Excessive grooming/pulling hair

[Mollysmummy]

I've just noticed something a bit worrying in my rescue cat. She grooms herself totally normally, but does spend a long time cleaning her back. Tonight I noticed her cleaning the same spot on her back/side for about 10 minutes, then bite a big chunk of hair out. I've checked and she doesn't have a bald spot but I'm a bit worried she's stressed? She seems to have settled really well here; we've had her for 2 months but sadly this week her playmate from a few doors down was run over and had to be put down. I'm thinking maybe she's missing him.

She will only let me comb her for about 30 secs so I don't think I'm getting much off for her, does anyone have any hints or tips? She seems fine in herself otherwise other than she won't go anywhere near drinking water, but she's been like that since we got her. (Different water/bowls/positions/temperatures have all been tried, currently trialling a fountain but she's still not bothered!)

[lizzyh]

Hello, have you checked for fleas at all? One on mine has flea allgeric dermatitis, if I don't manage to flea on time and he picks the pesky devils up they drive him mad and he's forever licking/scratching, thankfully these episodes are few n far between. As for drinking, another one on mine will only drink from a running tap, you could try that with your kitty.

[Mollysmummy]

She had her flea treatment done about 2-3 weeks ago so hopefully she doesn't have any, it could be a reaction though I suppose. She's still very anti handling so it's difficult to see under her fur; I will keep a close eye on her next time I do her flea treatment and if she starts doing it again I will ask the vet if there's anything else I can use.

The fountain we have gives her running water, she won't even try it. When it was in bowls she would get excited thinking she was getting food, then walk off as soon as she saw it was water. She doesn't get up on our worktops so I don't think she'd use the tap. Don't know what else to try!

[lizzyh]

Would she drink water from the bath? Another one of mine (I have 5 altogether) likes to jump in the bath, I just put the plug in and run some cold water so a little puddle forms for her to drink from would she drink cat milk? If she is fed wet food I wouldn't worry to much. She might not like tap water? Perhaps try bottled water??

[Lyn from Australia]

Keep an eye on the grooming - if the over grooming persists and the fur starts to thin or she gets bald spots it could be "psychogenic alopecia" - this is a condition where grooming to calm herself becomes an "obsession" with resulting major fur loss (this is the short version). My Lily suffers from this condition and I'm not even 100% sure what started it off - the only thing which has worked for her is human Prozac - but some people get good results from products like Zylkene (?sp), Rescue Remedy and Feliway (plug-ins or spray), and sometimes you just have to learn to live with a semi-bald cat. If your puss is upset atm this behaviour might stop on its own in time - it's up to you to decide whether you want to pursue a "cure" or just see what happens. Hope she's doing OK.

[rampman10]

Good tips on the fleas and grooming. Mine like to drink in the tub also, and I noticed they drink more after I switched to stainless steel bowls. If she gets excited from the wet food you could mix some of the juice from that with the water and the smell might entice her. You can also try a meat flavoring but I would try to go easy because those have a lot minerals like phosphorous, etc. Cats have a great sense of smell so it might only take a little.

[Mollysmummy]

Yes she loves cat milk, and i have mixed water in with her wet food before and she was ok with that, so maybe I don't need to be so worried on that front. I think I'm just comparing her to the cats I had as a child who drank very healthily. They were a bit overweight though so maybe could have been diabetic? Molly is only 6.9lbs and small for her age so maybe she's just not a water fan.

On the grooming front thanks for all the advice, we have 2 feliway plug ins in the house and they definitely do make a difference in her. I will definitely keep an eye on her, id prefer to find the cause and treat it rather than Medicate her, but hopefully it's just a phase? I'm hoping she's just missing the cat from down the road who was hit by a car earlier in the week. She was in our window at the time so it's possible she saw it happen, poor thing.

[Mollysmummy]

Does anyone have experience of their cat carrying a toy round in their mouth meowing? Molly's done it a few times since we had her, it's a bit weird and I'm not sure what it means?

[Crewella]

Two of my old original cats used to do that - at some point in the evening either Pushkin or Giddy would pick up a stuffed mousie and wander round with it, calling. It was a very particular meow that did sound like a call "look what I've got". It might be a total coincidence, but both Giddy and Pushkin had had a litter of kittens before they were neutered, and I did wonder if it was an instinctive 'look what I've got for tea' type thing.

Daz has taken up hunting in a big way since we moved to this house, and I always know when he's caught something because, before eating it, he carries it home and wanders round the courtyard with it in his mouth, shouting at the top of his voice (though slightly muffled by mouse) to let everybody know what a clever boy he is. The meow he uses sounds very similar to the sounds Giddy and Pushkin used to make with their stuffed mousies.

[Mollysmummy]

You know I think you may have hit on something. Molly is only just over 1, but I'm not sure how young cats can have litters? She does have a saggy belly which I thought was odd for her age. She was a rescue cat so it's possible she had a litter before coming to the rescue centre.

It's a very loud, specific meow that she doesn't do any when else. This is the first time she's been an only cat and her playmate from a few doors down sadly passed away last week. I'm wondering if she's lonely?

[Crewella]

I agree with 'very loud specific meow' - mine did/do a sort of loud rising 'mwwwowow'. I wouldn't assume loneliness just from that though - Giddy and Pushkin lived with four other related cats all their lives, sometimes sleeping in a big six-cat huddle on the sofa, and they still did it.

I believe cats can have litters from about 6 months!