What is Fur-Mowing in Cats?

The first time I visited the cat I had rescued the preceding month, I was shocked by both her luxurious coat and her calm demeanor. The Himalayan was stretched out on her owner's sofa. Since the cat had been born feral and had lived outside for nearly two years, her placid behavior was puzzling. The cat I saw had a lovely brushed coat and a rhinestone barrette. About two months later, Himala's owner asked me to take another look. This time, I found the feline endlessly licking herself. The cat's back bore a wide stripe where there was no fur. A vet eventually diagnosed Himala as suffering from fur-mowing.

What is Fur-mowing?

Anyone who's ever owned a cat knows that these creatures spend a huge part of their days grooming themselves and licking their fur. As a matter of fact, the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine suggests that most cats spend somewhere between 30 and 50 percent of their time in grooming activities. A cat that is fur-mowing is licking off all its hair in some part of its body.

Since cats spend so much time grooming, most owners don't catch on to the fact that a pet has a problem until fur loss is pretty obvious or skin lesions appear. According to MarvistaVet.com, it's actually quite common to see a stripe down the back or bald spots on either side of a cat with fur-mowing. Some, however, have just one large bald spot.

Regardless of where the cat's fur is disappearing, the symptoms of fur-mowing always include periods of incessant licking.

Causes

In addition to normal grooming, cats lick themselves when they itch or hurt. The first thing most veterinarians suspect on a cat with a lot of missing fur in a pattern is a flea infestation. Among the other potential causes of extensive hair loss are worms, eat mites, ringworm, mange and allergies.

Cats who experience fur-mowing due to psychological problems such as stress or anxiety suffer from a type of hair loss vets call psychogenic mowing.

Diagnosis and Treatment

The first step to arriving at a diagnosis of fur-mowing is ruling out all other possible causes of significant hair loss. Fleas and flea dirt are often easy to spot. A vet can use a Wood's light and a lab culture to identify an outbreak of ringworm. Testing for allergies includes both skin biopsies and food trials. Lab tests on fecal samples can identify parasites.

Some vets start a cat on cortisone for three to four weeks. If there is a positive response, it narrows the list of potential causes. In most cases, when there is a physical problem and it's successfully treated, the excessive licking gradually lessens.

According to PetWellbeing.com, if the cause of fur-mowing can't be attributed to a physical reason, vets are left with psychological causes. The list of potential stressors is very long for a cat undergoing any major changes. As a matter of fact, even a roomful of new furniture can cause stress and bizarre behavior.

Moving to a new residence, getting a new owner, adding another pet to the household or any other change in a cat's environment can cause psychological problems. When an owner takes positive steps like creating hiding places, providing more toys and giving more attention to the cat but there is no reduction in the pet's stress level, asking the vet for an anti-anxiety medication is an option.

Himala's problem took more than six months to solve. Her fur-mowing was the result of her feral nature coming to the forefront after surface calm. The cat was highly stressed after being trapped, handled for the first time by humans and placed inside four walls. She just took a while to show it. Her owner cancelled plans to take in a second cat until she was convinced that Himala was sufficiently acclimated to her home to tolerate the gradual presence of a second pet.

Sources:

http://www.vet.cornell.edu/fhc/news/lick.htm

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/feline_fur-mowing.html

http://pethealth.petwellbeing.com/wiki/Cat_Fur-Mowing