Can anyone help with why my cat is licking and chewing spots of her skin raw?
Wednesday, July 7th, 2010 at 1:24 am
My cat is an indoor only cat. She licks and chews at 2 areas on her side and an area on her back. They end up raw. She also scratches at her neck, but not as bad.
Does anyone have any idea at why she would itch so much she would lick and chew herself raw?
I thank you for any help!
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Filed under: Cat Licking
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It could be any number of things from fleas to food to any flea and tick medication. She could also be suffering from excessive stress or an allergic reaction to an environmental toxin.
Those spots can become infected so you need to get her to stop. You can tip her nails and get her an elizabethan collar so they can at least heal up while you try and figure out the cause.
Some sort of allergy probably, fleas and food are common allergies in cats. A single flea bite will do that to a sensitive animal. She should see the vet about it.
Do you treat her for fleas on a regular basis?
Hello!
Cats can have sensitive skin and allergies, just like peoplle. even stressers.
Did this start recently? Have you changed her food or given her something new? Are there fleas present? You can set kitty on a white serfuce and brush her, if little black specks appear on the white, that is probably flea dirt. If using a flea treatment, kitty might be sensitive to it. Or, Kitty might be stressed out or upset about something. My kitty pulls her hair out when she is stressed. My family has sworn by a product called "Linitone" for years. It is a vitamin oil you can put on her food. It works for hair problems. Check e-bey. Hope this helps!
I would start her on 2 vitamin supplements :
1. Vitamin E which helps to heal the sores
2. Alfalfa which is a natural anti-fungal,anti-inflammatory and pain relief
I would also suggest that you take one of the vitamin E capsules and open it and put the liquid directly on the sores to help heal.
I would work the vitamin E like this one day let her take it orally the next day apply the liquid to her sores and keep alternating .The alfalfa she can have everyday.Maybe just start her on one pill.I would also suggest if you have a cone to put on her head to stop her from licking and biting I would do that.You can get the cones from the vet or maybe even a pet store.
Untreated fleas can make a cat’s life miserable, and indoor cats should still be treated for them. First thing to do is take her to the vet for a check up. There could be a number of causes such as parasites, allergy or even a dietory factor.
If the vet can rule out any health problems, then it might be behavioural. There is a condition called psychogenic or "nervous" dermatitis, which is a reaction to stress. Has anything in her environment changed? Was she ill prior to this? Is she bored or lonely? You don’t say how old she is or how long she’s been doing this for, but can you think of any incident that might have triggered this behaviour? If this is a psychological problem, you need to determine the source of the stress and you will need your vet’s help to treat her.
While her wounds are healing, they will itch and your cat is responding by grooming the areas, so you may have to consider fitting her with an "Elizabethan Collar" to stop her doing this. If it’s a behavioural problem, your vet may consider prescribing a tapering dose of sedatives while the original psychological cause of the problem is treated. If she’s a particularly sensitive cat, you may need to build up her competence levels so that she doesn’t revert back to this behaviour should she become stressed again.
I hope you find the help you’re looking for amongst the answers you receive.
Good luck.
The September 2007 issue of Cat Fancy magazine has a couple of great articles in the health&care section for "Skin Care Month"
Some possibilities are allergies, fleas, other bugs, or stress.