Lita was a pig....now she is imaculine about herself?

slave2_ragdolls

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Lita my 6 1/2 year old Ragdoll was always unclean about her grooming of her own fur her whole life
I have her 8 year old mother and she is the same way about her own fur. Like mother like daughter? Lita was diagnosed with early kidney problems back 3 months ago. She got so sick that she could barely walk suddenly before I took her to the vet the next day. The vet said she was very dehydrated and very weak at the time. Since this time I have been giving her fluids though an IV bag 2 times a week and have her on prescription Science Diet canned K/D food put in a blender mixed with some water and a powdered Epakitin mixed in for her kidney disorder. She is doing very well with this setup that she will have to have this the rest of her life. The thing is......she was always unclean about herself her whole life always having matted fur from not cleaning herself on a regular daily basis. Over the last 6 weeks or so......Lita is now a converted Miss Clean....and she keeps herself and her own fur immaculate almost constantly licking herself. She is very clean and mat free which makes us both happy
I know that cats do not groom themselves very well when they are either sick or very old in age. This just blows me away to see her taking so well care of herself in the grooming department
Can anyone explain why a cat like this would suddenly turn into a Miss Clean after being a pig about herself for the past 6 years of her life?
 

meowers

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Well, when a cat is sick they dont groom much, if at all. so, if they are suddenly very healthy, then they would notice how dirty they were?
 
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slave2_ragdolls

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Originally Posted by Meowers

Well, when a cat is sick they dont groom much, if at all. so, if they are suddenly very healthy, then they would notice how dirty they were?
Yup.......But Lita was a pig her whole life before
She could not have been sick since she was born.....could she? I am stumped by this sudden turn around at this time in her life
I am more than happy to see this for her...Last summer she was so matted with her fur.......I needed the vet to shave about 80% of her fur off because she was so bad at the time...This was way before finding out about her kidney disorder. I just do not understand why the change was so sudden with her?
Any other ideas? Thanks!
 

momofmany

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I found an unneutered, 10 year old male cat who was totally matted and greasy when I found him. I got him neutered, and then gave him a bath, which he absolutely loved, and realized that he was used to having them. He got a bath once a week and he willingly jumped into the tub and purred while I bathed him.

My vet told me that it is rare, but there are some cats that just don't groom themselves. You might just have one of them. The fact that she has changed her behavior tells me one of 2 things. Either she's been sick her entire life and now that she's getting treatment, she feels better, or, her illness has caused a new obsession where she grooms herself to distract herself. I've heard of cats that over groom when they are stressed. Over grooming to her might be considered normal grooming to the average cat.

Just a thought.
 
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