skin.
Dahlia: Cats can develop allergies to certain foods. In fact, food allergies account for about 10 percent of the allergies seen in cats. The most common allergens are fish, beef and dairy products — which are also common ingredients in pet foods! Cats can also develop allergies to the grains that form the base of many cat foods; again, corn, being one of the most common grains, tends to be more likely to cause allergies.
Siouxsie: Apparently changing Trinity’s diet has helped to relieve some of her allergy symptoms, so you might take a look at the ingredient list for your Hill’s Science Diet food and compare it to the stuff you were feeding her before.
Thomas: Sometimes artificial colors can cause allergic reactions. If your other kibble had red or yellow pieces in it, then it had artificial colors. Naturally colored kibble is typically some shade of light to medium brown.
Dahlia: You might also have good luck feeding Trinity a premium natural cat food. Brands of kibble such as Eagle Pack, Wysong, Wellness, or Evo typically sell for about the same price as Hill’s Science Diet. These manufacturers also make “gooshy food,” so you can feed Trinity a combination of dry and canned food if you like.
Siouxsie: But if food allergies account for only 10 percent of all allergic reactions, what accounts for the other 90 percent? Well, like people, cats can be sensitive to things in their environment. If you wore clothing that contained something you were allergic to, you would likely begin to have itchy skin and maybe even develop a rash wherever that item of clothing touched you.
Thomas: It may not necessarily be the clothing that’s bothering you, though. It could be the detergent or fabric softener you used when you washed it. Or perhaps a fabric spray that you used on it. The same thing can happen to cats. We cats are very sensitive to chemicals in our environment, and if you use a lot of smelly things like artificially scented detergents and fabric softeners, or “odor removing” sprays for furniture, these can cause irritation on our skin.
Siouxsie: To that end, we’d recommend that you discontinue the use of any chemical air fresheners and switch to unscented laundry detergents and fabric softeners. If you’re using scented or “deodorant” kitty litter, definitely change over to an unscented product. You can deodorize your furniture and rugs with baking soda (sprinkle it on, let it sit 15 minutes, and vacuum it up).
Thomas: Allergies are not the only thing that can cause a cat to lick all her fur off. Sometimes this behavior is a result of stress. Cats vary in their ability to tolerate stressful events in their lives, and some things that don’t seem stressful to people can make cats very upset.
Dahlia: A common behavior for cats when they’re stressed is what’s called “displacement grooming.” You may have witnessed this if your cat made an ungraceful landing somewhere, noticed you were looking, and suddenly discovered an itch somewhere on their body that they just had to lick. It’s the “I meant to do that!” response.
Siouxsie: Generally the grooming stops after a minute or so. But if a cat feels intolerably stressed — by a move of house, a changing of schedule, addition of a new animal or baby, construction or other noise, or even a new cat moving in next door — she may resort to compulsive grooming to ease her stress.
Thomas: There are some ways you can help your kitty cope with stress. First, you could purchase a feline pheromone plug-in. These devices release a synthetic version of the pheromone relaxed and happy cats use to mark their environment. The positive feedback from these “happy cat” pheromones can help to eliminate stress-based behavior ranging from urine marking to fighting to, perhaps, compulsive grooming.
Dahlia: Mama has had good success with using “happy cat” pheromones to deal with the stress of adding a new cat to our household as well as with the stress of moving to a new home.
Siouxsie: If eliminating allergens and trying to reduce Trinity’s stress level through non-medical means doesn’t produce satisfactory results, your vet may recommend a short course of treatment with anti-anxiety or antidepressant medications (“kitty Prozac,” so to speak). These have been proven effective and safe for short-term use in treating stress-based behavior problems, because the medication seems to eliminate the anxiety that triggers the behavior issues.
Thomas: Typically, cats don’t have to stay on anti-anxiety meds for their entire lives. A short course of treatment generally “rewires” the cat’s nervous system effectively.
Dahlia: We hope this helps, Belinda. Please feel free to update us on how Trinity is doing with her fur-pulling problem.
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34 Responses to “My cat’s licking her fur off. Help!”
