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My kitty has been overgrooming her lower belly area for the last couple weeks. I don't see that her skin is irritated and she does not have any fleas. I think this is behavior related and not due to any illness. She acts normal in every way. I also noticed she was licking my suede ottoman over and over last night. I haven't changed her routine. I suspect she is stressed because I'm pregnant. Any thoughts?
My senior cat overgrooms when stressed, and doesn't really stop until something breaks the cycle for him. So we end up taking him into the vet, and he spends a couple of months on 'kitty prozac', during which he reboots himself and the problem does away for a couple of years.
Definitely take kitty into the vet if it looks like the skin is getting overly irritated. We had one time where Five cat groomed himself into wet dermatitis on what remains of his boy bits. (As we don't normally stare at that part of the cat, we caught that later than we normally would) And let me tell you, the instructions to spray a soothing topical solution on that part of the cat for three weeks were no fun for anyone.
And let me tell you, the instructions to spray a soothing topical solution on that part of the cat for three weeks were no fun for anyone.
That made me spit out my drink.
OP - licking is very soothing for an animal, so if you look at it that way, it could be a case of the animal "self-medicating" as it were.
Your cat might well be sensing changes in either emotional levels in the household &/or she might well be sensing both emotional and physical changes (smell in particular) in you.
If this is a mild case and she's just mildly confused or upset, try distracting her when she licks, spending extra time with her, etc. etc. etc. - all the normal comforting things we'd do for an animal that's unhappy. You can also try homeopathic remedies that are calming.
If she doesn't respond to this, you'd need to rethink. The problem can be that the longer it goes on, the harder it is to break as it's become a habit.
Our 13-year-old Tortie does the same thing and I have to think it's a habit. Her belly is void of fur and in fact gets that stubbly feeling of five-o-clock shadow. It's weird.
She has a cushy life and I don't feel it's stress.
She has a cushy life and I don't feel it's stress.
The problem is diagnosing what caused it in the first place if it has gone on for some time. While I believe stress would be the cause in the majority of cats, there are cats that overgroom in answer to environmental factors. It becomes a problem when the triggering environmental factor is gone but the overgrooming continues. (A cured flea allergy for example.)
While initially it might have been a self-soothing action as a reaction to an event long forgotten, the very fact it IS self-soothing makes the cat continue doing it - a bit like a human "nervous habit". Some cats will stop of their own accord, some won't and like Beachmouse's cat need something to brake the habitual cycle.
You should take your cat to the vet and ask if it's a hormonal problem. I know a person who had a cat that did the exact same thing and after some teste, they found out it was a hormonal problem.
I'm going to try adding a link to an interesting thread about this. It seems to be a pretty common problem.
FiveHorses, I don't mean to say that stress is not possible for other cats' behaviors but I just don't think our Tortie does her overgrooming for that reason. But maybe I'm wrong.
Actually in reality I can't be sure and after reading the thread it's easy to feel overwhelmed by the possibilities. Food allergies, environmental irritants, anxiety, urinary issues, hormonal issues, stress, bad habit, etc.
I'm apt to act on this only if it gets worse or causes breaks in her skin at the site, or if she extents her licking zone to other parts of the body.
Our licker is eating only Wellness wet food. She ate the anti-allergy duck/pea formula for months and still licked so it's not an allergy to chicken. She gets plenty of attention and sleeps with us for naps and overnight. She falls asleep on my chest most nights and goes under the covers to nestle in my arms like a baby, with her head on the pillow next to mine. We are very closely bonded. Her licking goes on when she is alone, so with a lack of any other prominent cause I think it could be that she does this when she is lonely.
Which makes me feel sad for her. I wish she didn't have to do this.
My cat’s licking her fur off. Help! : Cat Advice | Paws and Effect (http://www.paws-and-effect.com/2007/11/04/my-cats-licking-her-fur-off-help/ - broken link)
I have a vet apt set up for Wed. I was hoping it was a phase but I notice that she has started on her back legs. This does give the belly fur a chance to grow back a little. No skin irritation but I did notice that one of her lower nipples was red. As my belly gets bigger, it's harder to sit on the floor to play and groom her. I try to do more frequent but shorter sessions. I will let you know what the vet says.
Location: Vermont, grew up in Colorado and California
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Good Vet/check-up is the best start, glad to hear you are doing that. There are lots of reasons it could be happening, hopefully your Vet can rule them out. Sometimes it can be the thyroid.
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