Hi guys
First of all, I should say my cat is about 15 years old, so he's getting up there. But over the last year, he's done a really, really odd thing maybe you can help me identify.
About 8-10 months ago, he started attacking his side, toward his hind leg/hip area. He would attack it and fall all over the place trying to bite it. He bites it so hard he rips out small chunks of fur. When he goes into this little craze, he is IMPOSSIBLE to console. He falls off the table, chair, or whatever he's sitting on when he feels the need to get to his side and bite himself. His little self-attack lasts anywhere from 5 seconds to 20 seconds. Never more. And when he's done, he just lays there, or gets up and sits down, and goes back to normal.
Before he goes into his frenzy, he licks that area quite a bit. It's usually when he's bathing himself that he does this, but not always.
But something that should be noted, is that I noticed (as a lot of his fur in the area was missing), that his skin was a bit discolored/irritated, so I began to rub a small amount of oil and water on it, and over the following week or two, all seemed fine.
Unfortunately, just now, nearly a year later, he started doing it again. Same area, same frenzy. I'm afraid that he's going to hurt himself, since he's so old. When he falls, he isn't landing on his feet, nor is he making any effort to.
Is there ANY idea why he keeps doing this? He's an outdoor cat, but he doesnt seem to have any cuts there. Maybe it's a scab that I cant see. There are NO other shifts in his attitude/behaviour. He's still eating regularly, sleeping a lot and going outside, and is still extremely affectionate and friendly.
It happens at least once every two days, if not once a day.
Do you guys have ANY clue why he might be doing this? It's making me really nervous. I know I should go to a vet, but I really have NO money right now, and I'm afraid that it'll be something serious that I won't be able to afford, but at the same time, if it's serious, I don't want him to suffer.
Guys have ANY advice for such an issue before I take him in?
For all I know, it could just be a scab he got from fighting that was really bad and bothering him as it heals. Or maybe its some internal thing that's bothering him, I don't know.
Any advice would be MASSIVELY appreciated. Thank you so much.
Aaron
First of all, I should say my cat is about 15 years old, so he's getting up there. But over the last year, he's done a really, really odd thing maybe you can help me identify.
About 8-10 months ago, he started attacking his side, toward his hind leg/hip area. He would attack it and fall all over the place trying to bite it. He bites it so hard he rips out small chunks of fur. When he goes into this little craze, he is IMPOSSIBLE to console. He falls off the table, chair, or whatever he's sitting on when he feels the need to get to his side and bite himself. His little self-attack lasts anywhere from 5 seconds to 20 seconds. Never more. And when he's done, he just lays there, or gets up and sits down, and goes back to normal.
Before he goes into his frenzy, he licks that area quite a bit. It's usually when he's bathing himself that he does this, but not always.
But something that should be noted, is that I noticed (as a lot of his fur in the area was missing), that his skin was a bit discolored/irritated, so I began to rub a small amount of oil and water on it, and over the following week or two, all seemed fine.
Unfortunately, just now, nearly a year later, he started doing it again. Same area, same frenzy. I'm afraid that he's going to hurt himself, since he's so old. When he falls, he isn't landing on his feet, nor is he making any effort to.
Is there ANY idea why he keeps doing this? He's an outdoor cat, but he doesnt seem to have any cuts there. Maybe it's a scab that I cant see. There are NO other shifts in his attitude/behaviour. He's still eating regularly, sleeping a lot and going outside, and is still extremely affectionate and friendly.
It happens at least once every two days, if not once a day.
Do you guys have ANY clue why he might be doing this? It's making me really nervous. I know I should go to a vet, but I really have NO money right now, and I'm afraid that it'll be something serious that I won't be able to afford, but at the same time, if it's serious, I don't want him to suffer.
Guys have ANY advice for such an issue before I take him in?
For all I know, it could just be a scab he got from fighting that was really bad and bothering him as it heals. Or maybe its some internal thing that's bothering him, I don't know.
Any advice would be MASSIVELY appreciated. Thank you so much.
Aaron