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Help - cat keeps licking her back



 
 
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  #1  
Old February 16th 05, 10:26 PM
TJ
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Default Help - cat keeps licking her back

One of the neighbourhood cats has adopted me after I
fed her so I guess I'm responsible for her now.

She keeps licking her back about 3 inches down from
her shoulder blades - dead centre of her spine.

It's getting a bit red, sore looking and bald there.
It heals up quickly then she starts licking it until it is
sore again. What the heck is up with this crazy feline.

TJ



  #2  
Old February 16th 05, 10:54 PM
TJ
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Default


"Cathy Friedmann" wrote in message ...
As a complete aside: are you TJ of "TJ & the Dust"?

Cathy


You know, it's funny you should ask me that because, er, no... I'm not.

TJ






  #3  
Old February 17th 05, 10:47 PM
Cathy Friedmann
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As a complete aside: are you TJ of "TJ & the Dust"?

Cathy

"TJ" wrote in message
...
One of the neighbourhood cats has adopted me after I
fed her so I guess I'm responsible for her now.

She keeps licking her back about 3 inches down from
her shoulder blades - dead centre of her spine.

It's getting a bit red, sore looking and bald there.
It heals up quickly then she starts licking it until it is
sore again. What the heck is up with this crazy feline.

TJ





  #4  
Old February 17th 05, 10:54 PM
Cathy Friedmann
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Posts: n/a
Default


"TJ" wrote in message
...

"Cathy Friedmann" wrote in message

...
As a complete aside: are you TJ of "TJ & the Dust"?

Cathy


You know, it's funny you should ask me that because, er, no... I'm not.

TJ


Okay, thanks, anyway. ;-)

(I used to know of a poster named TJ, who had a HUGE cat named Dusty...)

Cathy



  #5  
Old February 18th 05, 07:28 PM
raenee
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My grandma's cat is about the same, but he does that to his shoulders.
She took him to the vet and the vet gave him some pills to take. That
seemed to do the trick, but the pills were too expensive, and so she
puts a cone on him whenever he tries to lick himself...

  #6  
Old September 16th 05, 08:30 PM
grasshopper grasshopper is offline
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First recorded activity by CatBanter: Jun 2005
Posts: 19
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by raenee
My grandma's cat is about the same, but he does that to his shoulders.
She took him to the vet and the vet gave him some pills to take. That
seemed to do the trick, but the pills were too expensive, and so she
puts a cone on him whenever he tries to lick himself...

PLEASE TELL ME WHAT SHE TAKES TO HELP THE LICKING. I just posted up that my cat is licking her stomach and she won't stop. We've had the cone on for 3 months and I wish we could figure out why. We've taken her to the doctor a few times and they don't know why. PLEASE HELP I DON"T CARE ABOUT THE COST OF THE PILLS I JUST WANT MY LILLY TO BE OK!
  #7  
Old September 17th 05, 09:05 AM
jmc
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Suddenly, without warning, grasshopper exclaimed (16-Sep-05 8:30 PM):
raenee Wrote:

My grandma's cat is about the same, but he does that to his shoulders.
She took him to the vet and the vet gave him some pills to take. That
seemed to do the trick, but the pills were too expensive, and so she
puts a cone on him whenever he tries to lick himself...




PLEASE TELL ME WHAT SHE TAKES TO HELP THE LICKING. I just posted up
that my cat is licking her stomach and she won't stop. We've had the
cone on for 3 months and I wish we could figure out why. We've taken
her to the doctor a few times and they don't know why. PLEASE HELP I
DON"T CARE ABOUT THE COST OF THE PILLS I JUST WANT MY LILLY TO BE OK!


Couple of ideas to try: Try a different vet. Try a complimentary
medicine vet. Try a pet behaviorist. Try Feliway.

Something's obviously going on there. My guess is it's either allergic
(have antihistamines been tried? Change of diet? Change of shampoo if
she's washed frequently?) or, more likely, psycological. Try Feliway,
it might help if her problem's mental. Take a close look at any
stressors in her life, see what you can do to fix them. Another cat who
doesn't get along with the licker? A dog? Alone most of the day? A
child who won't leave her alone? Not enough attention - being ignored?
If you yell at her to stop licking, it'd just make the problem worse.

That's what comes to mind off the top of my head. Good luck!

jmc
  #8  
Old September 19th 05, 02:17 PM
grasshopper grasshopper is offline
Junior Member
 
First recorded activity by CatBanter: Jun 2005
Posts: 19
Default

PLEASE TELL ME WHAT SHE TAKES TO HELP THE LICKING. I just posted up
that my cat is licking her stomach and she won't stop. We've had the
cone on for 3 months and I wish we could figure out why. We've taken
her to the doctor a few times and they don't know why. PLEASE HELP I
DON"T CARE ABOUT THE COST OF THE PILLS I JUST WANT MY LILLY TO BE OK!

[/i][/color]
Couple of ideas to try: Try a different vet. Try a complimentary
medicine vet. Try a pet behaviorist. Try Feliway.

