# Something wrong with my kitty



## kubotachick (Nov 26, 2004)

Seriously. I've heard many different things, but this is the problem....

My cat has taken to licking its stomach bald. I haven't been watching her too closely and found it the other day. It was a huge area without hair. What would cause her to do this. I had the same cat for 18 years (she died), and it never happened....


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## Greg (Sep 16, 2003)

KC,

"I had the same cat for 18 years (she died),..........."

Could that have something to do with it??:furious: :furious: :furious:


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## bontai Joe (Sep 16, 2003)

Sounds like an allergy or fleas. As to the allergy, did you change the cat's food or kitty litter recently? Something new she is laying on?


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## CatDaddy (May 30, 2004)

Joe got it in one!

My wife's a vet & she said that licking like that is related to an allergy. And that 95% of that behavior is flea related. Her normal course of action would be to have you treat it with Advantage (every three weeks) and see if the behavior stops. If it doesn't stop after a couple of months then start looking into environmental & food borne allergens.

HTH!
Angel


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## jodyand (Sep 16, 2003)

CatDaddy to the rescue
:F4: :lmao:


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## Aaron357 (Oct 31, 2004)

I am sure that Cat Daddy is right about the flea deal. My cat fell in the other 5 percent. He was licking and pulling hair out all over his back half. Took him to the vet who said it was an allergy. We finally deduced that it started about the same time that we changed food. We went from Wal-Mart cheap food to an expensive brand and he had problems. We went back to the Wally World cheap stuff and problem cured. Imagine that. Gave the rest of the expensive stuff to the neighbor for her cat.


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## MowHoward2210 (Nov 2, 2003)

> _Originally posted by jodyand _
> *CatDaddy to the rescue
> :F4: :lmao: *


:lmao: That is kind of "poetic", errr something like that.


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## CatDaddy (May 30, 2004)

More like "CatMomma" to the rescue. :worthy: 
She's the one with the brains in this family.  
For the life of me, I still can't figure out why she married _me_ though.:kookoo:


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## DeereBob (Sep 16, 2003)

KC,
Along the allergy/flea lines that others have posted have you changed brands of kitty litter recently. They put alot of perfume in some brands and if it's not fleas or food that could be another cause. If your cat is an outdoor one, there's a whole new set of allergens. If your kitty is an indoor one like my four, have you used any new cleaning product on rugs or other surfaces your kitty may come in contact with.


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## jodyand (Sep 16, 2003)

I had forgot about this that Mow did up. If anyone needs the help of CatDaddy just use the sign.:lmao: 

<img src=http://www.homepage.mac.com/userosx/.Pictures/cdaddy.jpg>


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## Carm (May 27, 2004)

My cat did the same thing....allergy to new shampoo...cahnged shampoo and all was well


I'm sure glad it was the cat, because from the topic, I thought it could really be serious:smoking:


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## johndeere (Sep 17, 2003)

My dog licks the fur of his front paws wonder if he is allergic to something?


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## CatDaddy (May 30, 2004)

Foot licking isn't all that weird with dogs, unless he's licking the fur off.

Some breeds are known for that behavior. Labs for example.


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## memmurphy (Sep 18, 2003)

My springer developed a bad rash on her neck where she could not lick it. She started to lick the fur off her front leg. The vet said they'll do that sometimes if they have pain that they can't reach. Once the rash healed up she stopped it. Had to cover her leg with a rap though in the meantime.

Mark


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## Ernie (Mar 18, 2004)

I have a cat and had the same problem and after many visits and dollars sppent at the vets it turned out to be stress related..probably her sister dying .....


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## MowHoward2210 (Nov 2, 2003)

> _Originally posted by jodyand _
> *I had forgot about this that Mow did up. If anyone needs the help of CatDaddy just use the sign.*:lmao:
> 
> It had been gathering dust since the elections.


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## Argee (Sep 17, 2003)

My dog licks himself constantly...but he seems to like it:lmao:

I'm pretty sure he does it because he can!


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## johndeere (Sep 17, 2003)

> _Originally posted by CatDaddy _
> *Foot licking isn't all that weird with dogs, unless he's licking the fur off.
> 
> Some breeds are known for that behavior. Labs for example. *


He is licking the fur off.The tops of his feet?


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## kubotachick (Nov 26, 2004)

I'm thinking its stress related, becuase nothing else has changed. Things aren't quite right around here, and i guess she can see that. There isn't anything different...and i was gone for quite a while....how long will it take to grow back?


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## Argee (Sep 17, 2003)

> _Originally posted by CatDaddy _
> *Foot licking isn't all that weird with dogs, unless he's licking the fur off.
> 
> Some breeds are known for that behavior. Labs for example. *


I don't think I've ever owned a dog that hasn't licked their feet...that's just part of the grooming process.


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## johndeere (Sep 17, 2003)

But he licks the fur off.He has bald feet on the tops.


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## CatDaddy (May 30, 2004)

Wife says: "Chances are it's a specific allery. And your Vet should be consulted about it - if (s)he hasn't been already" There are various topical treatments to alleviate the itch, but finding & eliminating the allergen should be done.

Sorry couldn't be more helpful, she say's it's tough to diagnose "long distance".

-=A=-


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## johndeere (Sep 17, 2003)

Yea I know this old dog is something else.First he is epileptic.Takes medication for that.Has a seizure when the weather changes.Took us several years to figure that out.Takes phenabarbital I think its calledtwice a day.Has taken it for several years and has a liver check yearly.A few years ago the liver test said what ever level was way high.That was two years ago we cut back on the medication and it was still high last year.But he is still alive and healthy other then that.If his blood count was as high as they said 2 years ago he should be dead.I do not think the medicine helps him anyway except makes the seizure more mild.Tried cutting way back on medicine that did not help with the licking problem.The Vet here just takes a pile of money and would love to take more then tell us nothing.He is about 10 years old and looks like a border collie and a sheltie mix.But he is mostly a Heinze 57 I guess.Seems very healthy other then that for his age.Every time there is a weather change he has a seizure.If it cold and we get a warm up spell or if its going to rain or be bad weather.When its cold and stay cold he can go weeks without a seizure.But this winter its cold one day warm the next around here so he has had a lot this winter.


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