What causes a young cat not to groom himself?

Has the cat never washed itself or is this a recent thing?

If it is recent I would say illness or injury. If it has never really washed, maybe it`s mum never got the chance to teach it? Do you know what age he was taken from mum?

How old is he?

Neither of my two really bothered much with grooming properly until they were at least 4 or 5 months old, and face washing started at about 6 months. Like little kids, I think very young cats find grooming a bit boring compared to all the other mischief they can be getting up to!

If he's suddenly stopped taking care of himself it may be the first sign of illness, and like any sudden change in behaviour a vet visit is in order :)

I just got him on Wednesday from a humane society. He is 5 months old. I don't know when he was seperated from his mum. He was a stray and infested with fleas and earmites. I took him to the vet yesterday because he also had tapeworm and a cold. He is on meds and is doing much better now. He is starting to groom himself.....I think he was just not feeling well.

Thanks for your responses!!!!

I`m glad he`s feeling better and starting to groom!:nod: Bless him.

Whew! glad he is starting to groom himself again. I thought he might be like my friend's Skimble, who was a bottle baby and never learned. Skimble had to have baths every other week, when he started to smell catty! (Trust me, "catty" does not smell good!)

Lol, my cats like that. He was bottle fed, and never learned. He gets a bath every few weeks. Pretty much whenever he gets grimy, greasy, and smelly. He HATES it.