Licking fur off belly

Maraki900

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Mar 4, 2021
Messages
6
Purraise
2
Hey! My cat has been licking her fur off her belly creating sores! Her mood and appetite in general dont indicate any kind of medical problems. Her fur is shiny and she doesnt have any bald spots anywhere else. The vet gave us something for parasites but it still didnt work. Do you have any experience on the matter? I dont know what to do!
 

LTS3

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Aug 29, 2014
Messages
19,209
Purraise
19,695
Location
USA
Lots of things can cause a cat to lick at the skin causing a bald spot or sore: parasites, allergic reaction to litter or food or something in the environment, stress, dermatitis or other skin condition, etc. Here's a TCS article: Skin Conditions In Cats – TheCatSite Articles

What product did the vet give for the parasites? How many doses has your cat had of it? One dose may not fully take care of parasites.

How long has your cat been licking at the skin? A few days? Weeks? Months? Can you recall any changes that may have triggered the cat to start licking?

What do you feed the cat? Brand / variety / formula / protein type? Sometimes pet food companies change the food slightly and the new food may cause reactions. Chicken is a common trigger of itchy skin in cats.
 

gilmargl

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 12, 2013
Messages
1,855
Purraise
4,817
Location
Germany, NRW
I have a cat who not only has a bare belly, the backs of her legs are also bare. She was a stray and when she was picked up she had in addition a bare patch lower down her back, just on one side. That hair has grown back but she went through a period with two identical bald patches on her ears! She has been with me for almost 4 years now. Parasites and allergies have been ruled out. A steroid treatment brought some improvement but it is not to be recommended as a longterm solution.

Stress seems to be the accepted reason for overgrooming when everything else has been ruled out. Unfortunately (like nail-biting in children) even when the cause of stress has been removed, the bad habit remains and I am really not 100% certain that rehoming her would be a solution to the problem. She has other health issues: a bad squint and "hole in her heart". Compared to other cats, her behaviour is strange (not moving out of the way when other cats would scoot) so that some brain-damage may be present. If I could find the right person, without other cats, who would adopt this very affectionate and inquisitive cat to try to cure her of this habit, I would. But she's small, black and wiry. Vet costs for ECG and sono, at least once a year, are quite a deterrent, so she stays with me!

Your cat doesn't seem to have such severe problems, but maybe my experience will give you some things to think about. When my poor foster has open sores, fortunately seldom, I have an anti-fungal, antibiotic cream that can be applied - there again, not too often and certainly not over a large area.

Please let us know how you get on!
 

syzygycat

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Nov 8, 2016
Messages
241
Purraise
227
Location
North New Jersey
Allergies; could be a new food/litter, some allergens develop after years of exposure. Ive had cats develop allergies to:
-fish, chicken, foods various "gums" (guar gum, xanthan gum, etc), foods with grain, foods with gluten, friskies (all flavors), scented litter, clay litter.

If it is an allergy, takes a 30-45 days to see an improvement. Food allergy testing isn't common, and results are unreliable.
-Stop using any new products.
-Change litter brand, make sure its unscented, ideally a type (clay, crystal, wood/paper like yesterdays news, etc).
-at least feed grain free pate's (no wheat, no corn, no gluten, no seafood, no byproducts)
-they make "limited ingredient" foods, makes it easier to identify allergies. Stick to one flavor, one type of meat. Better yet feed a meat your cat doesn't usually eat (venison, rabbit, kangaroo, pheasant, etc)

Stress (any changes in the household?) can cause over grooming.Removing the stressor often helps, sometimes its neurological and kitty needs medication

Other things that commonly cause over grooming usually get worse overtime (change in behavior, howling, fever, etc)
-UTI
-Kidney stones
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #5

Maraki900

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Mar 4, 2021
Messages
6
Purraise
2
Hello and thank you for your replies!
The vet gave us some kind of liquid to put on her spine. We did that twice with different brands(I dont know the names). We also got a feliway diffuser on at the room that she hangs out mostly. The overgrooming started last summer and it was around the time i started leaving home more and more due to work and a newfound relationship. She is not alone at home though. My mother is taking care of her when I am not present. I feel like it has to do with some kind of anxiety disorder that started because of my absence. She is 8 years old and very well taken care of. She is around 3 kilos and she has never had any kind of other problem before. She is also neutered and she does not go out of the house. I also give her a bath every 6 months. She is not weakened at all and she is quite playfull,purring etc.
Also the overgrooming seems to be present more when I leave the house for long periods of time (around a week or two? especially now during quarantine with the limited moving etc).
 

gilmargl

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Feb 12, 2013
Messages
1,855
Purraise
4,817
Location
Germany, NRW
That sounds like anxiety to me. Which is a good sign as it will no doubt disappear as soon as she realizes that even though you have to go to work, you always come back! Perhaps you can get something from your vet to reduce her anxiety for a limited period to help her get used to the new situation.

