Why Cats Overgroom and How You Can Stop It

It’s normal for cats to groom themselves. After all, cat self-grooming is an important behavior that helps remove loose hair, dirt, and parasites from their coat.

Cats typically spend up to 50% of their waking hours grooming, but excessive licking, biting, chewing, or scratching may mean that your cat’s self-grooming habits have become problematic.

Here are some common reasons for cat excessive grooming and what you can do to help.

What Is Overgrooming in Cats?

Overgrooming is when a cat grooms themselves more than they need to. If your cat is licking too much, they can lose fur in strips along their back, belly, or inner legs. The affected areas may be completely bare or have very short stubble.

This lack of fur can cause other problems. For example, cats who lie in the sun can get a sunburn in these overgroomed areas. Cats may even groom themselves to the point of causing rashes and open wounds on the skin, potentially risking a secondary bacterial or yeast infection.

Your overgrooming cat may also have an unusually high number of hairballs. If your cat is unable to bring these hairballs up, they may become constipated or develop intestinal blockages from the fur building up in the digestive tract.

Why Is My Cat Overgrooming?

If your cat’s licking fur off or spending all their time grooming, you need to understand what’s causing the behavior in the first place. Taking your pet to the veterinarian is the best way to discover why your cat is overgrooming.

Here are the most common health conditions that can lead to a cat excessively grooming.

Allergy or Infection

Cats may overgroom because their skin is irritated. This can be caused by an infection, an allergy to certain foods, parasites, or substances in the environment.

Your cat’s fur-loss pattern may even hint at the source of the problem:

• Flea allergy: irritation at the base of the tail

• Ear mites: hair loss and scabbing on the neck and ears

• Allergic response to pollen: excessive chewing of the paw pads

Pain

Overgrooming can also indicate that your cat is experiencing pain or discomfort, particularly if they’re repeatedly licking one area of their body.

For example, back pain may make your cat overgroom themselves on a specific part of their back. A urinary tract infection or anal sac impaction may encourage excessive grooming of the lower belly, the genitals, or the area around their anus.  

Stress or Boredom

Some cats use overgrooming to cope with stress or boredom. It’s thought that licking releases endorphins that help relieve anxiety, so when a stressed cat finds relief through licking, it can turn into a habit.

Compulsive grooming leading to fur loss, known as psychogenic alopecia, is usually triggered by a change in the cat’s daily routine or environment, such as moving to a new house or the arrival of a new family member. Cats are very observant and may even feed off of our own stress levels.

Cats are also highly intelligent and prone to boredom if their daily routine lacks proper enrichment. This cause of overgrooming is especially common in indoor cats that are alone for most of the day. In these cases, grooming helps make up for the lack of mental or physical stimulation.

This condition can be seen in any cat breed, but it’s more common in Siamese, Abyssinian, Burmese, and Himalayan cats due to their sensitive and attention-seeking personalities.

How To Stop Your Cat From Overgrooming

For excessive grooming in cats, treatment begins by addressing the underlying cause.

1. Take Your Cat to the Vet

Always schedule a vet appointment if your cat is overgrooming. Your veterinarian can make a diagnosis and provide medical treatment or, if the overgrooming is behavioral, suggestions for deterring the habit.

Treatment depends on what is causing your cat’s excessive grooming. Infections and allergies require antibiotics, antihistamines, and/or anti-inflammatory drugs. Year-round flea and tick treatment can also help prevent flea allergies and ear mites.

If the overgrooming is due to pain, your vet can determine the cause and how to manage it.

2. Maintain Routines to Reduce Stress

Cats love routine. If the overgrooming is stress-related, try creating a comfortable environment and a predictable schedule. For example, clean the litter box at least once a day and keep mealtimes consistent.

3. Provide Mental and Physical Stimulation

Mental and physical enrichment can help with overgrooming because it gives your cat a distraction from the grooming behavior. It’s also a healthy way to release the endorphins your cat may be seeking through grooming.

Provide environmental enrichment for your cat with cat trees, different types of toys, and scratching posts. You should also give your cat frequent opportunities for play—at least two 10- to 15-minute play sessions with your cat are recommended.

4. Try Cat Calming Medications and Products

Cats with persistent anxiety may benefit from anti-anxiety medications and/or supplements. Talk to your veterinarian to see what cat-friendly calming products they recommend, like Feliway plug-in diffusers or sprays, or a supplement like Purina Pro Plan Calming Care.

5. Be Patient With Your Cat 

The most important part of managing overgrooming is to be patient. If you see your cat licking excessively, don’t punish them or try to interfere—this will only add to your cat’s stress and make their overgrooming problem worse.

After seeking help from your vet, it may take a month or so for an overgrooming behavior to resolve, and even longer for your cat’s fur to grow back.