Compulsive Licking is a condition when the cat overgrooms itself, licking certain spots so hard that the fur comes out and sometimes even bleeding occurs. This can be caused by stress, boredom, or inner pain. One of my cats had this, in his case it was stress-related, and even when the source of the stress was gone he continued to do it just out of habit. It took about two years to stop it.

They can also do this as a result of allergies that have gone untreated. When humans have allergies we sneeze and such, but cats get itchy and they lick to relieve the itch.

Yes, allergies need to be checked and ruled out as well. Also, allergies can be treated and cured, but the bad habit to overgroom stays.

BTW, one of the things we used was Cool Aid spray, a product said to be designed to stop compulsive licking - turned out to be useless.

We had a cat that actually had to go on prednisone for this type of a condition and occasionally it would seem like she was doing better then all of a sudden it would start up again. It was hard to see her going through this all the time.

(01-09-2008 04:39 AM)Simplyme Wrote:  We had a cat that actually had to go on prednisone for this type of a condition and occasionally it would seem like she was doing better then all of a sudden it would start up again. It was hard to see her going through this all the time.

Poor kitty... Did you manage to cure it eventually? Also, did you notice what would trigger those episodes?