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Old March 28th, 2011, 09:41 AM
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My cat is CONSTANTLY licking his 'privates'

Okay all, I am getting throughly annoyed and grossed out by what my cat Buddy keeps doing. I know it's normal for cats and dogs to lick and clean them selves, but this is getting ridiculous.

Buddy CONSTANTLY licks his private area numerous times a day and goes at it for a while, and also when he goes to the litterbox if you happen to be in the same room, he will pretend like he can't go. Could this be some sort of anxiety problem? Because he's already been to the vets and has no underlying medical problems that we know of. He eats plenty of canned food and gets in plenty of water.

See, if he knows you are watching him when he is in the potty he pretends to strain and digs and acts like he can't pee, but if he doesn't know you are watching (like if he is in one in the kitchen and I sneak around the corner to see what he is up to), he pees perfectly fine.


I can't take anymore of him licking himself.. he is worse than a male dog licking himself. He doesn't have crystals and we've been through the whole deal before.. maybe I can take some pee to the vets again just for a recheck but he seems to just be a lad that likes to lick himself and he does it right infront of company when people are over and I have to chase him off into the next room because he will sit there right infront of people and do it for 5+ minutes at a time.

We started him on prozac a while ago too because of this.. it seems to be related to him going outside. He wants to be an outside cat again, he was previously semi-feral, but we don't want that especially since someone shot him with a pellet gun a few months ago.. when he gets to go outside he is fine, but when he is kept inside for a extended period, he seems to have a nervous tick of licking himself

Any suggestions? It's been going on for well over a year and he's been checked out and has no apparent medical issues.
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Old March 28th, 2011, 09:46 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Krazy4Kittens View Post
What about having his anal glands checked?
Heh, wrong set of "privates". I think they've already been checked.. he's been to the vets for checkups a few times and also atleast once specifically for this problem... I don't see any specific reason for this to happen, no medical issues that I see. I know it's not abnormal for animals to do that, but this is ridiculous, like half the hours he is awake he spends licking his privates and usually in full view of people, I swear he does it to mess with us
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Old March 28th, 2011, 09:50 AM
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Originally Posted by Krazy4Kittens View Post
Sorry I can't tell what privates my kitties are licking.
Haha well he makes it quite obvious, if you catch my drift
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Old March 28th, 2011, 04:03 PM
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So are you sure then that is not a Urinary infection? Sure Sure?

My Etienne (who lives with my parents now) had some sort of stress episode and he used to lick his fur a lot and not only that, he started to bite it off
I caught him doing it. The vet told me he was having a crisis of some sort (emotional). He is an outdoor/indoor cat. He sleeps inside the house, allowed to be in the garden during the day. We were never sure why he got like this but he got some vitamins and some shots to boost his immune system a bit and lots of love. He also had moderate fever when we took him to the vet, could have been due to the stress of the car trip and vet check.
The thing is he gave up the obsessive fur licking and also bitting it off after few visits to the vet for his vitamins and lots of wub.
I know is not the same case as your Buddy but there's lots of licking involved as well.
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Old March 28th, 2011, 04:27 PM
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How old is Buddy?

Quote:
Originally Posted by kathryn View Post
Buddy CONSTANTLY licks his private area numerous times a day and goes at it for a while,
This may be a combination of idiopathic cystitis (sterile bladder/urinary tract inflammation, thought to be related to stress) and an OCD.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kathryn View Post
Could this be some sort of anxiety problem?
That would be at the top of my list, given that everything has checked out otherwise.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kathryn View Post
We started him on prozac a while ago too because of this..
Has the prozac helped at all? If not, maybe it isn't the best answer for his situation.

Quote:
Originally Posted by kathryn View Post
when he gets to go outside he is fine, but when he is kept inside for a extended period, he seems to have a nervous tick of licking himself
How does he get along with the other cats? There could be some undercurrents of hostility that are causing him stress, or perhaps he's just not comfortable in a multi-cat setting. Does he have areas he can escape to inside away from other cats? Is there any possibility of building him an outdoor enclosure, or even just a large dog crate that he can hang out in by himself (safely) outside?

Boredom can also play a HUGE role in cystitis. Boredom is stressful for cats, especially cats that are used to being in the great outdoors with all of the stimulation that provides. You might have to really take his entertainment outlets up a notch. Bird feeders outside the window, interactive toys like a Turbo Track, Cat-It Senses toys, a Cat Dancer attached to a door knob, crinkly tunnels he can run through, paper bags and boxes to pounce in and on, etc etc. And just playing with him, brushing him (if he likes that), for a good chunk of time each day would go a long way towards easing whatever anxieties he might have about living indoors. Play therapy!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Koteburo View Post
So are you sure then that is not a Urinary infection?
A true urinary tract infection is actually quite rare in cats under roughly 10 yrs of age. Urinary tract inflammation, however, is another story.
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Old March 28th, 2011, 04:47 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sugarcatmom View Post
How old is Buddy?

About 3-4

This may be a combination of idiopathic cystitis (sterile bladder/urinary tract inflammation, thought to be related to stress) and an OCD.



That would be at the top of my list, given that everything has checked out otherwise.



