Author Topic: Coco the constant groomer  (Read 2403 times)

Offline Peardrop

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Re: Coco the constant groomer
« Reply #4 on: January 08, 2013, 18:53:32 PM »
The doctor gave me some capsules to put in her food.

She was off colour today so I took her up to the vets. The vet examined her and took her temp etc and said she couldn't find anything wrong but said it could be furballs so suggested I gave her Katlax and put the capsules in her food to relax her. Of course when she got back from the vets (which she hated and screamed in her Siamese voice all the way there and back) she had about three drinks of water which worried me again.

How I wish I could be more calm and less panicky when it comes to her health.

Offline sheilarose

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Re: Coco the constant groomer
« Reply #3 on: January 06, 2013, 20:54:16 PM »
One of mine (Sam) has a grain allergy, if he has cereals (wheat, rye, etc) in his food he becomes hyperactive, stressed and overgrooms.

This is one of the easiest things to eliminate as a starter in your quest to find out what is causing her overgrooming, as it's simply a matter of changing her food for a few weeks to see what happens.

Sam likes James Wellbeloved dry senior turkey with rice (rice isn't considered a cereal) which is a complete food. Online from all suppliers, inc Zooplus, Pets at Home etc

If grain intolerance is not her problem, you may wish to consider using a supplement in her food called Zylkene which is a milk based, non-prescription calmer available from this reputable supplier in smaller quantities. It is suggested you use this for a couple of weeks to relieve stress and hopefully start to break the lick/lick cycle.
http://www.animeddirect.co.uk/zylkene-capsules-priced-per-tablet-75mg.html

As this is a non-medicinal preparation it will be fine for your other cat to consume it also.

I also recommend putting a few drops of Rescue Remedy Pet in her drinking water (please don't use the human version, it contains alcohol which is toxic to cats). http://rescueremedypet.com/

If this doesn't work, I suggest talking to your vet for advice about medication. There are several types available, some anti-depressants have been known to produce good results for overgroomers.
Your vet may suggest using an e-collar or similar to restrict her activities until her spikey fur has grown out.
I like this one but it doesn't necessarily prevent access to the lower extremities.
http://www.comfycollars.co.uk/

There's also a chemical spray you can apply directly to the fur which tastes revolting and is designed to stop puppies and cats from chewing at stitches, Grannicks Bitter Apple is harmless and might help to put her off self grooming. You need to re-apply daily and be sure she doesn't move on to another area to compensate her habit. Available from your vet or Amazon UK

Overgrooming is cyclic, the broken shafts of hair feel rough and spikey, which the cat may perceive as feeling "wrong" so encouraging her to continue to groom it.
Until the soft fur grows out she may continue to groom and perpetually break more and more fur shafts, hence the cycle she's in now.
Addressing the cause of her grooming should allow her to move on, but she's unlikely to break the habit without collaring her until the soft fur grows out as she will simply start again while the fur is still spikey, I'm afraid.

Offline Mymblesdaughter

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Re: Coco the constant groomer
« Reply #2 on: January 06, 2013, 11:10:54 AM »
Hi, have you tried her on a hypo- allergenic cat food? I think it can be hard to find out if your cat has an allergy to certain food. The only way to do it is to feed raw of one type and then keep adding to it in the same way you would do with a human allergy.

What type of cleaning products do you use, could they be causing the allergy? You could maybe try just using natural products to clean her bedding etc.   

I've just been looking around on the web and it seems quite a lot of cats have it and once it's started can be difficult to break them of the habit. 

Offline Peardrop

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Coco the constant groomer
« Reply #1 on: January 06, 2013, 07:35:07 AM »
She actually has bald patches on her legs now (she had favourite spots she likes to groom now it is her legs turn). She doesn't have fleas, her skin is not flaky in anyway, she has never left the house and doesn't look to go out, she is spoiled rotten, only has good food etc.

This has been going on for a couple of years now, when Ping was with us the vet wanted me to put some medication in her food to relax her but as they ate each others food it was impossible. I thought she had stopped doing it as the fur was growing back on the base of her tale but then I noticed her bald legs.

 


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