UGH...how to get Mija to quit overgrooming herself

[Ferrana]

Mija is our 5yro formerly stray tuxedo kitty. She is in great health, but unfortunately had a bout with fleas last season. She had an allergic reaction to the bites and started overgrooming her belly to deal with the itchiness and irritation. We took her to the vet, started her on Advantage, and gave her an allergy shot, and the fleas (and the resulting reaction) are no longer a problem.

What IS a problem is Mija now has a habit of overgrooming herself, to the point her belly, back of her hind legs, and now behind her elbows are nearly bald. Now that I'm home taking care of our newborn, I see her compulsive behavior all the more.

We tried a product called Fooey! which is supposed to taste horrible and be a deterrent to destructive licking and chewing, but spraying it on Mija only had her overgrooming the areas for an HOUR getting the apparently-not-so-offensive Fooey! off her favorite lick spots. *sigh*

Is there any stopping this train once it leaves the station??

[Traci]

Please list the product's ingredients -- you want to be sure there are no citrus, botanical, etc products that could be dangerous or exacerbating the problem.

Your vet needs to differentiate between flea allergy dermatitis and other problems such as other allergies (to food, something in the environment, dust or food mites, etc). There is also a condition known as eosinophilic granuloma that needs to be ruled out, since this could be mistaken for, or a result of, flea allergies or other allergies. Also need to rule out stress factors (you said you had a newborn).

Please get her re-evaluated by your vet, you truly need to differentiate this from a potential source of other problems.

[Phoebe's human]

My cat has a similar problem, though I don't know if there may have been a fleabite problem before I adopted her. The vet thinks she has obsessive-compulsive disorder and recommended distracting her with a new toy or a treat every time I find her licking her abdomen or inner thighs.

I hope you'll let people here know what develops with your cat.