dgk wrote:

Marlo went to the vet yesterday and the vet somewhat reluctantly
allowed me to remove Marlo's soft Elizabethean coller - the blue
dress. He wasn't thrilled with the level of fur regrowth on her
abdomen but figured that because the probable cause of the
overgrooming was anxiety over the feral at my house, Marlo might be ok
since she's in a different environment.

When we took her back to Mom's house, she did start licking at her
abdomen but then started licking all over. She hasn't been able to
groom herself for over a month because of the collar so it makes sense
that she's cleaning all of her fur. But she doesn't seem to be
overgrooming her abdomen so we're cautiously optimistic that she will
return to normal grooming.

Of course, this is while she's over at Mom's. The plan is to
eventually bring her back to my house but there is no immediate move
to do so. She seems to be happy at Mom's and Mom is happy with her. Of
course, now that she's licking herself, a hairball is certainly a
possibility and if she drops a messy on in the middle of Mom's living
room rug, that could speed up the timetable.

The appointment with the behavioral specialist is rapidly approaching
(early October) and I don't know whether to keep it or not. The
immediate problem is solved but once I re-introduce her to the cats at
my house, maybe it will come back. I'll probably go through with it
just to get a professional opinion on what to do next.

I would definitely keep the appointment with the behaviorist. They
might have some good advice for you, if you decide to take Marlo back
to your house. But I'm with the others who think that your mom's is
the best environment for her. Are you afraid your mom won't want to
keep her if she coughs up hairballs or makes other messes? Because from
here it sounds like they are a match made in heaven.

--
Joyce

He spent one-third of the time telling me about the musical he was writing about raccoons, one-third of the time talking about C++, and one-third of the time demonstrating the plot of Othello using the salt and pepper shakers.
-- A Treasury of the World's Worst Online Dating Stories