Overgrooming at Base of Tail

metrico

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Feb 18, 2015
Messages
8
Purraise
1
My cat was showing lots of anxiety earlier this year due to another cat in the house. I noticed she had a patch of fur she was overgrooming by the base of her tail but she exposed some either scratches or bites. I thought it could be fleas so I've been applying a monthly flea medication. She kept grooming until it was quite a large patch. We went to the vet she got a shot the red marks/wounds went away and the hair started growing back. The other cat is long gone now and she's been much happier more talkative and less sulky, just a lot happier and currently lying with me right now. She does have anxious tendencies (will be weary of things on the floor etc) but is better than she was when the other cat was around. From what I can tell former marking and soiling issues are a lot less frequent too. I've tried to continue anxiety medication but it didn't seem to do much for her.

 The past month it had been growing in really nicely but suddenly she's over-grooming again and it's rather patchy. Investigating the skin there are some patches/bumps that are irritated. She isn't due for a new application for another week and a half and I would think I'd encounter flea bites as well? I haven't seen any on her. I know cats are much more diligent in actually removing live fleas.

Should I switch food? Litter? It's very localized at the base of her tail and up her back/spine it's not from what I can tell on her belly or anywhere else and she has had a bit of dander flakes there in the past. I've taken her to the vet in the past to check for crystals in her pee but we 've never found any.

Could it be diet? She's been very picky with her food but she's been that way since we got her. The current food both wet and dry I have her on she's not very fond of and I need to trial something else. So far she's turned her nose at most if not every premium wet foods I've bought her, accept ones with pronounced gravy which she'll lap up and leave the shredded chicken or most of the actual "food" behind. Sometimes she eats it all. She doesn't like the current premium dry foods and if I offer one she used to like she doesn't like it either.

Any suggestions?
 

stephanietx

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 1, 2005
Messages
14,768
Purraise
3,489
Location
Texas
Have you changed litter recently?  Do you run feliway diffusers to help her de-stress?
 
  • Thread Starter Thread Starter
  • #3

metrico

TCS Member
Thread starter
Kitten
Joined
Feb 18, 2015
Messages
8
Purraise
1
Hi Stephanie!

Changed as in changed brands? Not for a few months I've had the same litter blend. It was happening before this litter. Should I change a brand? I need to buy a new supply. We use Feliway plug-in downstairs in the living room and in her "room" upstairs but she generally likes to sit with whoever is around. I cleaned the litter a few days ago.

I'm worried it might be food related? Should I try a different flea and tick medication?
 

stephanietx

TCS Member
Veteran
Joined
Dec 1, 2005
Messages
14,768
Purraise
3,489
Location
Texas
Sometimes irritation by the tail is from allergy to the litter.  If she is not an outdoor cat and you don't have any pets that go outside, I'd not do the treatments monthly.  I'd go to applying every three months.  That's what we do for our indoor only cats.  I don't know where you live, but I live in Texas and we have fleas pretty much year round.
 

gordon sharpe

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Dec 21, 2016
Messages
1
Purraise
2
Hi, this sounds like an allergy to flea saliva. I have had this problem with two of my cats recently. Try changing your flea treatment brand and ask your vet about an antihistamine.

In the UK we have a brand called Advocate - this seems to have solved the problem.

Hope that gives you something more to go on.
 

di and bob

TCS Member
Top Cat
Joined
Dec 12, 2012
Messages
16,582
Purraise
22,957
Location
Nebraska, USA
I noticed this thread is over a year old (date on brown 'bar' ) but overgrooming is always a good topic to bring back up. My 16 year old does this, and has done this for literally years. The vet says stress, there are no fleas, diet has been changed numerous times, no luck. As a last resort there is a wipe made for cats by Petkins that has a bitter taste to it and prevents them from overgrooming. It does work and has aloe and oatmeal in it to soothe the skin.  Within a couple of days he is back to grooming but doesn't pull his hair out for a couple of weeks or so. Then I apply it again when I find handfulls of hair on the floor. I have never found what stress he could be having. he sleeps most of the day and joins the other cats at feeding time. He gets along with the others much better then they get along with each other! He may just want the solitude of being an only cat, but that is impossible in this house.
 
Last edited:

nmsct

TCS Member
Kitten
Joined
Dec 20, 2016
Messages
3
Purraise
1
Your cat is showing signs that could be hyperesthesia. My cat has this and he had the same symptoms. It is usually caused by stress or a change in the environment. You can try homeopathic things like a feliway plug in or that sort. Nothing like that worked on my cat. I had to put him on medication for it. 
 
Top