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November 11th, 2007 @ 10:32 pm
This is exactly the same as my cat! He’s 2yrs old and was a rescue kitty. He grooms obsessively, pulling out all the hair on his belly, inside of his thighs and his armpits. He is super needy and needs to be near me or on top of me at all times. He also has tremors when he sleeps! The tremors are new and I find it particularly terrifying.
I don’t believe its allergies. My first vet put him on Pred (a steroid) which helped a little but didn’t solve the problem completely. My new vet said that steroids can often cause diabetes and if it’s not allergies then steroids are not the way to go. My vet says it’s probably behavioral but doesn’t want to jump straight to Prozac as it can have side effects and can seriously water down kitty’s personality. I tried a pheromone spray (not the felioway (sp?) plug in- as it was very expensive) and honestly I don’t remember it making that much of a difference, but would be willing to try again. I switched his diet – he eats wellness or Innova EVO and I try not to give him too much fish based foods.
Please let me know what you’ve tired- what’s worked- hasn’t worked.
I don’t care so much about the over grooming as long as he doesn’t lick sores into himself, but the tremors while he’s sleeping scare the crap out of me.(He’s recovering from a dental where he had two teeth pulled and the tremors are worse than ever.)
Please help- any suggestions are welcomed.
November 21st, 2007 @ 3:49 pm
I’m having the same problem with my little cat Gracie. She’s always licked her belly pink but now she’s licked it to where she has a big ulcer. I’m taking her to the vet on Friday. Hopefully – if I get some useful info from my vet I’ll post it for you guys.
January 9th, 2008 @ 7:47 pm
We had the same problem with our rescue kitty, Lorelei, last summer, but oddly it was after a year and a half of her joining our family. The vet thought it was allergies, which we didn’t really believe as nothing had changed and her mother (Juliet, another rescue) wasn’t at all affected. We reasoned it was more likely stress as we’d been gone intermittently over the summer. So we kept them on the same food (Innova and Fancy Feast).
In thinking about it, we also realized the crazed grooming had started soon after we’d gotten a laser point for the kitties to chase. They _loved_ it. But it also was stressing out poor Lorelei. We gave up the laser pointer and after a few months of keeping a more regular schedule, Lorelei stopped the over-grooming and now the fur is growing back. She’s regained most of her Maine coon fluffiness, except in her tail which does seem to want to poof as much as it did.
So maybe there’s some stress in your kitty’s environment you could eliminate?
The tremors I think are fairly common. They’re just dreaming. My cats growing up (rescues and pet-store purchased alike) all did it.
January 20th, 2008 @ 8:13 pm
My 7 yr old female is naughing at her forarms, underarms, and belly.so no fur any longer. i thought it was anxiety when i took the puppy out with me, but it is still continuring. no redness, sores nothing, absolutely normal skin underneath.
help.
February 11th, 2008 @ 4:17 pm
I had a cat with the same problem. She is part of a two cat household. Besides getting a simple anti-biotic for the redness in her exposed skin, I had to devote complete alone time with her. I would take her into the bedroom once a day for at least 30 minutes alone, without the other cat in sight. This one-on-one attention did the trick.
April 17th, 2008 @ 11:54 pm
My Chloe cat, short-hair black tortie, has been on cyclosporine 25 mg for over 2 years now; it stopped the licking/hair removal, altho she continued to keep her lower abdomen trimmed. We moved a year ago, and I’ve tried to wean her off more than once, from 1 per day to one every other day, then 2 days off between pills. When it gets to the latter she starts licking off the fur again. There do not seem to be any side effects to the meds, but one hates to keep anyone on meds for life!!! She is also playful, affectionate, good appetite, and has a feline house-mate whose fur is fine. Chloe does not appear stressed or depressed. Clearly an allergy, but finding the cause is hit-or-miss!!!
May 2nd, 2008 @ 10:01 am
My female cat did the same thing. I took her to one vet that said she grooms excessively because she has fleas. After 2 years of listening to that vet I took her to another vet that diagnosed a urinary tract infection along with urinary crystals. You should get the cats urine checked to rule out a urinary tract infection!!!
June 21st, 2008 @ 6:50 pm
my cat Maizie 3 1/2 yr old bengal cross has excessive bald spots on her.. tummy, bare, hind legs bare.. front legs, somewhat bare..
