TL;DR: Overgrooming is usually caused by stress or medical issues and is rarely an emergency unless the skin is raw or infected; document the behavior with photos to help your vet diagnose the cause.
What is overgrooming in cats and why does it happen?
- Excessive grooming, medically known as psychogenic alopecia, occurs when a cat licks, chews, or pulls at their fur until bald patches form.
- This behavior is often a response to physical discomfort, such as skin allergies, flea infestations, or underlying pain.
- It can also be a compulsive behavior triggered by psychological factors like stress and anxiety.
Is my cat's overgrooming a veterinary emergency?
- Urgency Level: Low. While distressing, hair loss from overgrooming is generally not an immediate life-threatening emergency.
- You should schedule a routine appointment with your veterinarian to investigate the underlying cause.
- Seek veterinary care sooner if the skin is bleeding, raw, or showing signs of a secondary infection like pus or a foul odor.
How can taking photos or videos of my cat's overgrooming help the vet?
- Capturing a clear, well-lit photo allows your vet to see the pattern of hair loss before it potentially changes.
- Photos help the vet distinguish between broken hairs and complete hair loss from the follicle.
- Recording a video of the grooming behavior helps the vet determine if the behavior is driven by itchiness or if it is compulsive in nature.
Clinical Context (Merck Veterinary Manual)
In cats presenting with overgrooming and bald spots, it is crucial to rule out underlying medical conditions that cause pruritus or pain, such as infectious skin diseases (bacterial pyoderma, dermatophytosis), ectoparasites, allergic skin diseases (atopic dermatitis, food allergy, contact, insect hypersensitivity), and neoplastic skin diseases. Feline acquired symmetric alopecia, previously referred to as feline endocrine alopecia, is not a distinct syndrome but a clinical sign of an underlying pruritic disease, most commonly flea allergy dermatitis, which may be indicated by eosinophilia on a CBC. The pattern of hair loss can vary (focal, multifocal, symmetric, or generalized) and may be accompanied by inflammatory changes such as hyperpigmentation, lichenification, erythema, scaling, excessive shedding, and pruritus.
Chapter: Behavioral Medicine, Dermatology, Neurology
Source: The Merck Veterinary Manual, 11th Edition (Page 1574)