Cat overgrooming

[arikkau]

Hi,
My cat has licked all the fur on her belly and has continued to do so for 4 months now. She is now licking the fur off her back and front legs. She is on a flea treatment. My other cat is ok (no itching/licking/missing fur). Took her to the vet and they gave her steroids to calm the itch. It didn't help. It started when I went on a month long road trip and thought it was stress related. I have her in a shirt and that seems to help some but at night time she licks and bites at herself. She goes outside on a leash per vet recommendation for stress relief. I have her on Homeopet stress drops, and skin and itch drops. I've tried hot spot treatment and bacterial wipes. She is on a raw food diet (turkey and duck) for her whole life and this has never caused any issues before. She was getting chronic ear infections but those went away when I cut out the egg from one of her foods. She still itches a lot around her eyes. Any suggestions what I should do? Should I start with switching her food? or treating her for environmental allergies. Add any supplements. Thanks! Any advice is welcome.

 

[arikkau]

Hi,
My cat has licked all the fur on her belly and has continued to do so for 4 months now. She is now licking the fur off her back and front legs. She is on a flea treatment. My other cat is ok (no itching/licking/missing fur). Took her to the vet and they gave her steroids to calm the itch. It didn't help. It started when I went on a month long road trip and thought it was stress related. I have her in a shirt and that seems to help some but at night time she licks and bites at herself. She goes outside on a leash per vet recommendation for stress relief. I have her on Homeopet stress drops, and skin and itch drops. I've tried hot spot treatment and bacterial wipes. She is on a raw food diet (turkey and duck) for her whole life and this has never caused any issues before. She was getting chronic ear infections but those went away when I cut out the egg from one of her foods. She still itches a lot around her eyes. Any suggestions what I should do? Should I start with switching her food? or treating her for environmental allergies. Add any supplements. Thanks! Any advice is welcome.

I should add she start yowling at certain times and pees on soft things. Maybe crystals?

 

[Babypaws]

Poor thing…did you let the vet know the steroids didn’t help? If so, what did he suggest? If she was getting ear infections that stopped after eliminating the food that had egg in it, wouldn’t that suggest for some reason she’s become allergic to the food she’s still eating? Just a thought…if the vet doesn’t seem to be able to help her, I’d get another opinion from a different vet….poor cat is suffering

 

[maggie101]

I agree adifferent vet. I switched because she needed a urinalysis and he would not do it. So I went to someone else. She had struitive crystals. That's the first thing I thought of since one sign is continuous cleaning on her belly. But since it's all over her it may simply be food. Does she eat any fish? Switch proteins,limited ingredients

 

[LTS3]

She is on a raw food diet (turkey and duck) for her whole life and this has never caused any issues before.

Sometimes cats develop sensitivities to food that they've eaten their entire lives. Poultry is known to cause skin issues in food sensitive cats. I'd try a different protein for a few months to see if that helps relieve the skin itching and overgrooming. Can you try rabbit or other novel protein?

 

[arikkau]

Thank you I will try that!

 

[arikkau]

I agree adifferent vet. I switched because she needed a urinalysis and he would not do it. So I went to someone else. She had struitive crystals. That's the first thing I thought of since one sign is continuous cleaning on her belly. But since it's all over her it may simply be food. Does she eat any fish? Switch proteins,limited ingredients

Thanks for the advice. She's using the litter box. When she has crystals in the past that was not the case. So I think its a combination of stress from my trip and a food allergy. I thought maybe mites but since my other cat is ok, I don' think it's that.

 

[hybriseris]

Food allergies are definitely something to look in to!

Since you're looking for a new vet, it may be worth following the line of thought about stress as well. My friend had a cat a few procedures on their eyes - lots of time in the car, medications, etc. The cat developed a habit of licking its stomach and legs to the point of baldness, even long after the car rides and procedures were over. It was explained to my friend that cats are just as prone to anxiety as we are, and sometimes those self-soothing behaviors get out of control. My friend's cat was prescribed Prozac and the licking stopped entirely.

 

[arikkau]

Thank you for your reply. I'm thinking that it is stress. She started licking while I was on a 6 week road trip without her. I've been home for a few months but I think it's become a habit now. I put a cat shirt on her and her hair is growing back in those areas so I don't think it's mites, lice, ringworm (my other cat is completely fine too )I have her on Homeopet Stress relief drops but if that doesn't help here in a few weeks I'll as the vet for anxiety pills. How long did it take your friends cat to stop licking after starting Prozac?

 

[hybriseris]

I just spoke with her, and they noticed a total difference in about a month! It takes two weeks for anti-anxiety meds to kick in for humans so I'd guess it's about the same for cats.

 

[CindyH66]

aww .. poor baby ! my kitty snowball did the same thing. pulled all the fur out of her belly until she was bald, but seemed ok otherwise !? blood work showed she was going into early renal failure. a change in her diet helped . dry skin / fur was the irritant . she lived 3 more years , but bloodwork found the problem. it can show you a lot. has your vet tried it ? might be worth it ! good luck !!

 

[arikkau]

Thank you! I'll look into that too!