Elderly cat is excessively licking himself.

Hello all!,

my oldest cat is 15 years old and for the past 5 years his excessive grooming habit has steadily grown worse. The vet has told us it may be a food allergy and gives him some kind of cortizone shot every 6 months to help relieve the itch. It is now to the point where he's licking down to bare, bloody skin. He has bald spots all over and even rips fur out when biting at himself. I just read that there are several reasons for this, but I just wanted to see if anyone else has experienced this and if you can offer solutions.

Thanks for your time!

The only experience I had was with my QT. She broke her leg, it was not properly fixed and for years when the weather cooled she would lick her leg bare. She was operated once again and now she is fine.
In your case, excessive grooming may also be caused by fleas or allergy to them. It could be stress too.
Ask your vet if there are safe topical medications you can apply as needed.

My cat licked her tummy raw....and this went on for about 3 yrs...she's now 12 yrs old and has stopped.

After various treatments...cortisone shots....changing food.....more attention.....the thing that worked was an anti-depressant transdermal gel. The drug was amytripilyn (sp?)...and I rubbed a fixed dose in her ear..alternating ears every day.

After that course of treatment....she hasn't licked (in anxiety) since..and it's been over a year. The treatment cost about $30

This was all under the supervison of her Vet.

Good luck.....your kitty needs something different. Obviously the cortisone isn't working. It didn't work with my kitty either.