Obsessive Rubbing

[Megan S]

Hi! I just adopted a beautiful 1 year old tordie named Fiona! Something I have noticed about her is she loves to rub. She'll rub on me, walls, furniture, floors, etc. I've never seen a cat rub this much. (Granted this is my first cat) I know it's normal for cats to rub to spread their scent but, I think it might be excessive and obsessive. I've also noticed that she has a bit of a dandruff problem. Only on her back towards her tail, yet she rubs every part of her body. It's not a ton of dandruff, but very noticeable. I'm thinking maybe her skin is dry and she's itchy? Has anyone had this happen? Could dry skin be the cause? If so is there a product I can use to fix it? Or is this simply normal cat behavior? Thanks for your help! I'm very grateful that this site is here to help new cat owners like me!

 

[maggiedemi]

It doesn't look like sesame seeds does it? The only reason I ask is because when I first took Maggie in, I thought she had dandruff, but it was tapeworm segments!

 

[Megan S]

I don't think so. It looks like people dandruff, maybe bigger. I took her to vet and the vet didn't say anything about it. (Of course I forgot to ask the vet about this problem) I would hope the vet would notice if it was a tape or something. She just got a Revolution treatment for fleas and everything.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Stress can cause dandruff; even from just a trip to the vet. You can comb her some to help remove what you see. What kind of food is she eating? Do you live in a dry climate?

One of my old cat's loved to rub on anything and everything. It was her personality from the day I met her. She had a sort of block shaped head which made it more amusing; but she used to basically walk into the wall and turn so her whole head and body got a chance to rub on the wall. Not a corner; a blank space of wall! But she was a very affectionate cat. Everyone loved her because she enjoyed the attention so much.

 

[Megan S]

I don't live in an over dry climate however we are into summer. She's eating the cheapest purina cat chow because that's what she ate at the shelter. I'm transitioning her to the Rachel Ray food. The comb I have doesn't seem to get the flakes out. Maybe I should get a different one. Is there anything I could use to moisturize her skin?

 

[Megan S]

Stress can cause dandruff; even from just a trip to the vet. You can comb her some to help remove what you see. What kind of food is she eating? Do you live in a dry climate?

One of my old cat's loved to rub on anything and everything. It was her personality from the day I met her. She had a sort of block shaped head which made it more amusing; but she used to basically walk into the wall and turn so her whole head and body got a chance to rub on the wall. Not a corner; a blank space of wall! But she was a very affectionate cat. Everyone loved her because she enjoyed the attention so much.

Fiona is doing exactly what you described with your cat! She walks into walls just to rub.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

You can look into fish oil but double check with your vet too. It really just might take some time.

I always thought of Tiger as a special cat. A little quirky but so loveable. She passed away 14 years ago this month and I've still never met a cat quite like her. I've got a great picture of her laying completely on her belly, legs stretched behind her, on top of my Mother who was laying on the couch trying to nap. Tiger was basically shoving her face in my mother's face. I'd share; but my Mom probably wouldn't like it!

Enjoy your loveable baby! She might calm down a little once she's been with you longer; but it sounds like you've got a special sweetheart!

 

[maggiedemi]

Yeah, maybe the omegas in fish oil would help with the dandruff. My cats hate oils in their food though.

 

[susanm9006]

My cat, a rescue I adopted six years ago has a dander problem on her lower back as well. The thing that has helped her skin has been to put her on a high quality no grain cat food

 

[Megan S]

Thanks everybody for your help! Fiona has been in my house and eating grain-free food for a couple weeks now and I don't notice dander on her anymore! Yay! ,nhfcxz cvh Fiona got on my lap and typed those random letters.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

That's great!!

 

[susanm9006]

nhfcxz cvh back to Fiona. Rachel Ray's Nutrish is the food I have had my Willow on. It's reasonably priced, she loves it and it has cleared up her dander.