I'm worried about my new cat

[Lavender Brown]

My new kitty, Angel, seems to be licking a spot on her back excessively. I noticed that her fur was a little sparse there when I took her home from the shelter, but it has gotten a little worse in the past week. The people at the shelter said there were no health issues other than her being overweight, so I hope this is nothing in addition to that. I'm really worried about her weight leading to other health problems. I have an appointment with the vet on Saturday, so hopefully we will get it all figured out. I know this can be about stress sometimes, and she has definitely been stressed. She was brought to the shelter at the beginning of the month and spent a few weeks there before I took her home. I think she misses her last owner, who passed away. That much change and disruption can't be fun for a kitty. :( Other than the bald patch, she has been doing great. She made herself right at home and is so affectionate and friendly. She seems to be eating and using her litterbox regularly.

Send good thoughts & vibes for Angel, please.

[goddess40]

1. We have a kitty who has licked his belly and legs bare.

He's been checked for mites and anything else the vet thought might cause it. He's healthy otherwise and it seems to be nerves.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. I once had a cat who licked a patch of fur off his belly.

Apparently it was some kind of an allergic reaction -- his skin itched, which made him lick, which made the irritation worse, which made him lick even more. The vet gave him a cortisone shot, and he (the cat, not the vet) stopped licking and eventually the fur grew back.

[goddess40]

5. That didn't work for us

our next step would be an anti-anxiety pill. God, I hate to give pills to cats.

Our cats are shop cats, they used to live in our groomers shop and they were inseparable. So when she had to give up her shop because of financial troubles we took the two brothers. Now one of the cats thinks he's a dog and hangs out with his two dog sisters instead of his brother, leaving little guy all alone. I've even thought of getting the loner his own kitten.

[Kookaburra]

6. Have you tried Rescue Remedy?

That seems to help my kitties when they are anxious, and it's a flower essence, so you're not putting yet another chemical in her little body.

[goddess40]

7. not yet,

I'll have to get some and give it a try.

[Why Syzygy]

3. He's so pretty!

I'm sure the vet can sort it out. I adopted a very overweight cat long ago. I renamed him Puddin.
He had been de-clawed but loved to sneak out and hide. He was so fat he couldn't even lick his back. I spent hours combing him because he had dandruff.

Angel is a doll.

[FKA MNChimpH8R]

4. Make sure that you ask the vet about it

S/he should be able to offer advice. If she's not hiding, is friendly/purry, hungry and using the litter box it can't be anything too serious. And Angel is one beautiful kitteh!

[glinda]

8. Have a Vet check for impacted anal glands. Also stress or allergy maybe the culprit.

We have a cat that has to get shots twice a year as she basically rips her fur off by licking. She hates her special food also.

[badgerpup]

9. "Pyschogenic Alopecia" or "hypergrooming"...

Fancy way of saying "Kitty gets stressed out about something and deals with the stress by licking holes into his/her fur".

:hi:
I had a cat with this...well, call it a tendency.
Misha had a lot of Oriental in his gene pool and was rather high-strung (read: 'vocal, opinionated, and very sensitive to the nuances in his environment'). He'd get stressed out about something and start licking the fur off his belly, and if I didn't catch him in time, he'd lick himself raw.
That time I had to sedate him to stop him licking until I could get him to the vet the next day...poor little guy.

Prednisone helped Misha...although he (we!) had one really bad year, where he had to have several treatments and he went up to 15 pounds (12-13 lbs was ideal for him).

At that time I didn't know about Rescue Remedy. I'd try that first now, or one of the Bach Flower Remedies instead of the prednisone, since Wimsey is displaying the same 'coping mechanism'. :banghead:

Angel looks like she's well-named, BTW. A beautiful cuddlemonster kitty...and her coat looks like it's incredibly soft and irresistable for petting... O8)

[Lavender Brown]

10. We went to the vet today

The doctor said it was allergies and prescribed prednisone. Poor thing. I hate having to give kitties pills. :(