Licking Herself Bald

pirhan

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I have two cats - one male and one female. I had the male (Bones) first and then got Hazel. Hazel was a flood victim, so I am unsure of her past. She had fatty liver and pretty almost died.

She's doing great now - she purrs, she comes and greets me at the door (more then my lazy boy), LOVES her daddy (as soon as my boyfriend sits down, she jumps and sits on him). She sleeps at the foot of the bed each night, eats the finest foods, has a filtered water fountain, has lots of stimuli and is all around much loved.

Bones, my first cat, and her don't always get along. They'll fight every now and then and then get it sorted. I don't see it as a huge issue, just little spats now and then. (We've moved to a larger home and they fight less.)

Now, with all that being said, Hazel licks her stomach clean. She'll sit on her fat fanny, with both legs spread and digs in. Not only is this very unlady like (Hazel is very prim and proper the rest of the time) and noisy, she's licked herself clean down there.

I have:
Taken her to the vet,
Changed food,
Cuddled more,
Change kitty litter,
Moved to a larger house,
Got a fireplace,

and she still does it. I'm not too impressed with the vets in this town - they're more after the money then anything. He didn't seem too worried and said it was just behaviour.

I've only had her for three years, and the vet thinks she's 5ish. (As her teeth are healthy.) I think she's older, but I really don't know. She is over weight, but healthy. She eats just under a half a cup of food a day.

I really don't know what's wrong. I'm frustrated speaking with our vet as I would rather spend the $50 on a cat post then the appointment. I don't want to put a cone on her, but I'm at wits end. I poke her every time I see her doing it. All I get is a dirty look and she moves and continues.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
 

yayi

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My cat QT broke her back leg years ago and sometimes when she is stressed or bored she will lick the fur off until the skin is exposed and almost raw. All I do is put an antibacterial cream or lotion to avoid infection. The vet also told me that she may sometimes feel something in the area of the break - like an itch even after all this time.
Your vet could be right that it may be a behavior thing. Or Hazel could have had an injury there and she may sometimes feel something like QT does. But not enough to need some kind of exploratory surgery.
 

cairo

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My Cairo woke me up with a fat lip one morning about 6 months ago. I chaulked it up to injury for a few days until I realized it was just getting bigger. I took her to the vet to find that she has a certain type of allergy that is fairly common in cats. The name is really long and I think it was Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex, but I'm only going by the sound of the name and web research that matches what my vet told me about.

It was treated by 2 injections of some steriod something two weeks apart, and went away within 3 weeks.

The vet said we were lucky it was just her lip because she said most cats get it on their belly, the back ridge of their hind legs or on their side, and they lick and lick even if nothing shows up underneath. It is suposedly a subsurface irritation for them and can be caused by any sort of allergy from dust to a bug bite. We never found out what she was allergic to, but based on the time of year, I'm guessing it was seasonal since we had all the windows open for some time during the spring.

I'm not sure if this is what's affecting your cat, but it's worth looking at if all her other behavior is normal. My vet led me to believe that quite a number of cats have this at one point or another in their nine lives, but a few suffer it chronically until the source of the allergy is found.
 
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pirhan

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That's great - now I have something to try. I'll take her to the vet to see if it is allergies. (Sometimes you have to do your own research and ask the vet if you're right...). Thank you
 

pickles81

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Hi! Could you please let me know what you figure out with your cat and the licking. my email address is [email protected] The reason im asking this is because my cat, i adopter her in April i believe....well she seems like a clean freak. She will lick and lick and lick herself....then when shes done, if you pet her....she will lick that spot again like "omg, i just cleaned that spot...WHAT ARE YOU DOING TOUCHING ME?!?!?!?!" Its hilarious!!!! So, i was just curious on what people think about her behavior. I havent though taken her to a vet about it....when i adopted her she had ear mites, but those are all gone. Shes my little luv bug though...and shes very spoiled and loved. Thanks for any advice I get in advance!!!!!
Michelle and Pickles hugs and purrrrs!!!
 
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