"Your cat's been grooming themselves for hours again. They've taken to hiding under the bed more often. Maybe they've even stopped using the litter box properly. If you're like most cat owners, you probably chalk these behaviors up to typical feline quirkiness. "That's just cats being cats," we tell ourselves. But what if these seemingly normal behaviors are actually your cat crying out for help?"
"It wasn't until the fur started thinning that we realized something was wrong. As Stanley Marks, an internal medicine specialist at the University of California at Davis, explains, "Cats that overgroom often focus obsessively on their bellies, leaving their skin bald and inflamed." The key difference? Stressed cats groom repetitively, often in the same spots, and may continue even when their skin becomes raw or irritated."
Excessive grooming, increased hiding, and litter box changes commonly signal significant stress in cats rather than harmless quirks. Cats often conceal discomfort and display stress through subtle behavioral shifts that owners misinterpret as normal. Stress-induced overgrooming targets specific areas, leading to thinning fur, bald patches, and raw irritated skin. Veterinarians note that stressed cats groom repetitively in the same spots and may continue despite injury. Recognizing these signs enables timely intervention to address underlying causes and reduce feline anxiety. Owners should observe intensity, repetition, and physical consequences to distinguish self-soothing grooming from routine cleaning.
Read at Silicon Canals
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