over grooming cat

Question
ok... my cat has an over grooming problem. She has no new
enviornment changes.. One day my husband started to scratch her right
behind the tail, and she loved it... (a little too much) so now she swill
prop a hand on a wall to try to lick to specific spot and now her back has
some bald spots... I dont know how to stop her from licking that spot. If
the hair were to grow back would she still be obsessed with grooming
that spot.. what can I do. I don't want to put her on meds to treat
somthing that she does because it feels good

Answer
Dianna,

That is a common place for fleas to go. I would check for fleas and/or flea evidence (which is little black flakes). When your husband scratched her there it may have gotten the fleas moving around plus she may have Flea Dermitis. That is a condition where the cat is alergic to the saliva of a flea and will get bald spots licking the area because of the itching from it. A cat can have just one flea on it that just bit one time to get a reaction.

I would check her for fleas first before dealing with her actions as a behavioral problem. If you find a flea or flea evidence I would get Advantage (or similar flea medication) and put that on her back and see if her behavior stops after a few days.

Tabbi