Just moved, cats know excessive licking

[Michyouttachains]

I have just moved into a new apartment and I have brought my 4 indoor-outdoor cats with me. They have lived together for years now, the youngest of them being 5. We moved in last week and have not let them out yet, when should I? My youngest has started licking herself. A lot. She has licked off most of her hair on her belly and now around the base of her tail is missing her hair now. And she won't stop. It's constant unless I start petting her. They all get constant attention. If they aren't on my lap they are on my girlfriends. They have food at all times, clean litter box and plenty of fresh water. We have even caught her peeing in the corners about 4 times now.
What do I do? I'm afraid to let her out yet. Especially because we are in a highly populated apartment complex and we are upstairs with no windows to the front to be able to see her.
Help!

[Karen]

Maybe a trip to the vet, and some anti-anxiety meds to get her through the transition? If you are in a big building, I'd just keep them indoors permanently, as there's too much of a chance of something happening. Might she walk on a leash given some time?

[Emeraldgreen]

Hi there, I have a cat that we adopted some months back who is an excessive groomer due to stress and I have found that Feliway plug in seems to help. It's alot like a Glade plug in air thing but it has artificial pheronomes that help to calm cats when they are stressed. You just plug it in to an outlet in a room that the stressed cat spends the most time in. You can get it at a vet clinic without a prescription. It also comes in a spray. And you can get a cheaper version of it at the big petstores.
You might want to try Rescue Remedy, it's a tincture you get at the health food store. Pet stores have it too I think under a few different names. You put a few drops into the drinking water and it helps calm them.
I would agree with Karen that if you can turn your kitties into indoor cats on a permanent basis it would be the safest option for them. Apartment complexes have so many people coming and going and not everyone is good to animals.
We've moved quite a few times and we have one cat that gets pretty stressed about it and we have found that if we can duplicate her favourite room which happens to be our bedroom, she settles in and begins to feel comfortable. So, the first thing we do is set up our bedroom in almost the exact same layout that it was in at our previous home and she seems to find comfort in the familiarity of it.

[Catlady711]

I'd definately make a vet appt for the cat. Something in the new apt. could be causing allergies. There's also a posibility that the previous tenants had fleas and they could be causing an allergic reaction to the bites (as little as one flea bite can cause a reaction and only large populations of fleas may be visable to you). Stress could be causing it, or even just a hormonal change that sometimes happens with spayed females. Either way a vet check up is your best best. Keep us posted.

[lvpets2002]

;) First = Lets Welcome you & your babies to Pet Talk.. Enjoy all the talks & pics..

Second = Seems good advice given so far.. Good Luck & keep us posted ok..

[Medusa]

Yes, it does sound like it could be an allergy. My Creamsicle licks herself like that and lost a lot of fur. We still haven't pinned down what she's allergic to; we can only keep trying through the process of elimination w/food. Or it could be environmental. Either way, have your vet check it out. And please don't let her out. :)