Obsessive-compulsive cats - and why they go bald in places!
I often regard cats as having been imported from Mars! They have a neat habit of implanting their wishes in to the minds of their owners, getting them to rearrange an entire house just for their personal convenience. And don’t think that Veterinary Centre’s are any different. Clients at Riverside will be well acquainted with our own feline ruler, Milo. His pride of place is on top of the reception computer which has had a specially constructed table made to accommodate those times when he wants to sleep there. The things we do for our animals…
Not all cats though are as confident as Milo. And for those with a more timid nature, nervousness can lead to a very real issue of self trauma in the form of over-grooming. The reasons for this are difficult to determine. It’s often felt that the start off point for over-grooming is flea irritation. Of course, plenty of cats get fleas without any signs of over-grooming, and anyway fleas can be very easily dealt with using modern insecticides that are extremely safe and effective. But for some cats with a high level of skin sensitivity flea irritation can lead to an obsessive-compulsive type of over-grooming behaviour that can be a real issue for months or even years in to the future.
How does the problem develop ?
Often those cats that are likely to be at risk from this type of behavioural self trauma will be more nervy than other cats. Often such cats can be recognised as kittens during the early checks at Veterinary Centres. These will be the less confident ones. Kittens complete their impressionable learning as young as 5 weeks of age, so getting a kitten from a “normal” home environment is really helpful. Having been brought up with all the stuff of a typical home (such as the sounds of hoovers, washing machines and TV’s), will mean that they are more likely to be able to settle in with a family’s routine much easier compared to those that have been brought up in isolation. Less confident kittens are much more likely to grow up to be cats that develop the habit of over-grooming. Routine monthly de-flea treatment for such kittens is much more important to try and stop the process from starting. However, it can also develop in cats that are getting bullied. And that can start at any age. Many of our feline friends have the run of the house and outdoors thanks to cat flaps. But that means that any bullying, intruder cat will also get access to the home. Fortunately there are now very sophisticated cat flaps that can be set to only allow access to the home of your micro-chipped cat, cutting down at least some element of the bullying. The feline pheromone plug-in diffuser, Feliway is also a means of making the home “extra” cat friendly. Even then though the problem can run ahead of us.
How would I know if my cat is over-grooming ?
For many owners it can come as quite a shock. Out of nowhere their cat has suddenly developed bald patches, often symmetrical, affecting the back, around the tail area. Sometimes it also affects the backs of the hind legs and belly, and in some cases the insides of the front legs. It may only have been going on for a matter of days but more usually weeks. The problem is that cats can be very secretive about this over-grooming, making early detection difficult.
How can we cure it ?
That can be difficult. It sometimes becomes more a case of managing it. Although there is now a medical problem of hyper-irritable skin, the basis of the problem is stress in many instances. Routine and regular de-flea treatment is started straight away, but that’s pretty much a case of shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted. Without it though, all the other treatments may be compromised. Anti-inflammatory treatments are often started for these cats to try and put the brakes on the skin irritation and the introduction of micro-chip activated cat flaps and Feliway diffusers, if appropriate, are often helpful. Novel anti-anxiety medications are also becoming available that may also help. The key, as always, is to act quickly when the skin signs on a cat are recognised to try and head off the slide in this type of behaviour before it becomes too entrenched.
© copywrite Dai Gittins MRCVS.
