Comments on: Neurotic cats

By: Rahel

Rahel — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 07:13:03 +0000

Meryl, I just remembered: There is a condition called “stud tail” that you may want to investigate. If I remember correctly, cats with stud tail compulsively lick the base of their tails (or the base of the tail of another cat who has it). It’s got something to do with the oil glands located there, I think, though it may also have a psychological component too.

By: Liana

Liana — Fri, 18 Nov 2005 04:32:05 +0000

I’ve used Bach’s Rescue Remedy to calm a stressed kitty. My only problem with it is it wears off too fast.

For your purposes, you might want to try hitting a pet supply store for some Feliway. Put a plug-in upstairs either in or near the bedroom.

By: Omnibus Driver

Omnibus Driver — Thu, 17 Nov 2005 17:57:01 +0000

Meryl -- You can try adding some drops of Valerian or Rescue Remedy to his moist or dry food. Lots of people who show cats do this to help calm a stressed kitty. Leslie

By: Meryl Yourish

Meryl Yourish — Thu, 17 Nov 2005 16:43:55 +0000

Rahel, great minds think alike. I put a towel down in the corner on top of the stairs where he likes to sleep, or actually, where he used to sleep while I was doing my morning/evening toiletries. When I was done, he’d either follow me downstairs or leap into bed.

It did seem to calm him a bit, but he was going after that tail area something fierce. Then again, can’t expect miracles in a day.

By: Rahel

Rahel — Thu, 17 Nov 2005 11:34:43 +0000

You may want to investigate ways to make Tig feel comfortable in and around your bedroom so that he will stop the compulsive grooming when he’s around there. And I wouldn’t rule out pet therapists. There are people out there who understand animals very well, whether we call it intuition or whatever else.

By: Meryl Yourish

Meryl Yourish — Thu, 17 Nov 2005 03:57:33 +0000

Nah, I wouldn’t put a photo of a hairball up. It’s bad enough I have to see them so much these days.

Anyway, yes, Tig is only licking himself when he’s feeling anxious, except when he does the normal grooming. It’s pretty easy to tell the difference, especially since he follows me upstairs at night, because he used to sleep in the bed. And now he’s afraid to.

Pet-Eze, hm? Maybe if I dipped it in tunafish. Thanks, I’ll go look. Because I realized that it would just be adding to the stress to medicate him or bring him to the vet.

By: Ellen

Ellen — Wed, 16 Nov 2005 23:59:53 +0000

I have been reading your site for a long time, but don’t think I have ever posted before.

First, let me say, when I saw the (more) link, my first thought was there was going to be a photo of a hairball in the extended section. LOL

Anyway, the compulsive licking is ONLY near the bedroom? The reason ask because two years ago one of my cats started compulsively licking her fur, tummy and feet mostly. Til they were nearly bald. It turned out that she had Hyper-Thyroid disease, the licking was a symptom.

Before we took her for radiation, the licking (and hairballs) were driving me crazy. She also had an allergic reaction to a medicine that was making it worse. I gave her Pet-Eze from (available at pet stores) it is a chewable “stress-reliever” and worked ok. If Tig will do chewables, talk to your vet, you may be able to get the “downers” as chewable. I will have to look and see if I still have the info, but I did find a company that would convert almost any pet medicine into a chewable form.