My little one is all black and though she’s an adult, she’s quite small. She was a runt, and when we got her from the humane society, she was already an excessive groomer and licks people constantly. Lately, she has been having more hot balls than usual, and she has started pulling out hair at the base of her tail, and there are little scans there. She doesn’t have any flea dirt, but I have her a treatment anyway in case it’s a hot spot . Any suggestions on how to help her with both the hair balls and the hair-pulling? I’ve already tried the hairball chews, the gels, adding more fat to her diet, etc
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Cat pulling out hair at base of tail
- Thread starter J.Higgins
- Start Date
I was going to say fleas. That area is said to be one of the more common overgrooming areas if they have fleas. It takes only one flea bite for an allergic reaction if she is allergic to flea bites so you might not find any flea dirt at all. Or if there are only 1-2 fleas.
For hairballs I could recommend GimCat Malt Soft Paste Extra to use daily. And brush the hair every morning. And small meals throughout the day instead of 2-3 big meals. And make sure she's well-hydrated - as much wet foods as possible, you can add a bit extra water to the portions too.
She might be allergic to something else as well. Food or an environmental allergy.
For hairballs I could recommend GimCat Malt Soft Paste Extra to use daily. And brush the hair every morning. And small meals throughout the day instead of 2-3 big meals. And make sure she's well-hydrated - as much wet foods as possible, you can add a bit extra water to the portions too.
She might be allergic to something else as well. Food or an environmental allergy.
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Have you started working on ways to help her stress and anxiety? If fleas aren't the problem and she's always had over grooming issues, I would seriously look into helping her stress.
Our girl was the same way, she over groomed to the point where her skin was raw in some spots. After trying everything like fleas, allergy trials etc... We did everything we could to enrich her life and make her feel secure but it was when we fed her food and treats that helps with stress, that was the thing that helped. We no longer need to keep her on the stress food now that she has fully adjusted.
What makes me think it's stress more than allergy or fleas is the fact you mention she licks other things as well.
Our girl was the same way, she over groomed to the point where her skin was raw in some spots. After trying everything like fleas, allergy trials etc... We did everything we could to enrich her life and make her feel secure but it was when we fed her food and treats that helps with stress, that was the thing that helped. We no longer need to keep her on the stress food now that she has fully adjusted.
What makes me think it's stress more than allergy or fleas is the fact you mention she licks other things as well.
Hi. Another possibility - but, can be related to stress, as
Jem
suggested, is a mild form of hyperesthesia. Is any of the excessive grooming/licking brought on by petting/touching? Feeby will over groom or lick me when she is being petted. She also occasionally has skin rippling along her back when being petted/touched. She does not really demonstrate any of the other typical signs of hyperesthesia and is not being treated for it because it is so mild.
However, in your case because of the hair pulling, it might be worth looking into some over the counter calming products for cats. There are a number of products, and not all work on all cats, so you might need to experiment before finding one that would help. Some members use Feliway products, and there is also another that has been used to help calm cats before a vet visit - called Bach Rescue Remedy, which are drops you can rub into a cat's ear.
Hairballs can also be treated with something as simple as a dab of butter/margarine - from your finger or placed on her paw to lick off. If she would eat it, you could start off with a dab for 2-3 days in a row, and then reduce it to a 'maintenance' dose, perhaps once or twice a week. However, if you can get the hair pulling under control, the hairballs might subside some allowing your current product choices to be more effective.
Jem
suggested, is a mild form of hyperesthesia. Is any of the excessive grooming/licking brought on by petting/touching? Feeby will over groom or lick me when she is being petted. She also occasionally has skin rippling along her back when being petted/touched. She does not really demonstrate any of the other typical signs of hyperesthesia and is not being treated for it because it is so mild. However, in your case because of the hair pulling, it might be worth looking into some over the counter calming products for cats. There are a number of products, and not all work on all cats, so you might need to experiment before finding one that would help. Some members use Feliway products, and there is also another that has been used to help calm cats before a vet visit - called Bach Rescue Remedy, which are drops you can rub into a cat's ear.
Hairballs can also be treated with something as simple as a dab of butter/margarine - from your finger or placed on her paw to lick off. If she would eat it, you could start off with a dab for 2-3 days in a row, and then reduce it to a 'maintenance' dose, perhaps once or twice a week. However, if you can get the hair pulling under control, the hairballs might subside some allowing your current product choices to be more effective.
My Bella pulls hair on her belly and the base of her tail. Vet visits confirmed years ago it's due to stress/anxiety. A former feral indoor only, she was quite scared when first trapped and does not do well with vet visits. She's fine while she's there but will act stressed for weeks after the visit. That said she is bonded/ well socialized to me. She comes when called, loves to be petted, and can be picked up. I keep a Feliway diffuser next to her favorite spot. This keeps her hair pulling to a minimum. Occasionally, I see a tuft of hair or two on the floor/bed but she never has a bald spot or sparse area. The vet did prescribe a lotion when she was first diagnosed but she hated the smell.
