Compulsive disorders in cats are normal behaviours, such as grooming, sucking or hunting sequences, performed so often or so intensely that they interfere with normal function or cause injury. They usually start in situations of conflict, frustration or high arousal and may continue after the original trigger has gone. Because many medical diseases look the same, compulsive disorder is a diagnosis of exclusion (Merck 2025).
Key facts
Compulsive disorders at a glance- Species and system: cat; behaviour, overlapping with dermatology and neurology.
- Main forms: overgrooming (psychogenic alopecia), feline hyperaesthesia syndrome, wool sucking and other pica, tail chasing and self-trauma.
- Key point: psychogenic alopecia is overdiagnosed; 16 of 21 referred cats (76%) had a medical cause of pruritus (Waisglass 2006).
- Breeds: Siamese, Burmese and Tonkinese cats suck woollen objects more often than other cats (Merck 2025).
- Treatment: environmental enrichment and stress reduction, behaviour modification, and fluoxetine or clomipramine when needed.
- Not zoonotic and not reportable.
What's inside
12 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prevention and monitoring
- Prognosis
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 4 tables, 1 figure, 3 self-test questions and 9 references, available to NAVLE members.
Read the full study guide
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