3 vets.. steroids..
only to find she is seriously stressed as she has serious kidney, urination problems.. struvite crystals.. she is presently, again, on anti biotics.. the licking ceases slightly when she is not so ill..so.. I try to keep her calm as can be.. she is with our other cats.. one of who was so healthy and gorgeous, her son.. but died suddenly.. my heart is still breaking.. please read my story…
I hope you have luck with your cat..
July 8th, 2008 @ 12:37 pm
My cat diggy started licking all the fur off the base of his tail (near his body) and i noticed it starting getting bad so i took him to the vet. he has excessive hair balls due to his over grooming and throws up everywhere… UGH. so the vet gave him a dose of steroids. he stopped throwing up but then he licked all the fur off of his paws front and back and his inner hind legs. so i took him back for another shot. he stopped throwing up again. but then i wanted a second opinion so i went to another vet who said it could be stress, which i though it was too, so she put him on anti-anxiety pills but now he won’t eat…. so here i am wondering now what? maybe it was allergies?… diggy is 12 and has been with me his whole life and just started this stuff about 6 months ago… but he’s been throwing up for about three years now… and the vet told me initially it was just hairballs… my little kitty… i need help. now what?
July 16th, 2008 @ 10:48 am
One thing that I haven’t seen mentioned that comes to mind is a syndrome called hyperesthesia. Mild cases can manifest as twitching back and over-grooming, severe cases can actually involve the cat self-mutilating (usually on the rump, tail, and rear legs). The nature of it is not completely understood, but one theory is that it is a mild seizure disorder (which brought it to mind in the case of Trinity). In my cat, it it relatively intermittant and is usually triggered by stress or allergies. Once she starts over-grooming, she’ll lick herself bald (and sometimes raw), and doesn’t like to be touched, like her skin is hyper-sensitive. When she gets this way, my vet puts her on a short round of low-dose seizure meds. Once the cycle is broken, she’s fine, and stays that way until the next stressor (months to years later). I’m not diagnosing your pet, but it’s something you may wish to ask your vet about!
September 4th, 2008 @ 7:59 am
my cat JT has been doing the same thing for a year and half. I got him from a rescue shelter and have been fighting to find a way for this to stop. Like many other stories, he did not start to do this until halfway through of me owning him.
I have gone to many vets and they all suggested steroids. I dont feel my cat should be on meds. but we tried them any way. they of course did not work. he lives in a house hold of 4 other cats and i believe he may be stressed. so the best of luck to all of you, i will be trying a stress removal spray, the feliway spray. If you have any advice please let me know.
September 6th, 2008 @ 6:09 pm
My cat sammy, she has just turned 9. For most of her life she has licked a bald spot on her side on the top of her back leg. She has always licked a bald area on her belly near her vagina. She stopeed for about 2 years and then this year she has went on a licking spree. She has licked almost all the hair off her belly, inside and outside of her back legs and on the bottom of her front paws. I have spent a small fortune to try and find the cause and still have not found out anything. I have been told food allergies, outside allergies, behavioral. If it was behavoral she would do it year round, as this only occurs in the fall. Food allergies, it would also occur year round. Have done the normal change foods, litter,still no luck.
September 23rd, 2008 @ 12:37 pm
My sister’s cat does the same thing – licking all his fur off. However he also has really swollen and chapped lips. So I told her to take him to the vet because of a possible allergy.
However, I noticed you mentioned you think your cat is having small seizure’s when she sleeps. To maybe clear up your mind on that – that is actually completely normal. Cat’s, like humans and dogs and most other living things, go through sleep cycles. When they are in deep sleep sometimes they will twitch. It is a sign they are dreaming! It is just like when people mumble or move around when they are dreaming. So on that aspect she is completely fine!
October 12th, 2008 @ 11:17 pm
My cat has been doing the same thing. She has completely licked her own belly raw, now has moved onto paws and now is scratching and removing all the hair from around her eyes, they are all cut and swollen. Took her to the vet and they gave her steriods and antibiotics – they helped slightly but now its back w/ a vengence. I recently switched to Hills Science Diet Hairball and have moved – I think it is a combo of both. She is a stress case and is only happy when I am home and asleep so she can cuddle next to me. Tomorrow I take her to the vet again – and I will beg them for kitty valium and in the meantime have changed her food to all natural. I hope it works I can’t bear to watch her mutilate herself any more! Anyone have luck w/ anything please let me know!
