Why does my Persian wet her neck?

I inherited two Persian cats, brother and sister, and I'm used to
their quirks. I'm used to the red spots on the walls and floors, the
fur everywhere, having to wipe their eyes and the folds beneath them,
the constant grooming, the pre-matting... all of it. But there's one
problem with the girl that I can't figure out: she soaks her neck. She
took to doing this a couple years ago then stopped a few months later
(immediately after an intercontinental relocation). Some months later
she started doing it again.

A vet suggested that she could be nearsighted. Unlikely since cats
notice when their fur gets wet, but I tried a few measures. I used a
small water bowl. No good. I used a smaller water bowl. No dice. I
used an Arcoroc drinking glass. No luck. She intentionally gets her
neck soaking wet throughout the day, whether winter or summer. No
behaviour on my part has any effect.

As to any skin condition: nope. No scabs, no fleas, no infection, no
signs of allergies. She enjoys being groomed, especially when I drag
the wire brush (a godsend!) up her neck, twisting her head
occasionally to make sure I don't miss her cheeks.

I'm more interested in those with similar experience than blind
guesses but at this point I'll listen to almost anyone.

On a completely unrelated note, what can I do about the pain in the
boy's right leg due to hip dysplasia, especially when it comes to
grooming? I'm having to cut out knots of felt since it's such a rarity
that I can brush his leg more than once every couple weeks.

Cheers,
MWG

On Sun, 29 Apr 2007 14:38:02 -0700, mwgrossmann wrote:

I inherited two Persian cats, brother and sister, and I'm used to
their quirks. I'm used to the red spots on the walls and floors, the
fur everywhere, having to wipe their eyes and the folds beneath them,
the constant grooming, the pre-matting... all of it. But there's one
problem with the girl that I can't figure out: she soaks her neck. She
took to doing this a couple years ago then stopped a few months later
(immediately after an intercontinental relocation). Some months later
she started doing it again.

A vet suggested that she could be nearsighted. Unlikely since cats
notice when their fur gets wet, but I tried a few measures. I used a
small water bowl. No good. I used a smaller water bowl. No dice. I
used an Arcoroc drinking glass. No luck. She intentionally gets her
neck soaking wet throughout the day, whether winter or summer. No
behaviour on my part has any effect.

As to any skin condition: nope. No scabs, no fleas, no infection, no
signs of allergies. She enjoys being groomed, especially when I drag
the wire brush (a godsend!) up her neck, twisting her head
occasionally to make sure I don't miss her cheeks.

I'm more interested in those with similar experience than blind
guesses but at this point I'll listen to almost anyone.

On a completely unrelated note, what can I do about the pain in the
boy's right leg due to hip dysplasia, especially when it comes to
grooming? I'm having to cut out knots of felt since it's such a rarity
that I can brush his leg more than once every couple weeks.

Cheers,
MWG



I have read that some cats drool. Des she do this? MLB

mlbriggs wrote:
I have read that some cats drool. Des she do this? MLB

This isn't drool. This is intentional soaking of her neck. Her (not-
too-clever) brother noticed this and on occasion gets his neck damp in
further attempts to get attention. This has been discouraged. She,
however, can't be stopped. She soaks her neck from chin to breast. She
likes having that area rubbed, scratched and even combed with the wire
brush, despite how much it pulls. Again, the vet says "No skin
condition".

-MWG

wrote in message
ups.com...
mlbriggs wrote:
I have read that some cats drool. Des she do this? MLB

This isn't drool. This is intentional soaking of her neck. Her (not-
too-clever) brother noticed this and on occasion gets his neck damp in
further attempts to get attention.

Hahaha! I can just see this.

This has been discouraged. She,
however, can't be stopped. She soaks her neck from chin to breast. She
likes having that area rubbed, scratched and even combed with the wire
brush, despite how much it pulls. Again, the vet says "No skin
condition".


Yes, well, Persians have been inbred and overbred so much, who knows?
I think you know the answer from what you wrote above--the area
obviously bothers her, or at the very least it feels good to be petted
(and wetted?) there.

You're wonderful for taking care of these two.