Enlarged Nipples on Your Male Cat

My cat Oscar has always had enlarged nipples. It never made much sense to me, considering he's a male, but my vet recently informed me why this was the case.

I had to bring Oscar in for his yearly exam, and I noted the large nipples. My vet looked him over and noticed the insides of his legs were missing hair, as well as the lower half of his belly.

Oscar has always been a high-strung cat, and I only began noticing his thinning belly hair in the past year. So I asked my vet, "What does this mean?"

He told me that Oscar basically has a kitty form of obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). He told me that something in the past year must have caused him stress, and thus as a result, caused him to lick himself obsessively. This is why his lower belly had thinning hair and his lower nipples were enlarged, because he's always licking over them. His upper nipples, however, remain normal because of his inability to reach them.

In the past year, my husband and I adopted two new kittens and Oscar, who always likes to think he's the center of the universe, has learned that the kittens don't agree with this notion. They're young and active and like to be in charge.

Although Oscar does play with them on occasion, he likes it when the kittens defer to him. Yet when they don't: that's when Oscar goes on his self-licking rampage. Basically, this is his only way of "gaining control" when he finds he has none. Just as humans will obsessively clean, or exercise, or organize, Oscar licks.

My vet told me this is not an uncommon thing among high-strung cats. Oscar, while high strung, has always been a bit of a marshmallow. In other words, he's all talk.

So what can one do to ease the OCD of one's cat? Whenever I see Oscar licking his belly, I go up to him and rub his head, kiss him, and tell him how wonderful he is. (You think I'm joking but I'm totally serious). Then he starts to purr and forgets all about the licking. The key is learning how to calm him.

My vet told me this is exactly what he wants: to feel emotionally reassured. I even joked that he needs a kitty psychologist.

So if you notice these symptoms in your cat, be sure to ask your vet about them (make sure the thinning hair isn't the side-effect of some other serious ailment). If it turns out that your cat also suffers from kitty OCD, a little added attention for your animal can only help. They will only love you more for it.