What is overgrooming in cats
Overgrooming in cats is excessive self-cleaning driven by stress or skin disease, leading to hair loss and skin damage that requires veterinary diagnosis.
Overgrooming in cats is excessive self-cleaning driven by stress or skin disease, leading to hair loss and skin damage. This behaviour is a behavioural cause of alopecia where the animal spends more time engaged in grooming than is necessary for hygiene, often resulting in bald patches and skin lesions.
Stress is the primary driver
Stress can lead to hair loss in two ways: animals may over-groom as a way to reduce their stress, or the stress itself may cause hair to fall out. This behaviour is often attributed to stress and occurs in other types of organisms than primates, including cats. In captive environments, social stress may be increased by enclosure characteristics such as size and density, which can increase engagement among individuals in the group.
It is a form of hair-pulling
Hair-pulling has been identified as a cause of alopecia and is defined as pulling tufts of hair from one's own coat, manipulating and chewing the hair, and finally swallowing it. This behaviour is often referred to in different terms depending on the type of organism, such as barbering in mice or feather picking in birds. Overgrooming is the equivalent in cats, where individuals spend more time engaged in self or social grooming behaviours than is necessary.
Environmental factors play a role
Factors associated with the captive environment can influence the presence and extent of alopecia. The severity of the condition tends to be greater in individuals inhabiting smaller or exclusively interior environments. Additionally, alopecia is associated with enclosures where animal density is highest, as this may cause stress-induced physiological or behavioural changes that lead to hair loss. The type of material used to cover the ground of the enclosure has also mediated alopecia, as greater hair loss was associated with gravel surfaces in primate enclosures, suggesting substrate choice matters for welfare.
It signals a welfare issue
Substandard well-being is suggested to be a consequence of alopecia in captive animals, as this condition can have implications for the health of the animal. Discomfort is a key indicator of well-being, and individuals experiencing hair-pulling or overgrooming often display signs of discomfort. While some studies suggest that alopecia may be visually unappealing but typically does not have negative welfare implications, the presence of these behaviours is generally associated with decreased well-being.
Enrichment helps mitigate the behaviour
In order to decrease the prevalence of stereotypic behaviour, caregivers sometimes implement environmental enrichment activities. The frequency of these behaviours has been reduced in captive primates using enrichment activities including placing food articles in holes made in a tree, which encourages the animals to spend time extracting these objects as opposed to engaging in behaviours such as hair-pulling. Young mice were observed with later-onset alopecia and were less likely to develop the condition if enrichment activities were implemented in their enclosure.
Medical causes must be ruled out
While stress is a major factor, alopecia in animals is usually the sign of an underlying disease. Certain skin conditions in animals can also cause loss of fur, including bacterial pyoderma, dermatophytosis, and parasites. In cats, dermatophytosis is a common cause of alopecia, and in long-haired varieties, dermatophytic pseudomycetomas may be to blame. Hormonal conditions like hyperthyroidism can also cause alopecia, often affecting regions experiencing rubbing, the joints of the limbs, and the tail.
When to seek veterinary help
Because overgrooming can stem from pain, parasites, or endocrine conditions, a cat that suddenly loses interest in normal activity or develops bald patches needs professional attention. Sudden exercise intolerance, coughing after mild activity, or collapse needs same-day attention rather than wait-and-see. Caregivers may be better suited to evaluate and optimize the welfare of captive animals through the use of a scoring system that identifies the presence and extent of alopecia experienced by captive individuals.