What to Do About Excessive Grooming in Cats
📝 Summary
Normally a cat's grooming behavior accounts for 8%-15% of its day, or about 50% of its waking time. If, on top of that, the cat frequently licks its fur, it is very likely reacting to external stimuli with anxiety or stress - a sign of psychogenic alopecia.
1 Correcting Excessive Grooming
Method 1: External Parasite Control
Use external parasite control to prevent excessive grooming caused by fleas and other external parasites.
Method 2: Use an Elizabethan Collar
When a cat starts grooming excessively, an Elizabethan collar should be used to stop it from continuing to over-groom.
Method 3: Reduce the Cat’s Stress
Frequent grooming is also a way for cats to relieve stress. It may appear when the cat is separated from its owner, moves to a new home, loses a companion, or when an outdoor cat is no longer allowed outside – all of which can trigger anxious behavior.
Method 4: Make Eating More Effortful
For example, place pebbles or marbles too large for the cat to swallow into the food bowl to make eating more difficult, which lengthens mealtimes and competitively reduces the time spent grooming.
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