Regardless of the underlying cause of what is making him over-groom, the skin may or may not develop a secondary bacterial infection which sometimes needs to be treated with topical or oral antibiotics.
Skin biopsies can also rule out many other less common skin diseases in cats. These lesions can be diagnosed with a skin biopsy or otherwise by response to a steroid treatment trial. The cause of these inflammatory lesions is unknown, though it is suspected to have an allergy or immune-mediated component. This can sometimes be confused with primary skin lesions that erupt on the cat and then secondarily cause them to lick…which leads to the question of which came first? One example of a relatively common primary skin lesion is the eosinophillic granuloma complex. Your veterinarian can perform skin scrape procedures and fungal cultures to rule those out.įor many over-grooming cats, the act of grooming itself can cause trauma to the skin. These are less common in indoor-only cats, but not impossible. Other causes of itchiness in cats can be something infectious like skin mites and fungus (ringworm).
MY CAT IS OBSESSED WITH ME TRIAL
Sometimes a positive response to a trial with a steroid or anti-histamine will help support the theory that the cat has an allergy as the cause for his over-grooming. Veterinary dermatologists can do allergy testing. A vet can help look for evidence of fleas, recommend flea preventatives, and discuss options for diet trials. So if your cat suddenly starts to groom more or there are patches of missing or barbered fur (where chewed hair shafts have become stubble) to suggest he is licking or plucking more, make sure to check for fleas and look for any changes in his diet history or environment. Just like people, cats can have allergies to food, fleas, or anything else in the environment – natural or not. One of the most common causes is an allergy. Medical causes that may lead a cat to over-groom are usually those that make the cat feel itchy. However, this is a diagnosis of exclusion after all the potential underlying medical causes have been ruled out. Behavioral over-grooming, otherwise known as “psychogenic alopecia,” is a form of stress-relief for many cats. The cause for over-grooming may be behavioral or medical. The over-grooming kitty is very common, although particularly frustrating, circumstance because there is usually no quick, easy solution to the situation.
0 kommentar(er)
