My cat has feline OCD - he licks himself until the point of baldness. Thankfully it’s still pretty localized (stomach, front paws, back legs) however it seems to be getting worse.
I’ve looked on the net for this kind of behavior, but I’m not sure if my cat really has “Feline Hyperesthesia” as he doesn’t exhibit any of the ‘manic’ behavior related to the condition (he’s not agressive, and doesn’t seem to have any of the spinal sensitivity of Hyperesthesia…it’s just the over-grooming).
We’ve taken him to the vet for a round of steroid shots in hopes that it would clear it up. He’s still licking. We’ve started putting a bitter liquid on his fur so he won’t lick himself in the affected areas, but he licks around it.
Has anyone experienced this and treated it successfully without drugging their cat? I realize that medicating him is the next step but if I can hold off putting the cat on Prozac, I will.
As far as I’m concerned he can lick himself bald, however he seems to be developing small abrasions where he’s been licking too much:( Needless to say it’s a little unsettling.
Our cat did it for a short while. The Vet said he was probably stressed… which was definetly possible. There were a few “major” things that a kitty could have been unsettled with. That was about 1 year or so ago. He’s fine now. In our case, he seems to just be “less stressed” now and that stopped him licking his tummy.
Perhaps yours is stressed-out too? Is there something that has changed at your home since around when he started doing it?
Nothing has changed in our home environment. I thought it was because we weren’t paying enough attention to him, but he’s the most focused on thing in the house! We play with him all the time (my boyfriend carries the cat around like a baby…it’s kinda sick) and we’re home in the evenings, usually snuggled on the couch with the cat.
I was hoping that he’d just stop licking eventually, but it seems to have been getting worse.
With our first cat, we did everything short of euthanisizing him (pills, shots, you name it) nothing worked. This went on for about a year, year and a half. Then, he stopped. No problems since.