Question about excessive licking

bonny619

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My cat lucy is a licker. She licks everything.....except our skin, she will lick our clothes, but not our skin. Anyway, she licks everything....pillows, the furniture, the walls, plants, literally everything. Someone told me I should get her a salt lick thing, I guess they are made for rodents. Would this be bad for her?

Also, why do you think she is licking like this?? I mean, we don't really mind it, its just very strange!

Any ideas?
 

valanhb

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Some cats have a thing called "Pica" or licking strange things. Sometimes it is indicative of a deficiency they have, such as iron. Hopefully someone more knowledgable than I will answer soon.
 

hissy

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It is called pica and there are several theories about why it happens. Some say it is a chemical imbalance and put the cat on medication, while other experts maintain it is a nutritional defienciency and say changing the diet will help. There is a pretty intensive website about it, let me see if I can find it


http://www.ddfl.org/behavior/pica.htm
 
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bonny619

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oh wow, thanks for the link. Im off to read up on it.
 
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bonny619

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It looks like pica is just eating non food items......I suppose it could relate to licking....but she never eats anything weird.

She always looks very calm when she does it.....like she will be on our lap and just start licking our shirt....and kneading.....so I wonder if its just a soothing reflex? Even when she is licking the wall she looks strangely at ease, lol.
 
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bonny619

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That stuff looks very interesting. I mean, we arent really trying to make her stop....she looks like she enjoys licking and she doesnt seem nervous or jittery or anything like that....she is a very social cat, seems very well adjusted, but just licks. I think ill try to monitor the licking, really see when she does it...and to what.
 
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