My cats and cleaning themselves.

My cats have always cleaned themselves. I know it's normal, but within the last month or so, they've been doing is CONSTANTLY. Last night my little guy cleaned himself for almost an hour. They never did it this much. Nothing really has changed. Their food and environment is the same. If they had fleas or lice, wouldn't I have it, too? Plus, they're indoor. so I don't know where they would get it from. My mom suggested maybe they have dry skin? Anyone ever have this problem with their cats?

It could be stress related. Has anything changed in the house or family relationships?

Are you using a different carpet shampoo? Stuff you sprinkle on the carpet before you vacuum? A new cleaner elsewhere? New laundry detergent or softener? New perfume or lotion for you?

Do you live some place where it's cold, and the heater is on now? If so, do you have any humidifiers?

Have you checked the ingredients of their cat food? Has it changed? You might want to contact the manufacturer to find out. :nod:

Any of these things might cause this, in addition to fleas (which would be odd as they're indoor only). :nod:

Nothing has changed in the house and We checked them for fleas. I do live in New York and the weather has been going from warm to cold. I do use new perfumes and lotions. Otherwise anything else I use, I've used before. Maybe it is the weather change? I will have to check about the food. I didn't think of that. Thanks for the input!

Yes, if you live in an apartment and the heater's been on, it tends to get really dry pretty quickly. This may be enough to do it. :dk: I would try humidifiers, though, of course checking into a change of ingredients in the food (potential allergy problem) is always a good idea.

To me though, the "red flag" is that it's both of them. :nod: That makes me think it's environmental, and the weather change and very dry air in the apartment could explain that.

We've all got dry skin, e cats, dogs and people in this house. We are running humidifiers to help. I would try that first and then see if that helps. 

The first thing I look at when I see a cat with dry, flaky skin and excessive grooming, is the diet . . Also - add a humidifier too. Probably too dry. But the wrong food can cause very, very dry skin with white shedding skin flakes showing in their coat.