Mary Allen
Cats are naturally very clean, but sometimes they overdo it. If the cat wash doesn’t want to end and the fur is noticeably thinning, then the vet is called for. Physical causes are usually responsible for the compulsion to clean, another trigger is stress.
A healthy cat spends about three to four hours a day grooming its fur. The movable tongue, which is excellently equipped for this job with small hooks made of horn, removes dirt, loose hair, scales, and vermin. But regular cleaning doesn’t just keep things clean: it prevents tangles, stimulates blood circulation, and causes the sebaceous glands to produce oil. This makes the fur shiny, supple, and also so waterproof that the cat doesn’t get soaked to the skin the next time it goes for a walk in the rain. In summer, the saliva, which is first spread generously on the fur and then evaporates, acts as the body’s own air conditioning system. In addition, cats “perfume” themselves with their saliva with their individual fragrance.
Cat friends show affection when grooming each other. And if the cat simply doesn’t want to get the fish out of the aquarium or if it doesn’t understand what the mistress wants from it, cleaning can be an act of skipping.
Compulsive Cleaning with Side Effects
Because most cats clean themselves frequently and extensively, many owners don’t even notice when washing their cats becomes excessive. “In addition, the affected cats often secretly clean or scratch themselves, so the owner hardly ever consciously observes them grooming,” says veterinarian Leslie Wohlgroth from the Obersee practice in AltendorfSZ. You can also tell that something is wrong when petting, playing, or feeding – at the latest when the fur becomes thinner or shorter in some places, it looks dull or shaved off or even bald spots appear. «Even if there are more and more small tufts of fur lying around in the apartment, you should pay attention. Some cats don’t lick themselves, they pull their hair out with their teeth,” says Wohlgroth.
Few cats look good on baldness. It is much more important, however, that the skin on the particular affected areas, often the flanks, is no longer protected from the sun, cold, and moisture by fur. Pulling out hair, but also constantly using the tongue, causes the skin to become sore and sooner or later leads to injuries. And that not only hurts but also makes the skin more susceptible to infection.
If the cat swallows an excessive amount of hair, it often clumps together in the stomach or intestines to form hairballs, which then lead to vomiting, constipation, and, in the worst case, to a life-threatening intestinal blockage. Cat grass and malt pastes, both of which make it easier to expel hairballs, can help prevent this. You should take your cat to the vet anyway. Because exaggerated cleaning mania is always a warning sign.
Physical and psychological causes In most cases, according to a Canadian study from 2006 and the practical experience of Leslie Wohlgroth, there are physical causes behind the great tingling sensation. “In our urban small animal practice, it is particularly often allergies, such as hay fever (allergens inhaled) and food allergies (allergens eaten) that trigger the itching. In rural areas, fleas and other parasites are certainly more common in affected cats.” In addition, the clinical picture could also arise as a result of trauma and nerve diseases (neuropathies), bacterial infections, and skin fungi. And sometimes cats clean themselves too much if it hurts somewhere. “This happens particularly often with bladder infections and joint pain.”
Can All Sorts of Physical Causes
Ruled out by the vet, it is obvious that psychological problems are responsible. In technical terms, psychologically induced, excessive cleaning behavior is called “psychogenic self-induced leak alopecia”, commonly known as overgrooming. “Excessive licking caused by psychological factors can fall into the category of compulsive behavior, i.e. obsessive behavior, as we know it from us humans, for example, from biting our nails. Then the cat licks itself more without itching or hurting the skin,” explains Wohlgroth. In the meantime, however, we also know that psychological causes can certainly have physical effects. “The stress then triggers a real itch in the skin via the nerves.” This reaction, which was first described in 1998 by the US researcher O’Sullivan, is called the “neuro-immuno-cutaneous-endocrine model”.