Expert: Ali - 12/8/2011

Question
For some time my 10 year old cat Genesis has been licking an inordinate amount of time.  A lot was going on when she began doing it so we thought it might be a response to stress similar to nail biting, but now it's gotten worse to the point where she is developing bald spots on her abdomen and legs.  I'm in a horrible financial situation and to bring her into the vet and pay $90 just to walk in the door if it's an allergy or something.....

She doesn't seem to be in any pain or have bugs, a rash or anything else....

I've even tried a "hot spot" spray w/ no luck.

Can you just give me your thoughts/opinion?

I can give you any additional info/pics you need.

I hope to hear from you soon.


Amanda

Answer
Amanda,

I completely feel your pain on this one! My 13 year old tortie had a fetish for obsessively licking herself and leaving bald spots for a number of years. Our vet ran the blood and we switched her diet to no avail so we came to the conclusion that her issue was psychological. I opted against treating with anti-anxiety/anti-depressant meds because I wasn't entirely comfortable with the idea of drugging her... I'd fostered a kitty on an anti-anxiety medication who spent his days looking decidedly stoned out of his mind and I don't think that's any life for a pet (just my opinion though... maybe newer meds are better since this was years and years ago). My 13 year old kitty also has a 9 year old son who started obsessively licking at around the same age as his mom did. He's still at it but his blood work and food are all good so since his mom stopped it all on her own we're hoping that he will too!

Sometimes issues like this can be related to food allergies which can be difficult to treat in cats. Obsessive licking can also be a psychological issue or it may be related to a medical issue. My recommendation would be to consider having the veterinarian run blood to see if your kitty's organs are all functioning within the normal range and discuss diet. I would stay away from any food with grain in it because cats are carnivores and they really don't need the extra carbs - grains are also a common source of allergens for cats. You could try a high quality holistic food like Wellness or Blue Buffalo but bear in mind that it may take up to 3 months to see an improvement in the licking... If your kitty has environmental allergies such as dust mites, pollens, household cleaners, etc then it can be tougher to narrow down a cause and treat her effectively. In these cases trying to identify the source of the allergen and either removing it from her environment or having the doc prescribe an anti-histamine can greatly improve her quality of life... Keep an eye out for skin infections though because some cats who lick themselves excessively actually groom their skin raw and create infections that need to be treated by shaving the surrounding area, cleaning the wound, setting kitty up with a cone of shame and treating the infection with either a topical antibiotic or an oral antibiotic...

Hopefully this information is helpful. If you have any further cat related questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me again at any time - I'm more than happy to help in any way that I can.

Kind regards,

Ali