October 30th, 2008 @ 11:52 am
MY CAT IS DRIVING ME CRAZY. HE IS LICKING THE FUR FROM HIS HIND LEGS,BELLY AND HIS LEFT SIDE IS BALD UPTO HIS RIBCAGE. HE IS ON AMITRIPTYLINE ONCE DAILY AND IT ISN’T ANY BETTER! I WORK FOR A VET CLINIC AND WE MAY UP THE DOSE FOR AWHILE THEN TRY PROZAC!! THAT IM NOT HAPPY ABOUT BECAUSE THIS CAT IS LAID BACK ENOUGH, ON PROZAC HE WOULD SEEM COMATOSE! ANY SUGGESTIONS PLEASE!!!
November 25th, 2008 @ 1:31 pm
My older cat, Charlotte, has licked her belly raw so there are sores, too, and she bites the fur off part of her back. We’re not sure what it is. It started my sophomore or junior year of college (I’d been away all 4 years and would come home for Christmas and summer breaks). She got shots of stearoids and it would clear up for a little while. She also has Animax cream.
We got a new kitten over the summer and my Charlotte began doing it again. We had gotten Charlotte from the humane society, along with another cat, when they were kittens but the other one had ran away a few years after-though Charlotte never overlicked herself anytime then. Charlotte doesn’t really like my kitten. If they’re not both sleeping and are near each other, Charlotte growls at the kitten and hisses and growls when we pick her up. Sometimes I give them both time to spend with me alone but I’ll try to do it more. (I don’t want either to feel like they’re unwanted or something so both get alone time with me).
December 1st, 2008 @ 1:45 pm
Hey guys. I obviously have the same problem.
My little Mouse (who is also a rescue kitty from the HS) He has always licked. He pefers his right arm and now his chest. A few months ago he got out and was stuck in a tree over night. Since then it has been a lot worse. We recently added another kitty to thwe family (that makes 4) and he is licking like a mad man. Seems to me all of the signs point to stress. We try to spend extra time with him as much as we can. I hate to see him doing it. It makes me sad
I was thinking about getting a cone. I read somewhere that is take 26 days to reset an animals (or maybe just cats) habits. If you can stand to leave the cone on for that long it might help. You’ll have to help kitty keep his unmentionables clean though
(Something I found interesting in reading this is that a lot of you have your cats on Science Diet.)
December 15th, 2008 @ 7:29 pm
Our cat always goes nuts a few weeks before we leave for our yearly vacation. She sees us pack and starts licking like crazy. Her back legs and tummy are licked clean. And the every popular fur balls are hacked up every day as well. But the last few years we give her a mild sedative for a few days when she starts licking and she clams right down. I don’t give her it for long , just to break the cycle of excitement she has. Then she’s mellow and just goes on her merry way, not watching the suitcases all day and night. I don’t know what the heck is wrong with her but I know our vet wanted to put her on drugs and x-rays and tests and allergy tests and phyco therapy and we cant spend that type of money on a necrotic cat. And the next day shes running around the house just fine.. She seems fine, eats like a horse and seems happy , so I am going with a few days of one half of my calm down pills stuck into her food before I go packing for a trip. Worked for us..
December 30th, 2008 @ 7:59 pm
I have a cat who has over licking issues too.
He(Chocolate) is almost 9 year old male black cat (short hair).
I found him when he was around 5 months old, in some blackberry bushes.
Ever since I found him, he’s had some kind of emotional issues, very timid around most people(except me)..with me he is very clingy, always has to sit on my lap.
He first started over licking in 2005 (took hi to the vet) they first ruled out fleas..then gave him a steroid injection.
That didn’t seem to help. The vet said it was most likey a mental thing causing him to over lick/ go bald.
The vet did prescrib a form of kitty prozac…
Giving a pill to a cat is not the eaisest task, and it didn’t really help either.
For awhile he seemed to mellow out with the overlicking..but this past year, he has been going crazy with the licking.
I don’t know what to do anymore.
