overgrooming/weight loss - help please!

[GeorgiePorge]

Sorry..its long...
I'm looking for some advice on my 14yo male neutered moggy.
About 6 years ago he started overgrooming but only spring/summer. he naturally has a very thick coat so I did think it might be a comfort thing in the hot weather.

I rarely see him scratching, but he pulls out huge tufts of fur, generally from his sides and back legs. this year he has taken it to a whole new level and for the first time left his skin damaged...all down his spine.

I have spent a small fortune at the vets over the years. ultimately they thought it was stress. steroids made no difference, nor did feliway etc. He is routinely flea treated...prescription issued, currently Bravecto plus..no visible signs of fleas.

I have tried hypoallergenic diets...made no difference.
I gave tried keeping him in - made him miserable.
I've tried collars and the little cat suit...again made him miserable and the moment it came off he went straight back to it.
In the last few years he has lost weight. 6kg cat down to 4.5kg. It's not his thyroid,or his appetite - he eats the same.

I'm at a loss really...I've just ordered some arnicura to try as he has damaged his skin...but really want to work out the cause. why does he only do it in spring /summer?

Any ideas on weight loss, he is a big cat so was healthy at 6kg, and currently underweight.

many thanks if you have got this far

Have you tried an antihistamine? Maybe it's pollen related. Another option could be an anti anxiety medicine. Normally these are given for a few months to try and break the habit. Over the counter you can get Zylkene but at this point I thinkI would go for something more hardcore like gabapentin.
I would also be asking the vet to test for hyperthyroidism with the weight loss.
Good luck and hope you get some answers.

Another thought do you only flea treat spring/summer? He may be allergic to the flea treatment.
I run a boarding cattery so I'm just trying to run through in my mind all the things I have seen that may cause it.

Has your cat been checked for hyperthyroidism? That would explain the weightloss and it also causes hyperactivity which may explain why the overgrooming has become worse than normal.

Hi, thanks for all the replies. Yes he has been tested for hyperthyroidism and levels all came back normal.

I haven't tried antihistamine.. I've read some people give piriton - any experience of this or should I just go back to vets? (he absolutely hates the car and Vets so trying to limit visits where possible).

I have flea treated over winter and it's not triggered a reaction ...but then I have changed product over the years and formulas change.

I'm nervous of trying him with strong medication whilst I haven't got to the bottom of the weight loss (it's stabalised but I can't get him to gain any weight).

Last vet I spoke to suggested it might be time to have him PTS which seems way too soon to be thinking about ... I actually think he is happy enough in himself, is still hunting, eating and bathing in the sun. He seeks me out for affection, and I genuinely don't think he is in pain.

Are there local cats who stress him out? Or any changes in your domestic arrangements - new cats/dogs/children?

I have used Piriton for my cats following my vet's advice (lower dose for cats). Can you speak with your vet, telephone appointment, to run it by them before using Piriton?

@JoanOgden
He started all the behaviour in our old house and there was nothing I could identify at the time that has changed.
Since then, yes we have moved and there are new kids/cats...relative harmony now between all.

No more changes in the last year or so, and nothing recently that would cause an escalation.

I'll try this thanks.
I think given it seems to be season, it makes sense something is causing an allergy.

Can cans be allergic to sun? He is a white cat and his ears can't get burnt in hot weather if I don't apply suncream

I was trying last night to remember the name of a medicine I've seen prescribed often - Atopica. It's for cat dermatitis.
I would not have thought allergic to the sun but can defo get sunburnt.
Usually it's triggered by something but then becomes habitual and is very hard to break. Distraction with treats and affection when you see him doing it are also useful.

With previous cat Reuben it was an allergy to something that grows or blooms in early spring - anti histamines helped immensely to stop the itch lick sooth cycle

Take him to a different vet? PTS is an awful suggestion!!

My 8 year old girl has been scratching her left ear, especially when being stroked. She also has a bald patch on her tummy. We've had her since she was 5 and thought that she might have had that when she came, but DC1 found a video of her from then and she had full fur.

Vet reckons it could be a skin thing (ear and tummy) or that the tummy thing could be stress grooming, with the ear being incidental (ear was completely fine). He said you don't normally see them stress grooming because they tend to do it in private.

The fact it's spring/summer does suggest some kind of allergy?

@Canthave2manycats
5 different vets (at 3 different practices) have seen him re his skin condition, and 3 about his weight loss. Everyone has a slightly different view. I 100% won't be seeing the Vet who recommended having him PTS again. I know sometimes it is hard to get perspective on our pets, but I really think she was wrong on that suggestion, and at the time blindsided me.

That is interesting that your vet said they stress groom in private. My boy does it very obviously, and almost in a passive aggressive way whilst he is waiting for his breakfast.

My elderly cat developed a habit of over-grooming his rump so I used Ermidrà Mousse which contains oat milk and he seemed to be soothed and left his skin alone long enough for it to heal

How bad is the overgrooming? I have attached 2 pictures pf my cat Micky - her overgrooming also gets worse during the summer months. My vet suggested ignoring it because testing cats for allergies is supposedly very difficult. She said that if it gets too bad (inflammation and/or wet areas), I should use cortisone but otherwise let Micky live with it.

That's very similar to Sadie's. Haven't checked for any signs of regrowth yet because she became lethargic, dull and was sneezing after her vet visit, so we had to take her back. They reckoned it was a rare reaction to the steroids so she got antibiotics and is pretty much back to her normal self now.

This is his back which is the worst bit, and the worst I have seen him get - first time he has actually broken the skin

He is currently wearing a vest to stop him making it any worse....but he has really pulled out lots from the sides as well

@GeorgiePorge has arthritis been ruled out?

@Mia184the vets haven't suggested arthritis - could the over grooming be a pain response ? How is this tested for?

He is still a pretty active outdoor cat, but is getting on in years... So certainly a possibility I suppose.

I did come across joint supplements which I thought I might try just in a preventative way.

Interestingly, my cat has exactly the same issue and it seems to happen at a similar time each year, and happening now. Weight loss, overgrooming and really sore patches. Last year he lost most of his fur, but we'd just moved house so put it down to stress. Every time we take him to vets they say stress. We use a Feliway diffuser, he takes Zylkene. He always comes out of it in time, but it definitely seems to be seasonal. Had never considered pollen but it makes sense.

Interesting that you say he gets Bravecto - we had a very similar problem with overgrooming on the stomach and also went to various vets and behaviourists, did exclusion diets etc. In the end it turned out to be an intolerance to the (the combined one that includes a dewormer). I just thought it was the only thing we hadn’t changed, so tried a different flea treatment for a few months and the problem cleared up within weeks.
I hadn’t connected it with Bravecto at the beginning because it took a few 3-monthly treatments before the biting became apparent - presumably it was just building up a bit in his body over time, or he was getting increasingly sensitive to it. This was all a few years ago now, and the overgrooming has never cone back, and we still use a different flea treatment.

We used Yumove with our late, ancient cat. I don't know how much effect it had but he loved it!

@GeorgiePorge it was just a hunch because I found it surprising that your cat overgrooms the area where his spine his. Since I haven’t had a cat with arthritis, I asked ChatGPT (it can be useful occasionally) and this was the response I got: