My cat keeps licking bald spots after fleas. How do I stop her?

Hi thank you for using PetCoach. Excessive grooming can certainly be due to behavioral causes but it could also be due to primary allergic or skin disease. Ideally I would recommend a veterinary work up to in sure there's not a medical condition for his licking and grooming. Allergies, parasites and even some immune system disorders can cause itchiness and sores on the skin. If it does appear to be behavioral the vet can also diet you as far as possibly using anti-anxiety medications to help snoopy. When anxiety treatment you can do at home is he using Feliway pheromone products. These can help reduce stress and anxiety in cats. https://www.feliway.com/uk/Cat-behaviour/Is-your-Cat-over-grooming And there are anxiety or behavioral medications that can be used short term for potential he chronically if needed to help snoopy stop his over grooming. I hope this helps, thank you for using PetCoach.

If there is no medical reason such as fleas or food allergy and it is behavioral there is medication to help. She may notice another animal or cat outside that is new that is stressing her out and causing her to do this more, There may be a new neighbor with a dog that she smells passing by the door increasing her anxiety. You can start with feliway diffusers and sprays to help in side the apartment. You can also talk to your vet about anxiety medication to start her on to decrease this behavior.

Hi, thanks for using PetCoach. I would recommend a vet visit for Sparrow. The first thing is to determine if her licking and grooming is related to itching or behavior. Some cats may overgroom when stressed and it can become habitual as well. If she is truly itchy she may need some diagnostic testing to determine why. Cats can have allergic disease that causes itching and scratching. As she has been diagnosed with asthma this may be the case for Sparrow. Other causes of itching can be parasites such as fleas, lice or mites, fungal or bacterial infection. After going over Sparrows history and performing an exam the vet will discuss the best options for Sparrow. This may including skin scrapes, fungal culture, skin cytology or allergy testing. In some cases food trials or medications to control the itching may be needed. I hope this was helpful. Here are some articles that may give you more insight. https://www.vin.com/veterinarypartner/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952664 https://www.vin.com/veterinarypartner/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951477 https://www.vin.com/veterinarypartner/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4952646 https://www.vin.com/veterinarypartner/default.aspx?pid=19239&id=4951991

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!

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!

Hi and thanks for using PetCoach! Sorry to hear about Oreo. Looks like he is definitely over grooming this area. There are many causes including something that caused an itch sensation (external parasite bite from fleas, ticks, mites, etc), bacterial infection, allergies, stress or psychogenic cause, or something called Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex. I would advise taking Oreo to your veterinarian. Once pets start licking/scratching a certain spot, the surface of the skin gets compromised and bacteria living on the surface of the skin can cause a skin infection. This just increases and encourages the itch cycle to continue until it is treated. Your vet can get a history, perform a physical examination, and then advise a diagnostic/treatment plan. Oreo may just need some good flea/tick control, some antibiotics, some anti-inflammatory medicine (steroid), and an Elizabethan Collar to prevent licking until the area heals. Also, if stress is involved, that can be addressed also. Good luck with Oreo. Here is a link to learn about Eosinophilic Granuloma Complex if that's what is going on. http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/Health_Information/eosinophilic.cfm

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It does sound like Puppet has fleas and is allergic to their bite. Some over the counter flea medications are not safe for cats. I recommend taking Puppet to a vet for an exam and safe flea preventions. She needs treatment for the flea allergy too as that won’t go away until the fleas are properly addressed. A collar will help stop the licking but the need to scratch won’t stop unless you take care of the fleas with veterinary approved products (not purchased from a store). Good luck and kisses to Puppet!