Obsessive Over Grooming

[Danny_Johnson]

Hello all, I’ve been dealing with a behavior problem for a very long time and no vet or online forum is posing the answer that I need. To give some back story on this behavior my cat moved in two years ago and never had an over grooming problem. After about a month we got a dog which she hated which is also when the over grooming problem started. She would lick her stomach and tail raw to the point that it would bleed. We took her to the vet multiple times and the problem was never solved. She’s been given steroids and atopica to see if it was a skin irritation problem or allergy and it never did anything. We’ve recently moved into a new apartment 3 weeks ago without the dog and it’s the same behavior. We’ve tried changing her food, cat pheromone plug ins, buying her a window perch, toys, and giving her more attention in this new and quieter environment and the behavior hasn’t changed at all. If anyone has any ideas it would be greatly appreciated. The attached file is a photo of what she did to her tail tonight. Thanks for your help!

 

[neely]

Welcome to TCS! I'm glad you joined the site and came here for advice.
I'm so sorry your cat has been having this on-going problem. I thought this thread may have some helpful information for you:
Cat won't stop licking herself open

This Article that discusses anti-anxiety medication may be helpful too:
Anti-anxiety Medication For Cats
And an Article about skin conditions in cats:
Skin Conditions In Cats

 

[GoldyCat]

Have you had her tested for allergies? When my cat was overgrooming I tried changing food, changing litter, steroid shots, tried every calming agent out there short of prescription drugs. When I finally had her tested it turned out that her allergies were almost completely unrelated to what I had been trying to correct.

 

[minty]

Jumping in on this thread. I'm glad I found this site.

What allergies have you had her tested for? What did it turn out to be?

I adopted a cat 6 months ago that was already probably 6 months into overgrooming. She hasn't stopped. She's now on revolution, we've tried a round of prednisolone, an 8 week food trial of z/d just ended. I had also changed her food from what her previous owners were feeding her, changed her litter, but no change. She's just moved onto new areas to lick. Vet wanted to work down through all the more common things it probably was, before going to it being just behavioral since there is only a 10% chance, but we're at that stage. She seems so happy otherwise, but I feel horrible watching her her go more and more bald.

 

[minty]

Just thought I'd try bumping this up in hopes of getting some replies, either from the original poster, as my cat started her overgrooming due to a new dog too (or so I was lead to believe by her previous owners) or from the previous poster (GoldyCat) about what allergies her cat was tested for.

Thanks!!!

 

[FeebysOwner]

M minty - just in case it helps, I am mentioning GoldyCat in the format (@ and the name) that should notify them that you have asked a question you hope they can help you with.

 

[GoldyCat]

After a few months of unsuccessful trial & error I had blood tests for allergies done. It would take some digging to find the paperwork, but as nearly as I can remember they tested for food and environmental allergies.

The food included several protein sources, and surprisingly she was not allergic to any of them.
6 different types of grasses and at least as many trees and shrubs with high to moderate allergic reaction.
Several types of mites--highly allergic!

We figured it was the mites that set off her allergies. I had changed to a corn litter a month or so before she started overgrooming and I can only think that there were mites in the litter.

There were probably other tests, but nothing that triggered allergies.

 

[minty]

Ok, thank you for the info. I will check with my vet about these types of allergies. I don't think blood work has been done, although maybe before she was re-homed to me.