My kitty is a neurotic licker.

This is Merkin.



She licks (both herself and others) neurotically. Not sure if this is something to worry about; but it does seem to have escalated lately. Our little dog doesn't like the kitty-cuddle, but she'll lick my or my husband's hand insanely whenever we love on her. She'll spend half an hour sometimes licking our other kitty, or the big dog. She's especially turned on by anything stinky. Lately I've started to get nervous about it, because she's licking her lower belly bald.

She's never been the same since we got her spayed 3 years ago... I know she wasn't pregnant or in heat at the time but since then she seems hormonally "off" - she doesn't know how to properly respond to lovins, she'll get way over-excited and then freak out about it. For some reason, behaviorally, this seems like an extension of that problem?

No fleas here, no allergies, no diet changes. And nobody else seems to be effected in any way. (except maybe JerryBear the dog, who's getting spoiled with these long luxurious cat-baths )

Anybody else have a similar experience? Any advice?

 

We had two pet rats and Gaia took to nibbling and licking Nyx, so much so she made quite a large bald spot on her shoulder. She never broke the skin and Nyx would lie and allow her to do it. Vet never held any store by it other than it was a grooming thing and we always thought it was a display of affection. Upshot was, Nyx went through most of her life with a bald patch and only when Gaia passed on did her fur start to grow. Sadly, she passed on shortly after Gaia and her fur never reached full growth.


Not much help I know, but maybe some of the more experienced cat people here have an idea. Good luck!

 

For cats AND dogs, excessive licking like that can be a form of self soothing. Maybe she's got some anxiety issues?

 

Hmm, yes, she most likely DOES have some anxiety issues. She's always been an indoor-cat... and every time we've moved to a new place she's managed to get out one of the first nights in the middle of a storm or something... so as a result she's now scared shitless of all outdoors. And as I said in my original post, she has some hormonal issues that most likely add to that anxiety.

Otherwise, she is healthy in every way. How can I alleviate her anxiety? Just wait, and keep life as steady and monotonous as possible for her, and hope she cheers up?

 

Yes, keeping things as calm, quiet and predictable as possible will help. You might even consider feeding her the right amount of food per day for her but spread out at the same times every day (to make happy routines)... that works for some cats but not all. Also, you can get this thing that you plug in the wall and it puts stuff in the air that is supposed to relieve stress in cats, like this: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=8906

Also see this page too http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?N=2002&aid=730

 

jesus, tahts one of the prettiest cats ive ever seen

 

I hate to be a necromancer and raise the 'dead' thread, but you might want to look at feline hyperesthesia syndrome...according to the vet I was discussing it with, it's very similar to kitty OCD, (the vet said it can masquerade as OCD, sometimes and shares some patterns with it) and seems to display some of the same patterns of behavior as human OCD. (including, in extreme cases, self-maiming.) my middle boy has it, and even did the tail mutiliation repeatedly. He's unresponsive to medication, but won't attack his tail so long as it's bandaged, so the vet recommended that I jsut keep his tail bandaged with a clean dry tape/pad, and let him like otherwise normally. Having his tail 'covered' seems to reduce his anxiety severely, but he's been known to 'furpick' and overgroom parts of his body as well.

The one thing that really helps him is when I grow, I let him nibble the trimmings, and it seems to do wonders, which I've discussed with the vet as well. The vet said 'keep doing it, if it helps him.'

one thing that's a indicator/risk factor is if the cat is decended from the siamese/tonkinese bloodlines, as it seems to be linked to those breeds (my boy's half tonkinese)

so if your baby's related to those bloodlines, even a couple generations back, you might want to talk to your vet about it.

good luck, and again, sorry for raising an old thread, but I thought this might be useful and pertinant.