Cat licking bald spots

When I found my newest cat outside, she had some very strange bald
spots on her body, which when I asked the vet he surmised they were
possibly abrasions or burns from sitting under a hot car.

I took her inside and treated them as best I could without an
elizibethan collar on the cat (she kept licking off the scab but it
did finally heal up). About 2 months later, I noticed another strange
bald spot appearing on her side - she'd been inside this entire time
so I figured out it was her suddenly licking the spot.

The bald spots appeared overnight. To treat this one I did aquire a
collar that kept her from licking and she hated every minute of it.
That spot has healed and the fur is growing back but now ANOTHER one
is appearing now that I've removed the collar.

What could be causing this, is there anything I can do to keep her
from licking the scabs off short of the collar (she really really
hated it).

"jamina1" wrote in message
...
When I found my newest cat outside, she had some very strange bald
spots on her body, which when I asked the vet he surmised they were
possibly abrasions or burns from sitting under a hot car.

I took her inside and treated them as best I could without an
elizibethan collar on the cat (she kept licking off the scab but it
did finally heal up). About 2 months later, I noticed another strange
bald spot appearing on her side - she'd been inside this entire time
so I figured out it was her suddenly licking the spot.

The bald spots appeared overnight. To treat this one I did aquire a
collar that kept her from licking and she hated every minute of it.
That spot has healed and the fur is growing back but now ANOTHER one
is appearing now that I've removed the collar.

What could be causing this, is there anything I can do to keep her
from licking the scabs off short of the collar (she really really
hated it).

It's anxiety. Give her love and time.

On Tue, 11 Nov 2008 14:27:45 -0500, "cybercat"
wrote:


"jamina1" wrote in message
...
When I found my newest cat outside, she had some very strange bald
spots on her body, which when I asked the vet he surmised they were
possibly abrasions or burns from sitting under a hot car.

I took her inside and treated them as best I could without an
elizibethan collar on the cat (she kept licking off the scab but it
did finally heal up). About 2 months later, I noticed another strange
bald spot appearing on her side - she'd been inside this entire time
so I figured out it was her suddenly licking the spot.

The bald spots appeared overnight. To treat this one I did aquire a
collar that kept her from licking and she hated every minute of it.
That spot has healed and the fur is growing back but now ANOTHER one
is appearing now that I've removed the collar.

What could be causing this, is there anything I can do to keep her
from licking the scabs off short of the collar (she really really
hated it).

It's anxiety. Give her love and time.


Maybe, or there may be a physical cause. Espy gets one area on his leg
where he licks the fur off until the skin is raw. It's happened twice.
Both times the vet gave him a steroid and antibiotics. Whatever caused
the initial itching is helped by the steroid, but because he licked it
until the skin breaks, it gets infected by staph.

It was several years after the first time before it happened again,
and that was about six months ago. He's been fine since then.

There are a bunch of things that can cause itching but mostly it's an
allergy to something.

Two years ago I spent a week in the hospital. This stressed Amber and
she licked the fur off a spot on her side. The vet gave her a
prednisone shot. The fur grew back and she has been fine ever since.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

"dgk" wrote
It's anxiety. Give her love and time.


Maybe, or there may be a physical cause. Espy gets one area on his leg
where he licks the fur off until the skin is raw. It's happened twice.
Both times the vet gave him a steroid and antibiotics. Whatever caused
the initial itching is helped by the steroid, but because he licked it
until the skin breaks, it gets infected by staph.

It was several years after the first time before it happened again,
and that was about six months ago. He's been fine since then.

There are a bunch of things that can cause itching but mostly it's an
allergy to something.

Yes, this is true. Gracie gets Depo Medrol shots for an allergic skin
condition and asthma. She also licks off her furr with obsessive grooming
when she is anxious. They are definitely two separate things, for her. I
found this out by figuring out the source of her anxiety (our other cat
invading her space and hanging out) and removing it. I was assuming the OP's
vet would have explored the allergy possibility.

I have a few questions:

1. What are you feeding her? Food allergies can be very common,
especially when food has corn (or sometimes any grains) in it.

2. What did the vet say? Does she have any parasites, ear mites, or
other ailments that might be causing her irritation?

3. Did anything change in your household recently (addition of new
person, different work schedule, etc)? Cats can get stressed by change.