Cat consistently overgrooming

My cat (10 years old, female) has been over grooming the back of her leg since Christmas. We've been through 4/5 cycles of her over grooming, having to have a cone on, tablets/cream, healed and then removing the cone only for her to do it again. We have two other cats and a toddler, both cats have been around for at least 2 years and my little boy is 2. There is nothing that has changed that could be triggering stress, she is fed separately from the other cats, has access to a big garden, plenty of toys and hiding places, we're using cat calming plug ins and spot on and it's still happening. She's been to the vets several times but they only give medication to heal the sores on her leg, not get to the root of the problem. I'm at a loss as to what to do with her. She gets very stressed in her carrier when we take her to the vets and it sets her back, she bashes up her face and is very distressed so I'm reluctant to keep taking her back. She can't live in a cycle of cone, medication, heal and then do it again and having the cone on causes her to poo and wee anywhere around the house, I can't have that with a toddler. What else can I do for her? Is it stress or a deeper problem? She shows no symptoms of leg or joint pain, no fleas, ticks or worms

Hello!  Over-grooming, particularly in one particular area or over one particular joint or muscle, can be a subtle sign of pain in cats.  Cats are very, very good at hiding pain from their owners - arthritic pain for example, may occur much more frequently than it is actually observed.  We are taught now that it is much more common than previously thought.  If your vet thinks that this is a possibility, they may decide to radiograph or trial pain releif to see whether it makes any difference. Regarding stress, I'm afraid that it's easy to assume that nothing has changed that might stress your cat out from a human perspective.  However from a feline perspective things can change all the time, especially when you have an ever-developing two year old in the house.  Cats can become stressed very easily and in subtle ways; they tend not to 'look stressed' or react to the things we'd expect.  Litter trays, for example - and the favourite route to get to the litter tray - are a highly prized resource.  Even something as simple as being unable go to the toilet without being overlooked or having a children's toy in the way, can cause issues.  If there is competition for urine space between two cats, they can easily become very stressed which can show itself in grooming behaviours.  There are many other causes of stress too - it is very subtle anddiffict to pick up on in cats.   Both the blog on this site and the Icatcare website may prove very helpful resources.

I came here for the same reason. Our calico just turned 2 and has been over-grooming for as long as we've had her, so about a year now. She is a very gentle, docile cat and very playful too. She doesn't seem stressed, but I don't know what that looks like in cats either. She also gets sores and our vet just gives us antibiotics to treat her skin infection, but does nothing to try and figure out what is going on that is causing her to do this. I've never seen a cat bathe as often as she does, and a lot of the time it's after we touch her, like she thinks we are disgusting. I'd love to hear more thoughts on this subject. Thanks!

Your veterinarian may choose to radiograph or try pain relief if they believe this to be a possibility in order to determine whether it has any effect. In regards to stress, I'm afraid it's simple to presume that nothing has changed that, from a human standpoint, may aggravate your cat. From a feline standpoint, though, things can fluctuate constantly, particularly when a two-year-old is living in the home and constantly developing.