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My cat is over-grooming, bleeding, and pulling fur. What should I do?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | American Longhair | Female | spayed | 8 years and 3 months old | 6 lbs

How do I treat a cat who is constantly grooming itself & making herself bleed & pulling out her fur?

2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Stacey Anstaett, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on November 26th, 2018

The treatment needed would depend on what is causing the problem. It may be [allergies](https://www.petcoach.co/cat/condition/feline-allergies/), or an infection. A visit to your veterinarian would help identify the most likely cause and point you in the direction of the best treatment. It sounds like her issue is quite severe if she's making herself bleed, so I would get her in to see your veterinarian as soon as you can. If her issue was quite mild, a soothing spray, such as [Zymox](https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/zymox-spray-with-5-hydrocortisone), may be helpful but I'm afraid Phaedra's problem may be beyond conservative home care. Get her in to the veterinarian or a [veterinary dermatologist](https://www.acvd.org/tools/locator/locator.asp?ids=16_Find_Dermatologist) when you can! Thanks for asking PetCoach!

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1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

Other Answers

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    Answered By C. Rathjens, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on

    Poor girl. She sounds very itchy - and cats rarely let on that they are itchy, so she must be feeling pretty bad. This can be caused by many different things, with allergies, skin mites, and superficial infections being the highest on the list. I would recommend a vet visit for a skin scrap to see if she has any mites, bacteria, or yeast, and treating anything you find. If she doesn't have any infection, the vet will discuss the different types of allergies and how we go about diagnosing/treating these. There are many different ways to approach allergies, so I'll let your vet describe how they go about it. Good luck!!

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