I feel like a bad cat parent.
January 13th, 2009 @ 11:31 pm
my little over-grooming cat willy recently joined our family two months ago ( with three cats).. her previous owner kept her as an outside cat, and he was a profuse cigarette smoker. she got put outside because she has a VERY NEEDY personality, but in reality, she’s sweet as sugar (unless you are another cat, then death to you!) willy always has been a groomer, but since moving in, the girl is going bald with a side of scabs! she doesn’t like it when we pet her bald spots (lower back, tummy, legs, bottom, shoulders), and meows as if in pain. the only way we can comfort her is to pet her head gently, so as not to disturb the scabs that she’s hacked into her head and neck. Poor girl! she’s a shelter kitty (7 y.o.). had a brother who got eaten by a coyote. lived with a smoker (heavy metals in second hand smoke can cause nerve and gastro-intestinal damage (food allergies!) and stress in the body). moved to a more loving family, but had three new cats to ‘deal’ with. was an outside kitty, now an indoor kitty (it’s too cold for a naked bottom outside!) very picky eater (wellness, raw meat, raw milk) (likes the vit. d capsule contents on her chow. doesn’t like the fish oil). loves to sit on your lap at the computer, sleep on your chest at night, meows a lonely meow when you isolate her from the cats overnight. if i let her sleep on my chest at night, no matter how many layers of sleep clothes i wear, i will itch too. sometimes smells like corn chips (a yeast issue?) could it be a nutrient deficiency? i know i tend to overgroom when under stress, which I find is corrected by high magnesium doses (used up quickly in a stress state)… could that be helpful for a cat??? she’s always been a groomer, but never naked and bleeding before!
she’s started to twitch and shudder at night too.
i’m really happy to see that other people have the same problems as us. and i’m really happy that this isn’t just a neurotic prozac deficiency.
Keep Sharing!!!
January 15th, 2009 @ 2:42 pm
I have a cat with similar traits as all of you. She licks the fur off her belly, hind legs and armpits. She is indoor/outdoor, was born a to a feral mother. I have had her since she was a small kitten, having gained her trust by feeding her and her mom since she was very little. I have tried various medications, steriods and cat foods. I have had no success until I recently discovered raw feeding. Since I started her on a raw diet, her overgrooming has ceased completely and her fur is filling in all over. She is starting to look like her beautiful self again! It’s something to think about. Processed cat foods contain so many unhealthy and unnecessary ingredients. I’ve heard of many people curing their pets of various conditions that were uncurable by conventional means (medications, shots, ointments, recommended by vets) through raw feeding. BUT, if you try this route, you have to be sure you are using fresh, quality meat, not the kind you get at the grocery store. There are many raw food distributors that will ship pre-packaged, frozen, prepared raw food to you.
As an aside, the tremors which may not be related to dreams, could be a deficiency in fats. You may want to try and supplement with fish oil in their food. The brain and nerves require a good source of fats, omega 3’s, to function properly….
January 25th, 2009 @ 12:17 pm
I have a female, 7 years old. At 3 years old she went to emergency vet for 4 days. Had twitching in her head and could hardly sleep. They put iv’s in all her legs at some point during the stay. Did all tests known to do except for MRI/Spinal Tap which we said no to. Brought her home, it went away. She was very thin so we started feeding her canned (human) tuna each day in addition to dry cat food. At the time she was on Iams but we have switched to Pet Promise in the last 6 months. Litter has always been the same. No change. She started licking fur off her tummy and legs where the iv’s were in about 6 months after coming home. It’s continued and is now the worse, she keeps tummy, rear legs, thighs, genitals and front legs clean of hair. She is very much a loner, doesn’t want to be touched or bothered unless she instigates it. We have brought 2 strays into the house(separate room for the evening during bad weather) and now she won’t go to that part of house either. She does live with a male 8 years old that she has been around her whole life. Steroids at the vet worked for about a week and she gets so stressed going to the vet that it’s just not worth it. What to do with her? I feel for her and only want her to have a happy life.
February 5th, 2009 @ 5:18 pm
I had an older cat (21yrs) who started licking the fur off of his tummy later in life. I turned out that he was allergic to poultry. Once we switched him to a lamb formula he stopped the licking. His licking was confined to his stomach.
