So here of late my cat has been licking hair off certain areas of his body. one light spot on his front inner leg and a few batches on his belly.
I had a cat that did this a long time ago and the vet said it was because of depession. Could this be the same thing?

Hes going in the next couple of weeks and id like to have a few questions answered before we go.

Thanks

6/22/2010 9:48:47 PM

6/22/2010 9:59:40 PM

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B2Je1CEPkUM

6/22/2010 10:13:43 PM

Does this cat go outside?
Seems like I never see this shit in outdoor or indoor/outdoor cats.

6/22/2010 10:54:17 PM

CASJ

sry, thought this was chitchat

[Edited on June 23, 2010 at 12:42 AM. Reason : not chit chat]

6/23/2010 12:27:20 AM

^^next to never. He goes out to nom some grass and comes back in.

6/23/2010 8:21:34 AM

^ which now makes him sit at the door and meow for hours on end, maybe this is causing his depression?

6/23/2010 8:42:47 AM

Sounds like depression or allergies. We had a cat for each of those. One cat is allergic to a certain type of cat treat, and the symptom is he licks the fur off of random body parts. I can't remember what, but I think it was his belly. Stopped giving him those treats and he was back to normal.

Another cat was a runt and bottom of the chain of 4 total male house cats and picked fights all the time and was a general shitbag. He licked his belly completely bare and licked the base of his take completely bare as well. The vet determined it was likely depression and mom actually put him on Prozac but that didn't help much at all. We also got some of those cat hormone plugins and it helped tone down the fights but he still licked himself bare. What seemed to help him stay more chill was keeping him isolated in another part of the house in addition to letting him be outside nearly all the time, where he didn't worry about territory with the other cats I guess.

What eventually fixed him and got him normal was...he moved out. He was my sister's cat and she took him and his brother with her to Greenville. Now he is completely different with a very thick and healthy coat. He is off the meds

Quote :

"Does this cat go outside? Seems like I never see this shit in outdoor or indoor/outdoor cats."

The cat in my story would go outside a lot, as well as the other three cats.

Quote :

"^ which now makes him sit at the door and meow for hours on end, maybe this is causing his depression?"

So if he's used to going outside but doesn't anymore, it may be a factor. I'm not cat psychologist tho

[Edited on June 23, 2010 at 9:27 AM. Reason : asdf]

6/23/2010 9:26:41 AM

in addition to allergies & depression, i've heard of cats & dogs licking one spot repeatedly like that because of an abscess or other growth type thing.

6/23/2010 9:41:35 AM

I would think an abcess is very visible or otherwise 'findable'. Another cat has an abcess on his side that was enourmous and we didn't see it until he licked the hair away, so its a good idea to check the cat for something.

6/23/2010 9:50:44 AM

ignor np. he doesnt go outside.

6/23/2010 4:38:49 PM

^ not regularly but a few times a week he goes outside for about 5 minutes, so ever night he meows and meows and meows at the door

6/23/2010 4:57:25 PM

Quote :

"i've heard of cats & dogs licking one spot repeatedly like that because of an abscess or other growth type thing."

lick granuloma? Shep has one on the inside of his foot

6/24/2010 10:17:46 AM

Quote :

"the vet said it was because of depession"

Quote :

"ever night he meows and meows and meows at the door"

I'd be depressed too if I was locked up in the house 23.5 hours a day.

6/24/2010 10:26:10 AM