Cheeky is excessively licking the base of his spine

In 2007 my cat Cheeky was an outdoor cat. He got into a fight and had a nasty bite and also developed a bald patch at the base of his spine right next to his tail. He was diagnosed with flea bite allergy and had a course of steroids. We moved home at the end of 2007 and since then, much to his annoyance, he is an indoor cat but I do take him outdoors on a lead. A couple of times a year he starts licking and gnawing at the base of his spine and he is almost bald. Since he has been an indoor cat he has also had a lot of problems with his anal glands blocking and needing expelled at least 4 times a year or more. I do not know if the anal glands and the licking are related. Has anyone else had any problem like this?

:) First of all = Welcome to Pet Talk & Enjoy All.. We would love to see pics of Cheeky..

Second of all I would take Cheeky to the Vets for proper treatment.. I would say its prob a allergy of some sort..

Yep, definitely sounds like a question for the vet. If his anal glands give him a hard time, chances are his supracaudal glands do too. If he hasn't been neutered, that could be causing the problem - ask the vet. And please do post a photo of Cheeky!

Love, Columbine

Definitely take Cheeky to the vets.

My Iggi also has a flea bite allergy and is treated for fleas every 4 weeks.
He always flares up in late August/ early September and pulls the hair out just where Cheeky does too (and sometime the tip of his tail and around his neck are affected).

The vet thinks it is an allergy to a particular seed/ pollen as a cat with one allergy is very likely to have others. Iggi does go out but not much however the vet thinks it would be difficult and costly to identify what is causing the allergy and practically impossible to isolate him entirely from a pollen anyway.

Hope this reassures you that it may not be a big problem - but still best to check.

Hi Rachel
Your cat sounds exactly the same as Cheeky. Vets have seen him and have said it is probably some kind of allergy that recurs due to his previous flea bite allergy and has made him sensitive.

As for uploading picture of Cheeky - I'm not sure how to lol.

Thanks for all the replies