February 6th, 2009 @ 12:25 pm
My male cat, Peanut, an English Grey rescue cat, started licking about 3 years ago. He is more than 10 years old. We have lived in the same house for 8 years, yet he only started this a few years ago. He licks his belly, inner back legs and parts of the underside of his front legs until the fur is gone and the skin is pink with sores. My other cat, a Maine Coon rescue cat, is 9 years old and perfectly fine. I was feeding regular Science Diet dry and canned to both until this started, and switched to Science Diet prescription formula d/d at my vets recommendation. While it seemed to help at first, and reduced the frequency of throwing up that both cats were doing, the licking continued. It got so bad last month that the vet gave him a round of antibiotics. Having read all of your comments, I began to wonder if Science Diet food – regular or prescription – might be the problem? But my younger cat is healthy – no licking, so far. The Science Diet d/d formula, by the way, is for allergic cats and comes in Venison, Duck and Rabbit – no chicken or fish flavors.
Two years ago, I had also started giving them only dry food to help keep their teeth in better shape, but it seems they throw up more and are frequently constipated (hard stools and yowling in the litter box.) Thinking this may be causing Penaut to lick his belly, I’ve added canned food back to the daily diet. The throwing up has stopped, along with the yowling. I’m hoping the licking will stop too.
At wits end, Alice
February 9th, 2009 @ 8:15 pm
My 13 year old cat licks herself to pieces. She and I have always been a team and even though I am only 24, I have had my cat since I was in fifth grade (given the name) and she has only done this one other time. A few years ago I spent a few months in California, and she licked all the fur off her belly and stopped eating, the vet said she was depressed with out me and the grooming soon stopped. She is now much older and licks herself regularly. There isnt any real reason for the over grooming, and I’m worried that she is depressed again, but I dont know why and how I can help… She is a long hair and has licked all the fur off her bottom too. Could it be her age? She may be too old to put on medications, and to use pheramones, so I am curious to what else i can do…
February 13th, 2009 @ 5:13 pm
I came across this site re: itchy cat. There seems to be a “solution” for it – Apple Cider Vinegar. I’m going to try it on her.
http://www.earthclinic.com/Pets/allergies.html
February 21st, 2009 @ 2:09 pm
My kitty is about 6 years old. He is definitely part Mainecoon part tabby. He is a large male, very sweet and playful. He was a stray that I rescued as a young cat and when I brought him to the vet to get his shots and check up I found out that he has FIV. Since then he has been an all time indoor cat, who’s life has pretty much remained the same for the past 5 years. Last winter he started having seizures. Full blown long ones. My vet put him on phenobarbital which helped but in the mean time he began to lick himself. When the seizures subsided I took him off the meds because he was acting better and I hated making him take them. I hid them in things like proscuitto and salami and he ate them, but he was very lethargic when on them. So eventually he came off of them and things got better. He still licked but the seizures were gone and the licking wasn’t doing any harm. Now we fast forward to today. His licking is out of control. He has done the same thing that you all mention. The fur by the base of his tail went first, and now there is a sore there. His legs are barren and his tummy is short and also has one smallish sore on it from licking too much. I also have always given him science diet, but I’m going to switch to wellness. I’ve tried adding oil to his food, but he doesn’t like it. I dont want to give him steroids because I don’t believe they will help in the long term. Has anyone tried the apple cider vinegar? Please help.
February 22nd, 2009 @ 7:55 pm
my cat peanut is approx. 3-4 years old (we rescued him from a shelter) and when we rescued him initially, he had a bald belly (looked as if he had been shaved) and the shelter said they shaved him for his spay. The problem has continued to get worse over time. We have tried everything! We have taken him to the vet and gotten him tested for ringworm and other diseases and he is fine. The vet suggested it may be a food allergy and weve tried many different foods especially expensive ones that dont contain corn and that didnt improve. The whole time weve had him, he’s had issues with his belly being bare, however now he’s moved on to licking and biting his feet and legs. He is a very sweet but needy cat and only generally takes to me. The only other thing we could think of that would be an issue, is a flea problem but we dont see any signs and it is wintertime now and the problem is worse than ever. Also we have two other cats in the house- the male he gets along with fine, and the female cat and himself hate eachothers guts. Anyone have any suggestions?????????
