Cat licking and chewing fur until bald and raw
Cats excessively lick, chew, and pull out their fur due to anxiety, stress, or underlying allergies, leaving their skin raw and bald. This compulsive overgrooming requires identifying the root trigger—whether behavioral or allergic—to prevent ongoing skin damage.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
- 1using feliway diffusers or pheromone sprays
- 2changing litter material or food
- 3putting cones or fabric coverings on the cat
- 4providing small hiding spaces
- 5using topical healing creams and distracting the cat
- 6trying anti-anxiety or allergy medications like gabapentin or atopica
- 7brushing the cat often
- 8deworming the cat
- 9increasing playtime
- 10adding stimulating toys
- 11applying flea medication
- 12brushing a bunch
- 13using burts dendrite spray
- 14physically get out of bed
- 15shove her away
- 16lick her back
In their words
Unedited, most upvoted first, each linked to the thread it came from.
“She doesnt stop until I physically get out of bed or shove her away from me.”source ↗
“She'll come over and start licking my arms/legs and can keep going to the point where my skin is literally wet.”source ↗
“I would really like to wake up without a cat tongue exfoliating my lips every morning.”source ↗
“I noticed my calico girl (5 yo) starts balding on the sides. At first it was just the belly but it stayed that way for 4 years (after her spay. I assumed it was due to that, and she experienced weight gain too). It has been a few weeks or 1 month that I started noticing the balding has 'spread' to her inner and outer back thighs too.”source ↗
“I already took her to the vet and vet says it's probably caused by worms (internally) so I've dewormed her too (from the vet). She pees, poops, eats and drinks normally, no diet changes either, so I still can't tell what makes her overgroom.”source ↗
“shes been shedding a little extra since we moved in but i brush her often.”source ↗
“How do u guys deal with excessive shedding.”source ↗
“I tried brushing a bunch and the burts dendrite spray on her but she still just sheds like crazy.”source ↗
“How can I manage it so I’m not breathing in cat hair all the time lol”source ↗
“Has anyone else had a very anxious cat that licks and chews the fur off their arms and belly?”source ↗
“My cat did this when we first rescued her. She licked until her skin was bald and raw.”source ↗
“My cat does it too. I was told it’s probably allergies and started him on atopica.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 8How to trim a cat's nails when they fight back
- 2Why is my dog shedding worse after professional grooming?
- 7Cat getting poop stuck in long fur around back end
- 2How to diet a cat when family members keep feeding them
- 7Why is my cat attacking me out of nowhere?
- 5What causes persistent eye discharge and swelling in cats?