Expert: Tina - 5/24/2004

Question
We have two cats, a 10 year old female and a three year old male.

When we introduced the male two years ago, the female began licking a small spot near her left hip.  We assumed this was the stress of losing her long-term buddy and the introduction of the new guy. But two years later the "bare" area has grown to the size of a silver dollar and we think it may be a habit now.  Ruling out illness and fleas, is there any way to stop this behavior?  We were thinking of rubbing some "bad-tasing" but harmless oil in the area do not know what might work and be safe.

Some other points:
We had another male cat with whom she was buddies. When he died, we introduced the new cat. Although they are not buddies, she now tolerates and even sometimes iniates play with the new arrival.

She eats well and has regular medical shots and check-ups.
She is an inside cat.




Any suggestions?


Answer
Hi Vickie,

You are right often these types of behaviors can start because of stress or depression and then become habit. First however it is important to rule out skin problems caused by fleas or allergies. If she is not already on a monthly flea control, I recommend starting her on monthly Advantage - a very safe and effective and easy to use flea control.  Even an occassional flea can cause extreme itching in a cat who is hyper-sensitive to fleas.

Also many cats develop food allergies which manifest most often as skin itchiness. Try switching her food to one that does not contain any artificial colors or preservatives, and if already on a food like that try ruling out corn - a common allergen for cats. I'd try Wellness (www.oldmotherhubbard.com) Natural Balance (www.naturalbalanceinc.com, Nutro Natural Choice (www.nutroproducts.com) or similar food. Often it takes weeks for allergy symptoms to go away so keep feeding the new food for about a month.

Once you have implemented the above changes, you can work to discourage her from chewing that spot by applying a product designed for this purpose, such as the Chew Stop from Drs. Foster Smith (link below). Spray it on a cloth and then wipe it on her - if you spray it directly on her it could agitate her. You shouldn't apply too much, and don't use anything else like pepper or oils that could be either toxic or could irritate the skin further and cause her to chew even more. The problem is with cats they want to remove yucky stuff from their fur, so even if it tastes bad they may try to lick it off. It would be better to try the first 2 suggestions first and if they fail then resort to the Chew Stop.

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=7653&Ne=40000&R=19...

Finally, if the abive measures don't work, go to your vet and ask for an elizabethan collar, one of those cones you see cats and dogs wearing so they can't chew at stiches or wounds. You can get smaller fabric ones which are less obtrusive, and she would have to wear it until the spot heals - hopefully by then she would have broken the cycle of chewing herself raw.

Good luck!