Good luck!
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #7

Maraki900

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Mar 4, 2021
Messages
6
Purraise
2
Thanks a lot for everything!! <3
 

Jem

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Aug 6, 2018
Messages
5,573
Purraise
11,246
My girl over-grooms due to separation anxiety. When we first adopted her she over-groomed until she became comfortable in our home. Things were great, then the pandemic hit...We were home 24/7 for 3 and a half months because both my husband and I could not work due to the lockdown. When we were given the OK to go back, about a week or so into us working again, she started over-grooming. This lasted quite some time. Then when we had 2 weeks off for Christmas....she stopped and her belly healed and the fur started to grow back. Now unfortunately, after going back to work after being home for the holidays, she started over-grooming again, but thankfully it's not as bad though. She's not giving herself sores like she did before.
When she overgroomed when we adopted her, our vet gave us a prescription food for calming. This seemed to be what got her over the hump and stop the first time, but the food did not work for her the second time...so IDK if you want to try talking to your vet about the food.
We purchased a product called Zylkene. We haven't used it yet, but it seems promising and something to try before we go into heavy meds from the vet that can sedate. We got the OK from the vet to give these a try. I'm not sure if a prescription for those are needed though...I asked her about them and she simply added them to my online account as an OK product to purchase....I don't know if I would be allowed to buy them without her permission. But she was already familiar with what we were going thru with Lily, so she may have been nice in not requiring an actual appointment...especially during the pandemic.
https://www.vetoquinol.ca/eng/products/zylkene-supplement-stress-dog-catvet

Good luck with your girl!
 

Tagrendy

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Jan 14, 2018
Messages
184
Purraise
163
The only time that happened with my cat is when he was bored, I was working a lot and didn't play with him. Does he get enough playtime? Try to up it and see if there is any difference.
 

syzygycat

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Nov 8, 2016
Messages
241
Purraise
227
Location
North New Jersey
Also the overgrooming seems to be present more when I leave the house for long periods of time (around a week or two? especially now during quarantine with the limited moving etc).
Might not be a bad idea to set up a few web cams to record youre away (they make cat cams but most of us already plenty of devices web/phone/laptop/regular digital cams), If she gets restless after being alone for a few hours, then starts gnawing in her belly fur you know what your trigger is (or if its right before/after using the litter box, or an hour or 2 after eating etc).
 

solomonar

TCS Member
Super Cat
Joined
Jan 13, 2017
Messages
938
Purraise
830
Location
Romania
My tomcat overgroomed his back. No precise cause identified.
But we gave him external antiparasitic drops and treat his feline asthma.
He stopped.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #12

Maraki900

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Mar 4, 2021
Messages
6
Purraise
2
About The zylkene i think ill stick to the difffuser for now lets see if it does anythhing and if it doesnt ill ask my vet about it.
Yeah i try to play with her daily aroynd 10-20 minutes before i go to sleep around 2am or sth. Due to old age of course she doesnt wanna play as much and gets tired easier than before but i guess thats normal.
About the webcam idea yeah its good but my cat spends a massive amount licking herself under my bed covers xD. But yesterday i spent the whole day with her to watch her all the time and shhe seems to do it during the night around 3-4 in the morning. We didnt give her any wet food and the litter is one of the top quality ones from the local petshop so i dont think its that.
Also solomonar i think your kitty was anxious because she wasnt ffeeliing well but mine doesnt really hhave other ealth problems.
Ill keep you updated guys!! thanks a lot for the replies
 

hopscotch

TCS Member
Young Cat
Joined
Aug 22, 2012
Messages
63
Purraise
61
It sounds like it could likely be stress or separation anxiety like you mentioned. You are doing lots of things right from the sound of it, so it's hard to say what more exactly she wants or needs. If she's stressed by you being away and she sees you like a mother figure maybe she's trying to sooth herself in your absence by trying to groom herself like a mother would a kitten? Just a guess. I wonder if a shirt might help her feel hugged and calmed when you're not available to attend to her.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #14

Maraki900

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Mar 4, 2021
Messages
6
Purraise
2
okay thats neat! Ill try the shirt idea too! Thank you or your input
 

syzygycat

TCS Member
Adult Cat
Joined
Nov 8, 2016
Messages
241
Purraise
227
Location
North New Jersey
We didnt give her any wet food and the litter is one of the top quality ones from the local petshop so i dont think its that.
what food do you give her? If you only feed dry and she'll get crystals in her urinary tract. Did the vet test her urine?That would 100% cause over grooming, specially if they're small enough to not cause blockage. Then she's just scratched up internally. No matter what you buy.check ingredients: soy, soybean, wheat, flour(any kind) gluten (anykind), corn, potatoes ... are all sensitizer for cats.

Scented "top quality litter" is not hypoallergenic, doesn't claim to be. with things like that you want it to be as unadulterated as possible, adding fabreeze and lavender doesn't make it better for cats, just the owner. .for clay litters Dr Elsys unscented, fresh step simple unscented are good choices. If the smell is an issue, sprinkle regular baking soda on it everyday when you scoop the litter.
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #16

Maraki900

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Mar 4, 2021
Messages
6
Purraise
2
Okay so updating on the situation: The vet told us that the other vet shouldnt have put on her the first liquid and he put on her the "Advocate cat">4kg (i asked). Now we put her on HA from Purina and she's taking Prezolon tabs(1/4) 2 times per day for the next 5 days. He also recommended using Bepanthol creme twice a day for her skin to get better.
syzygycat we didnt use any scented litter or anything weird.We use a brand that has zeolite in it and it also gets solid when wet.The vet told me that she is healthy and told me to give her the hypoallergenic food for a month along with the rest and give him a visit next month so we see how it goes. He also told me to dust the whole place as she might be allergic to it.
After the Advocate cat liquid though she doesnt seem so itchy anymore she's doing great! Thank you once again for your input!
 
Top