Will This Cat Ever Stop Licking Herself? (eating, carpet, kidney)
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I know that cats are clean animals and groom themselves, but sheesh. One of my cats is seemingly obsessed with it that I am either wondering if something is wrong with her or if I just need to shave her bald.
One of my cats is a female long hair that looks like a Maine-Coon. She's strictly an indoor cat. And very bushy. I try and brush her regularly. Sometimes she likes it. But most of the time she just walks away and dances in circles when I try to do it. So it's iffy at best. But here's the thing. She is constantly licking/grooming herself. I mean really. Constantly. When not eating or sleeping, literally every last second she's awake, I see her licking. And it is accompanied with that very annoying licking/slurping sound. She always has a clump of fur hanging out of her mouth and I have to chase her to get it or else it will be swallowed. As it is, about every other week, there's a hairball that she yakked up on the carpet that needs to be cleaned. Tufts and clumps of fur are everywhere and I'm getting tired of picking them up.
Is there a reason she should be licking that much? She is indoors and it's air conditioned to about 75, so it's not as though she's baking in here. Apart from the seriously excessive licking, there is nothing else outwardly wrong with her. She eats, drinks, is playful at times, uses the box, doesn't hide much, and has a normal gait and disposition. As I said I try to mitigate this with regular brushing but to little or no avail. She loves to be petted and doesn't have any bald spots or other visible issues. Once in a blue moon, she'll get a little bit of mange (clumped up fur) on her back or back side that a quick snip of the scissors will take care of, but that's about it. Should I just lop the fur off and be done with it? Is there any training advice I can use to maybe get her to stop licking (and pulling/swallowing) the fur so much?
I'd ask a veterinarian about it. Something is going on. She might have a skin condition that you can't detect. Perhaps the mange is there all the time, just invisible or dormant. I've never had a cat with mange, and if it it reoccurs like that, it could be chronic.
Good luck! I hope you don't have to deal with lots of hairballs.
I have never had a long-hair cat but do know that some that constantly lick themselves can be a bit neurotic and/or do this activity as a way of soothing themselves. Guess the vet could help you with that....a clump of cat hair does not = mange. Mange per se..not sure they get this problem...
Quote:
Originally Posted by Des-Lab
I know that cats are clean animals and groom themselves, but sheesh. One of my cats is seemingly obsessed with it that I am either wondering if something is wrong with her or if I just need to shave her bald.
One of my cats is a female long hair that looks like a Maine-Coon. She's strictly an indoor cat. And very bushy. I try and brush her regularly. Sometimes she likes it. But most of the time she just walks away and dances in circles when I try to do it. So it's iffy at best. But here's the thing. She is constantly licking/grooming herself. I mean really. Constantly. When not eating or sleeping, literally every last second she's awake, I see her licking. And it is accompanied with that very annoying licking/slurping sound. She always has a clump of fur hanging out of her mouth and I have to chase her to get it or else it will be swallowed. As it is, about every other week, there's a hairball that she yakked up on the carpet that needs to be cleaned. Tufts and clumps of fur are everywhere and I'm getting tired of picking them up.
Is there a reason she should be licking that much? She is indoors and it's air conditioned to about 75, so it's not as though she's baking in here. Apart from the seriously excessive licking, there is nothing else outwardly wrong with her. She eats, drinks, is playful at times, uses the box, doesn't hide much, and has a normal gait and disposition. As I said I try to mitigate this with regular brushing but to little or no avail. She loves to be petted and doesn't have any bald spots or other visible issues. Once in a blue moon, she'll get a little bit of mange (clumped up fur) on her back or back side that a quick snip of the scissors will take care of, but that's about it. Should I just lop the fur off and be done with it? Is there any training advice I can use to maybe get her to stop licking (and pulling/swallowing) the fur so much?
Had to laugh just a little. My 24 year old cat that is part long haired siamese and Manx and has licked herself like a crazy cat forever! My vet felt it was a was a psycological thing at first and put her on Prozac. That didn't help and I didn't like the idea so I took her off and now I just deal with it. She has no skin problems, no other problems and has been throughly checked by my vet who only does cats! It's just a "thing" with her. I try to keep as much loose hair brushed off her so she won't get hairballs but she still does sometimes. I have tried using a halo collar, nasty tasting stuff on her fur from the pet store etc but finally decided why make her life miserable? As long as she has no medical problems then I'm just going to let her be. Yes, it drives me crazy and I get hair all over the chair she sleeps in because she pulls it out but hey, she's 24 years old so she can do anything she wants to in my house!!
Good luck!
She needs to go to the vet. It may be something she is doing to relieve anxiety or it might be something she is doing to relieve pain. She needs to be checked out, there are many medical causes that could be the root of her issue. Don't let them dismiss it as psychological until they have ruled out medical causes.
I had a cat who was an excessive groomer. It got worse and worse. When I took her to the vet they just acted like she was crazy. Turns out she was not crazy. She had a tumor.
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I second what Tilli says. At least rule out the possibility of a big problem. I work in pharmacy & ssri's (prozac-like drugs are among #1 sellers) are used alot for animals. Myself, I don't believe in it, but it's a very common prescription.
Certain vitamins can have a calming affect on humans & probably on animals too... Deficiencies are probably the number one thing "masked"...
If you can afford it, I'd consider a holistic vet (cuz that's who I'd expect to be more concerned about deficiencies). That would be ideal... maybe after using the normal priced regular vet to rule out other bad things. Something tells me that the regular vet would be cheaper to start out with but I could just be worried about nothing.
And if it's pretty much nothing but compulsion, as cynwldkat's cat has... it sounds like it's okay to let it just continue...
It's highly possible that she has a food allergy. What are you feeding her?
Mats on her back are not "mange". Mange is a parasite.
Mats are formed for many reasons, poor diet, a cat who rolls in dirt a lot, lack of grooming because of: health issues or obesity, some cats are more prone to matting than others.
Another possibility is stress. Some cats are more stressed than others. Feliway plug in diffusers or rescue remedy can be tried, to help reduce stress.
Since there are no bare spots, she is not grooming too excess really. With all that fur, it may just seem like it.
I recommend a vet check up first, to look for health problems. Blood work, including thyroid should be done. A urinalysis wouldn't be out of order also.
Evaluate her diet. Ideally you want her on a canned grain free diet. If possible limit her to only one protein at first, to see how she does. If you see improvement (give it about 2 months) try adding another protein to the mix and see if the problem starts up again. And so on.
No grains.
Food allergy, or dehydration due to an all dry diet can cause excessive licking, because her skin itches her.
PS It wouldn't hurt to give her a shave down just once, so you (and the vet) can get a good look at her skin. Have an experienced groomer do it. Check references or testimonials of any groomer you decide to use, and stay with her.
Excessive licking can be a sign of a thyroid problem. My cat has hyperthyroidism, and needed medication for this. It can also affect their kidneys and be fatal if not treated.
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I would first do a Vet visit to rule out as much as possible, and pretty much what has already been suggested,, at the same time, look around the house for something as simple as what she sleeps on. Some have allergies to certain fabric softeners.
Have you tried the Zoom Groom? It is wonderful for long haired cats and every cat I've ever known loves it. They seek it out and rub up against it all the time. I made the mistake of using a metal brush on my pets and that just promoted a lot of extra grooming and scratching. Zoom Groom is not damaging to their skin and you will not believe how much fur you get out.
I hope by now you have had her vetted and that some relief is on the way.
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