By Alice Moon-Fanelli, PhD, CAAB. Feline compulsive behaviors are based on natural behaviors that may be frustrated by manage-ment practices and/or restrictive environments. Compulsive behavior initially may be performed as a displacement behavior. - Read more

There are cats that eat strange substances like cardboard or wool, cats who chew and rip but don't eat and cats that just lick these odd materials. It is important to check with the vet because some of these behaviours can be a sign of physical illness. - Read more

Hair pulling, or trichotillomania, now recognized in humans as an obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), was formerly classified as an impulse control disorder. The new definition helps us better understand and determine the cause, course, and therapy of the feline equivalent, psychogenic alopecia. One of the results of compulsive hair pulling in humans and cats is alopecia (baldness). - Read more

World Small Animal Veterinary Association. Feline hyperesthesia syndrome has been variously called rolling skin disease, neuritis, twitchy cat disease & atypical neurodermatitis. The behaviours demonstrated can include mimicking estrus or biting at the tail, flank, anal or lumbar areas; or skin rippling & muscle spasms/twitching, often accompanied by vocalisation, running, jumping, hallucinations & self-directed aggression. - Read more

The word “compulsive” describes the repetitive, irresistible urge to perform a behavior. Most compulsive behaviors are normal activities, such as eating, grooming, moving around or sexual behaviors, but they occur in the wrong contexts and to such an extent that they interfere with normal functioning. - Read more

Determining an effective aversive reaction for your cat is definitely a case of trial-and-error, as individual preferences will vary with each cat. - Read more

Cat chewing is a normal behavior caused by curiosity, boredom, hunger or teething. Cats may chew on anything, starting from furniture and walls to clothes and shoes. - Read more

Behaviour modification in cats. - Read more

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Compulsive disorders often arise out of situations of conflict or frustration. Conflict occurs when the pet is motivated to perform two opposing behaviors (such as approach to greet & fear of punishment). - Read more

What you need to know about feline psychogenic alopecia. - Read more

Feline compulsive behaviors are based on natural behaviors that may be somehow frustrated by management practices and/or restrictive environments. - Read more

Many cats suffer from eating compulsions. Two of the most common compulsions include wool sucking or eating non-food items (pica), and compulsive overeating. - Read more

Neutered and unneutered males living in confined spaces and lacking the opportunity to perform the full range of their normal behavioral repertoire, can become fixated on sexual behavior. - Read more

Collecting useful things, like food and bedding material, is something that many animals practice and is a normal. But what of cats? Do they instinctively gather and store things? The answer is partly yes and partly no. - Read more

These are normal behaviors that have been carried to such an extreme that they are damaging to the cat (self-injurious behavior or SIB), or disturbing the human animal bond. - Read more

What you need to know about hyperesthesia in cats. - Read more

Minor licking may not be a problem but excessive licking can drastically slow healing or even cause severe infections. Contrary to popular belief, the mouths and tongues of cats are not sterile. - Read more

Dogs and cats may lick or chew under and around the tail for multiple reasons. - Read more