How do I get my kitten to stop Overgrooming?
Treating psychogenic alopecia
- Keep your cat’s day as routine as possible, with feed, play and exercise occurring at the same time each day.
- Increase your cat’s environmental stimulation by introducing new play centres, catnip-pack toys or kitty videos.
- Introduce new perching areas for your cat.
Why is my kitten Overgrooming?
The cause for over-grooming may be behavioral or medical. Medical causes that may lead a cat to over-groom are usually those that make the cat feel itchy. One of the most common causes is an allergy. Just like people, cats can have allergies to food, fleas, or anything else in the environment – natural or not.
What does it mean when a cat is overgrooming?
Cat overgrooming occurs when your kitty starts grooming excessively – licking their fur so much that it causes skin inflammation, sores or hair loss. In extreme cases a cat might even start to bite areas of skin.
Why is my cat Gracie overgrooming her tummy?
Gracie has been overgrooming her tummy. Medical problems can cause overgrooming or alopecia, including feline cystitis, auto-immune or internal diseases and cancers, (Waisglass et al., 2006), so start with your vet. Flea allergy is a common cause, and other parasite possibilities include include lice or fungal infections.
Can a flea allergy cause a cat to overgroom?
A veterinary investigation is essential (Caney 2007). Sometimes something like flea allergy caused the original overgrooming but even when fleas are gone, the skin has been so damaged that it remains painful. Stress. Like nail biting in humans, overgrooming becomes a habit or a compulsion for the cat.
Why does my cat spend so much time grooming?
These are some of the most common causes for cat overgrooming. Your cat is naturally on a mission to keep their coat clean, at times spending up to 50% of their waking time self-grooming. But sometimes their behaviour can take a turn into excessive cat grooming. Find out why this happens and what you can do to help your cat.
What does it mean when your cat is overgrooming?
Feline overgrooming behaviors that don’t have a medical basis are called psychogenic alopecia. Although your cat doesn’t deal with office politics and gets to sleep 16 hours a day, stress and cat behavior problems tend to go hand in hand. Many cats turn into nervous wrecks in the face of too much stress.
How can you tell if your cat is over grooming?
With cats, excessive licking (over-grooming) is difficult to assess but does happen. If your cat is losing hair on a part of the body and you notice the kitty paying more attention to that area, you are likely seeing a case of itchiness.
Why do some cats groom more than others?
Skin disease is the largest cause of over-grooming in cats. Unlike dogs, who will lick, nibble, chew and scratch their skin when it is itchy, cats may well only show excessive grooming behaviour. Cats also (being the masters of disguise we know they are!), often do this away from their owners, or at times when they are not observed.
Gracie has been overgrooming her tummy. Medical problems can cause overgrooming or alopecia, including feline cystitis, auto-immune or internal diseases and cancers, (Waisglass et al., 2006), so start with your vet. Flea allergy is a common cause, and other parasite possibilities include include lice or fungal infections.