May 17th, 2009 @ 11:39 pm
So based on all of the readings above is it a safe conclusion that this is somewhat normal behavior?
My cat has ALWAYS been an obsessive licker, but of licking me or grooming my other cat. Within the past week, (nothing in his normal routine changing), I have noticed almost complete bald spots on various parts of his body. The biggest one is on his right front leg, of which he growls if I start to touch it. Most of the bald spots are on his chest, between his 2 front legs. But there are a few other spots on his body.
He is an indoor cat with a very serious routine that he keeps me on. The food has not changed for a very long time. I buy natural dry food but I will change it up when they run out for a different brand or flavor. I have 2 other cats and they all get along great. The cat that has the obessive licking is the head honcho. I use all organic cleaning products. and nothing different has gone on in the past week
My biggest concern is this any sign of cancer or what not in cats?
May 20th, 2009 @ 6:57 pm
Sounds like almost everyone who has posted here has the same syptoms as my cat Quinn. We had suspected that he had flea allergies and treated both our cat and our dog for months for this condition with no success.
Sadly he died suddenly yesterday.
I don’t want to alarm anyone here, but After hours of Research online I discovered that condition that killed Quinn was Sarcoptic Mange. I wanted to notify everyone, because his death was entirely preventable. If we would have only known what it was we could have treated it properly and he would have survived.
It is a very contagious microscopic mite (which by the way can only be diagnosed by analyzing sraping of the skin under a microscope) that causes this condition. It often goes undiagnosed because it’s syptoms closley mimic so many other things. As it turns out he got Sarcoptic Mange from our Dog who got from other neigborhood dogs. Fortunately we have started treatment for him so he should be ok.
Here is an excellent website that can provide you with additional information. http://www.earthclinic.com/pets.html If this tragic tale saves even one animal, then at least our Quinn did not die in vein
July 12th, 2009 @ 11:27 am
Hi, I just thought I would share our experience. I found this site trying to help our 9-year old cat Sabrina who adopted US when she was about 1.5 years old. She is an indoor pet now and extremely playful and affectionate – thinks she’s a dog! She first started overgrooming when she had an eye infection and it involved just the paw she used to clean the eye. The excessive licking went away and returned periodically but started to be more chronic a year ago. The vet said it could be stress. After some of my own research, I have found (remember I’m not a Dr.) that the most common cat allergies are chicken and corn and she was on Hills Science Diet food which lists ingredients in the order of chicken, rice, corn….. I transitioned her over to a natural/raw food diet (ended up using the Nature’s Variety line) and stayed away from the poultry items. I also stopped using Greenies – they worked for her teeth but contain chicken. The fur started growing back within days. Just so you know, allergies can start at any time and even when the allergen is removed, the cat may need to break the habbit of over-grooming. Also, allergens can take up to 3 months to be completly gone from their systems. I hope this helps someone’s pet!
July 22nd, 2009 @ 9:59 pm
Ziggy just turned 12, and she has been licking her belly(her belly is oh so soft) and thighs for years, as well as our walls! She has always been healthy (until recently diagnosed with hyperthyroid) and extremely needy of affection, we call her attention deficit kitty! A number of years ago (I forget how many) she had chronic urinary tract infections, but we switched to urinary tract food and they stopped.
So…could it be OCD in a kitty cat?
December 8th, 2009 @ 8:32 pm
Please listen to this advice! My Maine Coon had the same problem of and on for several years until I discovered… combing her would cause this problem!! Yes, really. Stop brushing your cat. Stop it completely. No matter how ridiculous this sounds or how much your cat enjoys this I know if you are reading this you are brushing your cat and I implore you to stop and never do it again. If she/he has knots manually take them out with your hands. This will often happen with your fluffy cat. But no more bushing!! After a little time your cat will have a full coat again!
December 17th, 2009 @ 4:33 pm
Brushing caused problems for ours too, at least when we brushed him – he didn’t seem to suffer the same when he would rub against things so we bought him a toy that essentially was a pipe cleaner in a u-shape with a carpet base. He brushed himself and everyone was happy.