Is my cat's excessive licking due to stress from her kittens?

It's not impossible for a cat to have stress that is causing the excessive licking but usually it is an allergy and the most common allergy for a cat is fleas. Even if you don't see them on her. Since you mentioned that you rescued her from outside my guess is that she has fleas. Cats don't like to have fleas so they will groom themselves excessively to get the fleas off which is why you often won't see them. Here is a good article that may help you determine if fleas are present. http://www.petmd.com/cat/parasites/evr_ct_does_my_cat_have_fleas I would start with fleas as the number one consideration and if you determine there are no fleas then you should get her to the vet for some testing. If you determine fleas are present I would treat her with a GOOD topical flea prevention like Advantage II or Fronline- DO NOT use Hartz or Seargant brands. They are awful and cause many toxicities in cats. You need to apply this EVERY month even if she does not go outside. You also need to treat the environment (so the inside of the house and the yard if she goes outside). https://www.chewy.com/virbac-knockout-es-area-treatment/dp/53856 https://www.chewy.com/advantage-ii-yard-premise-spray-32/dp/103395 If you want to work the stress angle I see no harm in doing that as well. I suggest you get Feliway diffusers for your house to see if that helps. https://www.feliway.com/us#redirected Hope this answers your question. Best wishes!

Your kitty is likely a nervous or stressed cat, especially if stressful events (new neighborhood cat, new boyfriend, new baby, mvoing, removing or adding furniture, new puppy , etc.) have happened before she started the excessive licking. This licking pattern would be typical for overgrooming. Your vet needs to rule out parasites, fungal and bacterial infections. If there is none of these then you can try to help your cat by removing anything stressful in the house that can be removed and placing Feliway dispensers in the areas she spends most of the time. Feliway is a pheromone that makes cats happy and takes away stress. You will need to do this for at least two months before you will see success. If this does not work, then your vet can do some medication trials to see whether she will stop the overgrooming.

Hello! Cats commonly cope with anxiety by over-grooming themselves, usually in their belly region. I think you are exactly right that she has licked the fur off. In a fungal infection, I would expect to see redness of the skin, crusting, or discharge. The first thing I'd recommend for anxious kitties is a product called Feliway. It's a feline pheromone product that helps naturally calm cats. It can come in diffuser, spray, and collar forms. Cats also find great comfort in height. If she doesn't have many high places to perch around the house, that can be something that helps her interact more. There are also options of anxiolytic drugs, such as Prozac, that can help if you don't find success in the other options. I hope this helps! Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

I would be concerned that your cat either picked up fleas from the kittens and may have a hypersensitivity to them causing a dermatitis- OR - perhaps the kittens may have had ringworm which is a contagious fungal infection. Perhaps if you posted again and included photos of the affected skin we could get a better idea. If it was behavioral or stress related, there is usually just hair loss but normal healthy skin. If there is hair loss and abnormal skin....there is most likely a medical cause such as the two I mentioned. Thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

The areas in the picture look quite ulcerated, probably from the excessive licking. Possible causes for licking include from itching, which can happen with fleas, mites, ringworm, allergies, bacterial infection, among others. Sometimes cats will overgroom themselves (called fur mowing) and cause damage to the skin, which hurts and so they keep licking and just make it worse! Here is a helpful article on fur mowing. I hope that your vet will get Jinx to feeling better soon! http://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=2565

Your kitty likely is stressed from the move. Cats often exhibit excessive grooming behavior when stressed. You can try to put Feliway dispensers in the areas where your cat spends most of his time. Feliway is a pheromone that calms down a cat and makes it happy. Not being able to go outside is another possible cause of stress.

Since you are noticing multiple locations affected, I recommend to have her examined by her veterinarian and checked for external parasites. Allergies or anxiety could also cause similar symptoms. Anxiety licking tends to be on the lower legs and the belly. They generally don’t scratch more due to anxiety. If the doctor thinks it is more related to anxiety, there are some things you can do at home. Please repost if you have any additional questions and best of luck.