I can't believe I'm writing on behalf of a cat , but my animal knowledge (albeit limited) is pretty much geared towards dogs, and I'm coming up blank trying to help my brother's little rescue kitty...

The cat is a female tortoise shorthair, roughly 2 years old, and my brother adopted her about a year ago from a rescue in Brooklyn, which is where they (bro, gf & cat) live. She was just abandoned in a parking lot, in her cat carrier... , but she has a super home now, gets lots of attention, a healthy, pre-made raw frozen raw diet, and love, lots of love.

The problem: brother is separating from longtime gf (lots of emotional stress in the house right now), and both are moving to new apartments on their own. The cat will go with one of them, but which one is currently undetermined. Cat is currently plenty spunky, has a good appetite, and doesn't seem to be changing weight at all (she's always been pretty lanky), but she HAS taken to excessively licking/cleaning herself, to the point where her hocks have lost most of their fur, her tail has some divots where clumps are missing, and the poor thing is clearly being affected by the mood in the house.

All of this will hopefully start to settle back into a new normalcy in March, after the move, but does anyone have any suggestions to make the transition easier on the cat? Should they be supplementing with anything special? Any thoughts from the resident cat experts would be greatly appreciated.

~Natalya

I had a tortie who licked obsessively, too. The vet told me that the genes that caused the color pattern made most of them pretty whacko. This cat was just such a Type A personality, always stressed to the max. She died of a heart attack at 10.

I still miss her, the little nutjob.

Wish I could tell you how to make the "divorce" easier on her.

Poor kitty!

They might want to look into the DAP (I think that's what they're called) dispensers...that dispense kitty pheromones. They have various kinds of formulas, especially those for calming kinds of effects.

My vets have a kitty treatment room and swear by these things. They recommended I get one when I brought my second rescue kitty home...looked into them, didn't get one (funds were too tight, otherwise, I probably would've tried one).

They could also try Rescue Remedy, which is a good all around calming/anti-stress remedy.

Hope you get better advice from real cat people.

leih

Our vets also recommended the pheromone dispensers for one of our Persians who did his potty anywhere but into the litterbox. The pheromones are supposed to make the cats feel relaxed and relieve stress. Didn't get one because the cat stopped doing that suddenly when we switched him to raw food.

One of my cats recently took to pulling out tufts of fur from her back starting at the base of the tail and going up about 3 inches. I started giving her salmon oil and she stopped.

It doesn't sound like the same thing but wanted to mention it.

Thanks guys, er, ladies , all input is much appreciated.
Will relay them to the bro...

~Natalya

How is the kitty doing now?

I had a cat that did that, not sure what the stressor was. Not a torti or calico. I tried many, many things and nothing really helped to any great extent (sorry). The only thing that did help was amitriptyline and valium, but he was a zombie! He was doing it so much and everywhere, starting getting sores. So I caved to the psych drugs. Hair started to grow back in and weaned him off those drugs. Took about 6 mos

Thanks for asking Mariellena!
The cat is actually much better. The apartment move was a stressful pain in the rear (as all moves are), but thankfully, both bro and his ex have settled remarkably fast into their new routines. The cat actually ended up going with the ex, as her apartment allowed pets, but once she got into her new groove, she stopped the incessant licking and is generally much more calm. It's amazing how much our animals can pick up on the "emotional environment" generated by their humans...

I'm glad the cat is on the mend though, she's a real sweetheart.
I actually just finished a portrait of her (my brother and I have been trading art ), if you'd like to put a face to a name - her name is Bobbin :
http://natalyazahn.typepad.com/iheartungulates/2010/04/bobbin.html

Thanks again for checking in on her,
~Natalya

Cute name...cute cat. I love your photography.

Glad she is better.