She licks herself so much she gets soaked

[Antonio65]

I'm unsure whether to post this in the Behavior forum or in the Health forum.

Anyway, my kitty Giada, 11 months old, not spayed, vaccinated, dewormed, apparently healthy, playful, in the last couple of days has been overgrooming, especially under her neck, her left shoulder and the two front legs, although other parts of her body aren't immune.
She grooms and grooms, constantly, and licks and licks herself for even an hour on the same spot, to the point she gets soaked, just like it just got a bath, as you can see in these photos that I just taken. Her wet fur has even changed color, to a yellowish tint.

In this photo you see her left shoulder and leg completely soaked

In this photo you see both sides of her neck soaked

Nothing can distract her from doing it, she's doing it right now while I am typing this thread. I'm trying to tell her off, but to no avail. There's no apparent reason for this behavior, which I think is not normal at all. She's so focused on this task that nothing else has importance in her days.

She has just had a 5-day course of Panacur for the giardia, and she's on day four out of seven of metronidazole for the same reason.
We should have had a follow up visit this morning, but it's been postponed to the next week, so I'll have to wait that long before I can tell the vet about this.

Any idea, meanwhile, about what I can look into?
Thanks.

 

[susanm9006]

Since the overgrooming coincides with the time she is on medication, I suspect it is some kind of allergic reaction that is making her itch. I would call the vet and talk to him or her about whether the medication should be continued.

 

[Antonio65]

Since the overgrooming coincides with the time she is on medication, I suspect it is some kind of allergic reaction that is making her itch. I would call the vet and talk to him or her about whether the medication should be continued.

Yes, I had thought that too, but the label of the med does not mention any of the kind. It mentions excessive saliva, vomit and diarrhea, nothing else.
Tomorrow I will call the vet and tell him this.
Meanwhile, half an hour later, she's still licking the same spots

Her right front leg and left rear leg, soaked...

And she goes on!

EDIT: She also bites her own fur and skin on many spots!

 

[susanm9006]

Yes, I had thought that too, but the label of the med does not mention any of the kind. It mentions excessive saliva, vomit and diarrhea, nothing else.
Tomorrow I will call the vet and tell him this.
Meanwhile, half an hour later, she's still licking the same spots

View attachment 343889
Her right front leg and left rear leg, soaked...

And she goes on!

EDIT: She also bites her own fur and skin on many spots!

That definitely sounds like itchiness. When one of my girls became allergic to penicillin she did that non stop until I stopped her meds. An allergic reaction can be dangerous so check with the vet as soon as you can.

 

[IsaAndNena]

As said this is most likely an allergic reaction, especially if she’s biting down on her skin. Definitely call the vet maybe a trace ingredient is causing this. I hope she gets better!

 

[Antonio65]

susanm9006 and IsaAndNena , I will definitely call the vet tomorrow morning and tell him what happened.
As from 7 pm (it's 9:15 pm now over here in Italy) she has stopped licking herself so crazy, and she's back to herself.
A person I know put it down to the heat we have over here, around 92°F, and the cat wanting to get fresher, but it had been hot before and it didn't happen.
Will let you know tomorrow, if the vet has some explanation.
Thanks.

 

[Antonio65]

So yesterday I called my vet and told him what was going on.
He said that it's very unlikely that the antibiotic is giving the kitty any skin reaction, it has never reported anything like this in the past. He said not to stop it till the natural end of the course, tomorrow.
He said that it's more likely she's feeling some itch or anything like that due to the food.
He said that it can't be the heat either, because this summer is unusually cool, with temperature around 90°F rather than 98°F, and on some days it's even fresher.
When she was much younger I fed her kitten food (chicken and turkey) and she was producing very soft poops. The idea was that she might be intolerant to some ingredients, so we switched her diet to an adult one (pork) and things went much better.
Then her poops were soft again.
Unfortunately we have never fully understood of she's intolerant to something, or she has a weak bowel or she is constantly under the attack of some internal parasites.

We have a new appointment on July 31st, which I'm not happy with because this will mean that the spaying surgery will be postponed to an uncertain date again.
On that day a dermatologist will see her too.
We're now 4 months late for this, I can't believe how a bad parent I'm being for her...

She's still licking and licking, even now, she so soaked that I find it hard to handle her, and when she curls on my lap, my clothes get wet too.

Here's a photo taken a few minutes ago, her left shoulder and front leg.

 

[klunick]

Stress related, maybe?? Any changes in your household or her routine? The licking might be self-soothing.

 

[IsaAndNena]

So yesterday I called my vet and told him what was going on.
He said that it's very unlikely that the antibiotic is giving the kitty any skin reaction, it has never reported anything like this in the past. He said not to stop it till the natural end of the course, tomorrow.
He said that it's more likely she's feeling some itch or anything like that due to the food.
He said that it can't be the heat either, because this summer is unusually cool, with temperature around 90°F rather than 98°F, and on some days it's even fresher.
When she was much younger I fed her kitten food (chicken and turkey) and she was producing very soft poops. The idea was that she might be intolerant to some ingredients, so we switched her diet to an adult one (pork) and things went much better.
Then her poops were soft again.
Unfortunately we have never fully understood of she's intolerant to something, or she has a weak bowel or she is constantly under the attack of some internal parasites.

We have a new appointment on July 31st, which I'm not happy with because this will mean that the spaying surgery will be postponed to an uncertain date again.
On that day a dermatologist will see her too.
We're now 4 months late for this, I can't believe how a bad parent I'm being for her...

She's still licking and licking, even now, she so soaked that I find it hard to handle her, and when she curls on my lap, my clothes get wet too.

Here's a photo taken a few minutes ago, her left shoulder and front leg.

View attachment 344169

You’re not being a bad parent lots of what we do with pets is trial and error you’re doing the best you can! Hopefully the appointment brings forth the actual reason then.

What you said about food is something I didn’t think about. Did you only ever give her poultry as a kitten and just recently switched her to pork on her adult diet? Like klunick said also think about changes in routines since cats tend to overgroom when stressed.

Think of it this way too, we solve the licking issue, it lessens chances of her injuring herself or licking her wounds when she gets spayed. Better one thing at a time than a healing kitty who keeps going for her incision. Keep us updated

 

[Antonio65]

Stress related, maybe?? Any changes in your household or her routine? The licking might be self-soothing.

No changes that I am aware of.
There has been a lot of cleaning to try and fight the giardia, I don't know if this excessive cleaning of the house has upset her.

 

[Antonio65]

What you said about food is something I didn’t think about. Did you only ever give her poultry as a kitten and just recently switched her to pork on her adult diet?

I (very slowly) switched to the adult diet between the end of April and the beginning of May, over two months and a half ago, so I doubt it's the food, but it might be.

Think of it this way too, we solve the licking issue, it lessens chances of her injuring herself or licking her wounds when she gets spayed. Better one thing at a time than a healing kitty who keeps going for her incision. Keep us updated

This is a very good point, I didn't think of it. Thank you!

 

[Antonio65]

My opinion is that all the issues I'm having with this kitty are linked to her being not spayed.
The constant meowing that I complained about in another thread, now the licking (she's still licking, I can't have her on my lap, she's all wet), are linked to the stress induced by her silent heats.
She also changed her behavior towards me, she was purring and kissing, now she just curls on me, without much warmth as in the first weeks. She loves me, but it's different now.

Had the vets done what I asked them to do 4 months ago, maybe things would have been different now.