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Hi everyone! I made an account specifically so I could post this question because I'm very lost and I've read a lot of helpful material on here. This is a really long post so I'm sorry but I'm really hoping to get some advice, I'm just not sure what to think and I think I need more opinions!
When I rescued my 3 year old cat Vincent in May, he had his sides shaved so the vet could treat some wounds he got from a fight. His hair started growing back pretty quickly, but Vin was grooming constantly. I assumed the hair growing back was itchy and that eventually he would stop grooming so much. It was almost completely grown back, but about a month ago I noticed he was actually losing hair on his sides and arms from grooming so much. He also has a few little scabs under his chin and on his neck that are very itchy - he grooms them constantly and loves when I scratch his neck for him. The vet thought for sure it was an allergy so we tried prednisolone, but it didn't have any effect on him.
So, after the failed prednisolone, my vet seems to think the overgrooming is some kind of nervous tic. I have a hard time believing that as Vincent NEVER acts nervous/anxious/depressed; in fact, he's one of the chillest cats I've ever met. She recommended fluoxatine, but also suggested the cone of shame. As for the bumps on his neck, she believes they're (I don't remember the technical name) basically "cat acne" and she gave me a cream to put on the bumps. The cream does seem to help the bumps but they keep popping up and I can tell that his whole neck is itchy even where there are no bumps.
I've been reluctant to try the fluoxatine since he doesn't seem anxious, so a friend recommended I try putting him in clothes so he can't groom his bald spots. I've been doing that for a couple weeks and his fur is growing back, but he's still obsessively grooming - he even licks the clothes when he can't get to his fur. This makes me think maybe he really is doing it as a nervous tic, so I started giving him fluoxatine yesterday and I guess we'll see how that goes.
Has anyone else ever experienced this overgrooming and/or this itchy neck thing? I'm not sure what to do and I feel so bad - I'd also prefer not to take him back and forth to the vet constantly, so I thought maybe someone on here would have an idea what's going on. Any opinions or advice is welcome! TIA!
When I rescued my 3 year old cat Vincent in May, he had his sides shaved so the vet could treat some wounds he got from a fight. His hair started growing back pretty quickly, but Vin was grooming constantly. I assumed the hair growing back was itchy and that eventually he would stop grooming so much. It was almost completely grown back, but about a month ago I noticed he was actually losing hair on his sides and arms from grooming so much. He also has a few little scabs under his chin and on his neck that are very itchy - he grooms them constantly and loves when I scratch his neck for him. The vet thought for sure it was an allergy so we tried prednisolone, but it didn't have any effect on him.
So, after the failed prednisolone, my vet seems to think the overgrooming is some kind of nervous tic. I have a hard time believing that as Vincent NEVER acts nervous/anxious/depressed; in fact, he's one of the chillest cats I've ever met. She recommended fluoxatine, but also suggested the cone of shame. As for the bumps on his neck, she believes they're (I don't remember the technical name) basically "cat acne" and she gave me a cream to put on the bumps. The cream does seem to help the bumps but they keep popping up and I can tell that his whole neck is itchy even where there are no bumps.
I've been reluctant to try the fluoxatine since he doesn't seem anxious, so a friend recommended I try putting him in clothes so he can't groom his bald spots. I've been doing that for a couple weeks and his fur is growing back, but he's still obsessively grooming - he even licks the clothes when he can't get to his fur. This makes me think maybe he really is doing it as a nervous tic, so I started giving him fluoxatine yesterday and I guess we'll see how that goes.
Has anyone else ever experienced this overgrooming and/or this itchy neck thing? I'm not sure what to do and I feel so bad - I'd also prefer not to take him back and forth to the vet constantly, so I thought maybe someone on here would have an idea what's going on. Any opinions or advice is welcome! TIA!
