# My cat has OCD



## PurrfectCat (Jun 29, 2010)

I took my cat to the vet for obsessive licking, mostly on his tummy. They found nothing wrong and said he basically has a feline version of OCD. He got over it for a while because I was giving him TONS of extra attention, but now I have a baby and therefore less time for the cat. He's started it up again.  He's got his tummy bald in places and is puking up giant hairballs. Has anyone else had a cat with a disorder like this? Ideas to make him feel more secure in his place in my home without taking away important baby time?
(The first time I started this was when I started college and was away from home for 6 hours every day. I was homeschooled before so I was always available. I fixed the problem then by doing my homework on the bed with him.)


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## razzle (May 20, 2010)

I would say he feels rejected since the baby. He was used to getting all the attention and now he's not. You are going to have to take the time and give him some love attention. Hairballs can become dangerous. I recently got my newsletter from a famous veterinary univeristy about OCD. The 3 treatments are: 1. SSRIs like Prozac, Paxi, Zoloft, etc., 2. NMDA blockers and, and 3. if neither works the vet can prescribe both at the same time. 

Kathy


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## kitty13 (Jul 20, 2010)

We had great luck with Prozac. Used it for a few weeks and weaned the kitty off the meds and never had trouble like that again. If there were any side effects we were unable to see them. Good luck! I know this is frustrating for kitty and for you.


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## icatguy (May 15, 2010)

The medication is probably going to be your only hope, but I'm going to suggest an off-the-wall thing to try, if you can do it. It may be this cat's high anxiety is simply due to TOO MUCH going on, not due to a lack of attention. The extra attention you gave before that seemed to help was probably helping because it was diversion, not because it was therapeutic. Instead of trying to make him feel more secure in his place in your home, perhaps what's needed for him is a place where he feels more secure. From a cat's point of view, safety (security) and food are the two dominant issues in their lives. A place in the social order is important only insofar as it assures those other two.

I don't know your home situation, so I'm not going to be able to offer any specific plan, but I think if you want to try my cat's viewpoint approach, your plan should be that his needs for safety/security and food and not just met, but met in a way that he feels there's no threat to them. BTW, litterbox comes under the safety heading, as a cat buries waste to hide from predators.

Perhaps a place where he and only he can get to? A cat bed located on top of the kitchen cabinets? There he's out of danger, out of the fray, yet can spy on what's going on, and with even a food dish and water up there......

Just some thoughts......

Prozac will help with the OCD, but you might not like your cat on medication. It sometimes affects personality. A good vet will require a full blood panel every six months, which is about $100 (not counting vet fees) and requires shaving a spot over the collection site.

BTW, a dollop of Vaseline every couple days will help with the hairballs. It's the active ingredient in the hairball remedies sold in pet stores, but a lot cheaper and is completely non-toxic.


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## GeorgesMom (May 12, 2010)

What are you feeding? Food allergies is a common cause. Our 13 year old started to do this at 12 but stopped immediately when switched to a grain free diet. Perhaps kitty could tolerate the food until the extra stress?


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## PurrfectCat (Jun 29, 2010)

icatguy said:


> The medication is probably going to be your only hope, but I'm going to suggest an off-the-wall thing to try, if you can do it. It may be this cat's high anxiety is simply due to TOO MUCH going on, not due to a lack of attention. The extra attention you gave before that seemed to help was probably helping because it was diversion, not because it was therapeutic. Instead of trying to make him feel more secure in his place in your home, perhaps what's needed for him is a place where he feels more secure. From a cat's point of view, safety (security) and food are the two dominant issues in their lives. A place in the social order is important only insofar as it assures those other two.
> 
> I don't know your home situation, so I'm not going to be able to offer any specific plan, but I think if you want to try my cat's viewpoint approach, your plan should be that his needs for safety/security and food and not just met, but met in a way that he feels there's no threat to them. BTW, litterbox comes under the safety heading, as a cat buries waste to hide from predators.
> 
> ...


He's got several "safe" places. We have a cat tree that only he and one other cat climb, he sleeps on my bed where there's a baby gate in the doorway, on top of any and all furniture... He's secure with the other cats and dogs. He's the head pet and he knows it.  We've always had a very chaotic home and he seems to thrive on that. He prefers to have some kind of schedule, though. Maybe trying to build a more normal routine would help?
I can't afford the meds, even for a short time.  My vet doesn't really want to start him on them anyway. She feels they aren't the best thing for him.



GeorgesMom said:


> What are you feeding? Food allergies is a common cause. Our 13 year old started to do this at 12 but stopped immediately when switched to a grain free diet. Perhaps kitty could tolerate the food until the extra stress?


He's been on the same food for the last 10 years. He's on CD special diet for urinary tract issues. He hasn't had a problem in several years, but I'm not gonna take him off the food as that seems to be the key factor in controlling it.

Thanks so much for the replies!


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