Licking her back/bum bald!

I've come to yall with all of my previous problems with Jinx, and I guess it's time once again to ask some serious advice:

My kitty, Jinx, has always been a little OCD about cleaning (she has really long hair, I figure it's normal) but lately (the past 2 months) she's been licking her bum obsessively. Basically if she's not sleeping, she's licking. I've given her baths, brushed her more thoroughly, used the "Yucky" spray stuff, but nothing works for longer than 30 minutes. She's now bald on her bum and is starting on her back where she's managed to lick herself raw.

From what I can see, there's no bumps or rash-type signs, only an unpleasant scabiness on her back (not her bum). Nothing has changed in the house. The only thing I can think is that she's stressed out. We got a kitten last August who loves to play with her but she HATES playing (and doesnt like the little one much either). But they get along except when Buttons decides to get frisky. I just cant see how this would suddenly manifest itself 7 months later if Buttons were the cause.


Jinx is about 2 1/2 yrs old and has had life saving surgery every February/March since I got her (12/03). So I'm very resistant to going to the vet again because I cant spend another year of my life paying off her surgeries.

Any advice? Any theories? If I need to take her to the vet, I would rather know that I've exhausted all other alternatives first.

Here are some pics I took:


THANK YOU!!!!!! <3

I just had to take Francine to the vet the other day for this same thing.
The vet thinks it allergy related and gave her a depo shot.
We are trying things one at a time to rule out causes. First she got a treat of Frontline in case it's a flea allergy. That along with the depo shot has made a great improvement. Her fur is growing back and she's not washing like she was.

It could also be a food allergy or something else. It's best to have her seen by a vet to rule things out.

1. Food allergy- What do you feed her?

2. Flea allergy- Does she have fleas? Has she been flea treated recently? OR a reaction to a flea medication?

3. Ringworm- Any scabs in the shape of a ring?

4. Feline Scabies/Notoedric Mange- No question, but it is a possibility too.

How long has it been going on and has she seen a vet about it yet? I would rule out a food allergy first.

Originally Posted by Jen

1. Food allergy- What do you feed her?

2. Flea allergy- Does she have fleas? Has she been flea treated recently? OR a reaction to a flea medication?

3. Ringworm- Any scabs in the shape of a ring?

4. Feline Scabies/Notoedric Mange- No question, but it is a possibility too.

How long has it been going on and has she seen a vet about it yet? I would rule out a food allergy first.

Click to expand...

I would advise a vet visit soon ...

Originally Posted by Jen

1. Food allergy- What do you feed her?

2. Flea allergy- Does she have fleas? Has she been flea treated recently? OR a reaction to a flea medication?

3. Ringworm- Any scabs in the shape of a ring?

4. Feline Scabies/Notoedric Mange- No question, but it is a possibility too.

How long has it been going on and has she seen a vet about it yet? I would rule out a food allergy first.

Click to expand...

1. I've been feeding her either Iams for hairball/digestive tract health (one of her previous surgeries involved a stuck hairball in her intestines) or a natural version of the same formula, it just depends on if I can get to Petsmart to get the natural one or if I can only get to Publix.

2. She doesnt have fleas, and neither does the kitten. They're both indoor cats and I havent seen any fleas around the house. (phew!)

3. Not that I can see. The scabs are more like dots where she's licked the root of her hair out

It's been going on about 2 months, but it wasnt until the last 3 weeks that she started licking all of her hair off. I havent taken her to the vet yet because I'm just very nervous about taking her this month given that the last 2 times I've taken her to the vet in this month (every Feb/March for the past 2 years) she's had to have life saving surgery and I've had to spend $1000 or more. I just cant do that again, sadly if this is something huge and expensive again I wont be able to pay it and I'm scared to hear that she'll die or something.

Stress and anxiety. Id wager all my bank points.

I bet she starts with her belly and gets completely lost in her cleaning. You can interrupt her, but she will immediately go back to cleaning herself. she probably makes sounds while she is cleaning herself. kinda intense purring or that funny licking sound i cannot put into words.

If you goto a vet, goto one that has a behaviorist.
this is not fleas or ringworm. it may be food alergy, but if it is the same brand of food she was eating before this showed up. its not the food. although Iams is not a brand i would feed any animal but thats MO.

You mentioned you got a kitten. what other changes have you made to her environment? new furnature? has her litter box moved? does she share the litter box with her new furry roommate?

I bet if you limit the interaction between the two. or give your jinx a place that she call 100% her own including litter box, this activity will go away.

With her history of near death surgeries, i would wager she is a very skittish cat that has bonded with you completely.
she now has to share everything with a new furrfriend. thats tough on a kitty who has had it rough.

Soooo...it's been a year and a half and now, suddenly, Jinx has started the licking again. The last time this happened she quit doing it on her own after about 3 months. She's been doing it again now for almost 2 months but it's SOO much worse this time!

I know I'm going to have to take her into the vet, but I really wanted to post here first just to so I could try and prepare myself for some possible explanations. I'm going to take her in on Saturday. (sigh).

Here are pics:

(her bum, the back of her legs, and a closeup of her legs)

There's no obvious explanation...her food is the same, there havent been any changes in her routine or environment lately (though we moved in January, but this didnt start til July), I havent changed her litter...the only thing I can think is that it's a delayed freak out to the move earlier this year or she's just unhappy. I've tried spending a lot more time with her, playing and cuddling etc, and she seems happy to hang out, but it doesnt help the licking.

Any ideas? And as always, THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR ALL YOU'VE DONE FOR ME AND MY POOR JINX (aka the world's most expensive-free cat! )

My cat Phoebe did the same thing...started about 5 yrs ago. No real reason for it, except that one cat, Wayne, died of cancer, and a few months later, I adopted Max. She was 7 yrs at the time.

It was her belly...so raw, it was bleeding. It was scabby when it wasn't bleeding. We tried changing foods, depo shots, distracting her....she always went back to licking, licking, licking.

Finally, the Vet prescribed and anti-anxiety cream that I applied to the inside of her ear, alternating each night. I had to do it for about 3 weeks..but., lo and behold...she stopped licking by 99.9% Sometimes I see that she's licked the inside of her leg..but she sure doesn't do it to the extent that she did. Even now, she'll lick a spot, but then stops and the spot heals and all is well again. Her tummy looks fine..no ill effects.

I don't remember the name of the cream, but I've seen the name before being used for people as an anti-anxiety. It was formulated by the Vet school for her size and age and came in a syringe. I just pushed out 1ml a night and rubbed it on and that was that. I'll look up the name tomorrow.

You cat could very well be stressed by the kitten. I think Phoebe was too, although the two of them became very good friends. Unfortunately, Max passed away in March, and there are now two new kittens..so I'm going to have to watch for any anxiety reactions, but so far, she's fine.

If that's your kitty's problem, it isn't expensive...about $30...probably cheaper where you are.