Something's obviously going on there. My guess is it's either allergic
(have antihistamines been tried? Change of diet? Change of shampoo if
she's washed frequently?) or, more likely, psycological. Try Feliway,
it might help if her problem's mental. Take a close look at any
stressors in her life, see what you can do to fix them. Another cat who
doesn't get along with the licker? A dog? Alone most of the day? A
child who won't leave her alone? Not enough attention - being ignored?
If you yell at her to stop licking, it'd just make the problem worse.

That's what comes to mind off the top of my head. Good luck!

jmc[/quote]

-----Thanks for your help..here's an update..
We took her to the vet on Friday and the Vet feels it's mental..stated his mother's cat is an exact replica..and does the same thing.

A few things are going on in Lilly's life:

1) She lives with an aggressive sister who hates her for some reason. This cat is miserable. Lilly tried to be her friend and play with her but Willow will growl and hiss, and wants nothing to do with her. Every time Willow passes Lilly she hisses. Little bitch. We are in the process of finding Willow another home...or putting her down as the Vet suggested. Willow is aggressive as well towards Lilly and humans, therefore she's a danger..she needs a home with no other animals or as the vet stated put her down. WE feel this is 95% of the problem...Willow that is.

2) Lilly is the sweetest cat, she is such a lover, and loves being with us. I don't believe she suffers from separation anxiety, because she's calm and collected when we leave. If we go away on a trip, she gets upset and acts strangely when we pull out the suitcase..but that's different. The licking is strange because it happens all hours of the day..she will lick during the day while were not home and in the middle of the night while we are sleeping and she is as well (until she licks)..I thought it was an itch due to the strange times she licks but she just received a steroidal shot and it's not helping. I'm leaning towards metal.


She went from 1/2 pill a day.. to..1/2 pill in the morning, 1/2 at night of Elivil. We just upped her dose on Friday. I'll discuss Feliway with the vet.

I feel if we remove the Willow (mean cat), continue the medication and try to remove the stressors in her life..hopefully she will come around. The doctor mentioned Valium for her..but wants to try the higher dose of Elivil first. I just worried about her organs with this medicine. She's an indoor cat and yesterday we let her outside to play in the backyard. We took her cone off and she chased butterflies bugs and bathed in the sun...didn't lick for 45 minutes..untill she started cleaning herself. She seemed happy. I think she's bored as well..so we need to up the excitement...not sure how??

As far as allergies..I haven't ruled that out and were going to start her on either Wellness or Enovia cat food..which has less preservatives and they have a meatless flavor. We are going try this this week. Another thing is her cat litter box....not sure if this has anything to do with it but we had a normal cat litter box and switched to the littermaid...(mechanical litterbox).
SO yesterday I switched her back to the normal litter box with normal litter and I'll see if that helps. I just want to help her and I can't, and don't know how. It's so frustrating!
Dave
  #9  
Old September 19th 05, 08:36 PM
Topaz
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"grasshopper" wrote in message
...


-----Thanks for your help..here's an update..
We took her to the vet on Friday and the Vet feels it's mental..stated
his mother's cat is an exact replica..and does the same thing.

A few things are going on in Lilly's life:

1) She lives with an aggressive sister who hates her for some reason.
This cat is miserable. Lilly tried to be her friend and play with her
but Willow will growl and hiss, and wants nothing to do with her. Every
time Willow passes Lilly she hisses. Little bitch. We are in the
process of finding Willow another home...or putting her down as the Vet
suggested. Willow is aggressive as well towards Lilly and humans,
therefore she's a danger..she needs a home with no other animals or as
the vet stated put her down. WE feel this is 95% of the problem...Willow
that is.


Did you raise both kittens? Why do you think Willow is so aggressive?
It does sound like Lilly's sister is the source of her anxiety but I am
shocked that the vet would suggest having Willow euthanized "just
like that." Has the vet seen Willow, and checked for any physical
causes of her aggression? What if she is in pain from some disorder
that might be easily corrected? Please consider turning Willow over
to a no-kill shelter. Feeling as you do it is difficult to imagine you
finding her a good home and she does not deserve to be put to
death instead of having her aggression addressed and treated.



  #10  
Old September 19th 05, 09:02 PM
5cats
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grasshopper wrote:

1) She lives with an aggressive sister who hates her for some reason.
This cat is miserable. Lilly tried to be her friend and play with her
but Willow will growl and hiss, and wants nothing to do with her. Every
time Willow passes Lilly she hisses. Little bitch. We are in the
process of finding Willow another home...or putting her down as the Vet
suggested. Willow is aggressive as well towards Lilly and humans,
therefore she's a danger..she needs a home with no other animals or as
the vet stated put her down. WE feel this is 95% of the problem...Willow
that is.


How long have they lived together? Has Willow always been aggressive? I
really can't understand a vet suggesting that an animal be put down without
looking for the cause of the aggression. I'd be looking for another vet at
this point.
 




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