Has the prozac helped at all? If not, maybe it isn't the best answer for his situation.

I have used Feliway before, it actually pissed my cats off more than anything They kept biting the plugin. I've tried some other homeopathic things like rescue remedy and flower essences and haven't really had any luck with my cats long term with them. The prozac seems to be helping him a LITTLE bit, and my other two cats that are on it do very well on it.

How does he get along with the other cats? There could be some undercurrents of hostility that are causing him stress, or perhaps he's just not comfortable in a multi-cat setting. Does he have areas he can escape to inside away from other cats? Is there any possibility of building him an outdoor enclosure, or even just a large dog crate that he can hang out in by himself (safely) outside?

He really does NOT like other cats, like he gets along with my more playful/friendly kitties but otherwise he just views them as below him, like he is the alpha male. He is a big kitty too! I really don't have any way to build an outdoor enclosure because I live in a townhouse and it's an association so I have to get things approved.. maybe I can rig up a small enclosure though, like I have a feral cat house that was custom built that is in my yard and it's fine for little things like that if the neighbors don't complain.

Boredom can also play a HUGE role in cystitis. Boredom is stressful for cats, especially cats that are used to being in the great outdoors with all of the stimulation that provides. You might have to really take his entertainment outlets up a notch. Bird feeders outside the window, interactive toys like a Turbo Track, Cat-It Senses toys, a Cat Dancer attached to a door knob, crinkly tunnels he can run through, paper bags and boxes to pounce in and on, etc etc. And just playing with him, brushing him (if he likes that), for a good chunk of time each day would go a long way towards easing whatever anxieties he might have about living indoors. Play therapy!

I know he is bored inside.. he often lashes out at the other cats when he is bored, and he paces like a caged tiger. But, the last time he managed to escape out the backdoor for some play time he was nearly killed because someone shot him and we had to take him to the vets for an emergency visit. He is NOT a savvy cat at all, he has been injured numerous times when he has escape outside. My feral cats are fine they know to hang out around the house but I've found him as far as a mile away before.

I'm really good about getting interactive toys. I have a "Da Bird" and numerous feather wands, an 8ft cat tree, numerous scratching posts, cardboard scratchers, cat perches in each window in the house, cat beds and hiding places everywhere.. I have interactive toys out and leave cardboard boxes and paperbags out to play with. I also have bird feeders RIGHT outside the front window that have regular guests for the cats to watch.



A true urinary tract infection is actually quite rare in cats under roughly 10 yrs of age. Urinary tract inflammation, however, is another story.



So, could he basically be so stressed he has urinary inflammation from it? Because otherwise medically he's in good health.. he eats well, is in a good weight range and doesn't really have any other problems.

I'd like to rehome him but I don't even think it would make a difference. I think the only place he is happy is outside, but he is such an idiot and it is too dangerous to just place him back out there. It's either have a ticked off indoor cat or a dead outdoor cat... can't win!!
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Old March 28th, 2011, 05:22 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kathryn View Post
So, could he basically be so stressed he has urinary inflammation from it?
Indeed. Here's a link to a previous post I made on this subject: http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread....tis#post521616
Also scroll down a bit and there are some links explaining how environmental enrichment can help.

Ya, it's too bad that these ex-"free range" kitties don't know how good they've got it all nice and safe inside.
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Old March 28th, 2011, 06:05 PM
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kathryn kathryn is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by sugarcatmom View Post
Indeed. Here's a link to a previous post I made on this subject: http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread....tis#post521616
Also scroll down a bit and there are some links explaining how environmental enrichment can help.

Ya, it's too bad that these ex-"free range" kitties don't know how good they've got it all nice and safe inside.
Thank ya ma'am

Thanks to the others that posted here, but suddenly peoples posts are disappearing


Yeah, he totally acts like he is in prison I'm like DUDE, you have been shot, nearly hit by cars more than once, cuts, burns, bruises, parasites.. you do NOT need to go back outside He doesn't understand though, and seriously he acts like the tigers you see in those crappy zoos where they pace back and forth and go all crazy.

Here is said cat

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Old March 28th, 2011, 06:41 PM
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What a cutie! He looks like a cool fugitive. Who would think he keeps licking his parts all the time

It's very hard to turn an outdoors cat into an indoors cat, really hard once they have tasted the outside world, however you are absolutely right in wanting to keep him inside I think.
The Etienne cat licking was stress related and it sounds like Buddy is going through a lot since he wants out. I don't think anything will make it up for him not being able to be out BUT I do think it can become more bearable for him with time and amusements I guess. But yeah, too dangerous to let him out again, wise choice even if Buddy doesn't get it.
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Old April 2nd, 2011, 11:00 PM
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I'm wondering if he has food allergies or it's his diet? He's a gorgeous cat, but his coat appears to be rough and dry. A cat's coat always reflects its diet and am wondering what you're feeding? Excessive licking can also be a symptom of allergies. Perhaps he's allergic to something in his food. A good quality canned food that's no grain----no corn, soy, rice, wheat, barley---is ideal. If he's getting grains in his food, try switching and see if that doesn't make a difference in a month.

http://www.vetinfo.com/common-food-allergies-cats.html
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