rubric help needed--compulsive washing in a cat

[Celia M. Malm]

One of my cats has been licking herself excessively, which has left her with
bare spots where she's actually rubbed off the fur, mostly on the back half
of her body, although I noticed a spot on her front leg that has received
the same treatment. I never *catch* her licking herself compulsively, but I
know this is the reason for the hair loss, because she experienced the same
thing about a year and a half ago, and the vet examined the hair under a
microscope and determined that the cause was excessive licking.

My problem: the last time she had this, I gave her a remedy which cleared it
up promptly. But I can't remember what remedy I gave her, or even how I
chose it at the time! So I'm starting at square one, repping the case. But
I'm having no success, with my limited reps (Boericke and Kent), locating
rubrics for excessive/compulsive washing or cleaning. Can anyone help me out
here? Thanks in advance!
Cee

[Rosemary Hyde]

Hi, Cee.
This symptom generally brings Syphilinum to mind.
Rubrics:

MIND - WASHING - desire to wash

psor.ptk1 sanguis-s.hrn2 syph.ptk1 tarent.lpc,mtf33 tub.jl2
MIND - WASHING - desire to wash - hands; always washing her

agar.sne0 allox.tpw4 ars.bg,mrr carc.mlr1 cocaptk1,st,vh cur.vh kali-s.fd4.de Lac-c.mtf33,ptk1,st,vh Med.mtf33,st,vh merc.fd,gb,gk nat-m.bg,ckh1,ctc1,mrr,mtf33,vh Nat-sil.fd3.de Oscilloc.jl2 petr-ra.shn4 plat.k13,wt psor.k13,mtf33,ptk1,vh,wr sanguis-s.hrn2 sep.mtf,vh sil.gg,k13,mtf33 Sulph.fd,gb,k13,vh Syph.gk,jl2,k,mrr1,mtf33,ptk1 thuj.mlk1,mtf33,vh tub.jl2
MIND - WASHING - desire to wash - face; always washing her

puls.mtf33
MIND - WASHING - desire to wash - monomania

Sil.k Sulph.k
Hope one of those rubrics helps.
Rosemary

[Rochelle Marsden]

How about these?

Murphy3, Mind; COMPULSIVE, obsessive disorders, anh[1], arg-n[2],
ars[2], calc[2], carc[3], caust[1], con[1], cupr[1], foll[1], hyos[3],
iod[1], kali-c[1], lyss[1], manc[1], med[2], merc[1], nat-m[1],
nux-v[3], pin-s[1], rat[1], rhus-t[1], sulph[1], syph[1], tub[1]

Complete 2008, Mind; washing, bathing; desire for; cleanliness, mania
for:, agar[1], am-i[1], arist-cl[1], ars[1], clad-r[1], coca[1],
cur[1], herin[1], ignis[1], lac-c[3], lycps[1], med[3], merc[1],
nat-m[3], neon[2], oscilloc[1], plat[1], posit[1], psor[1], pter-a[1],
puls[1], sep[1], sil[1], sulph[3], syph[3], tax[1], thuj[1], uran[2],
vani-p[1]

Complete 2008, Mind; washing, bathing; desire for:, adam[1], agar[1],
am-i[1], arist-cl[1], ars[1], bos-s[2], chir-f[1], clad-r[1], coca[1],
cur[1], herin[1], ignis[1], lac-c[3], lycps[1], med[3], meph[1],
merc[1], nat-m[3], neon[1], oscilloc[1], phyt[1], plat[1], posit[1],
psor[1], pter-a[1], puls[1], sep[1], sil[1], sulph[2], syph[1],
tarent[1], tax[1], thuj[1], torul[1], uran[1], vani-p[2], zea-i[1]
Rochelle
--
Registered Homeopath
www.southporthomeopathy.co.uk

[Irene de Villiers]

Dear Cee,
It is very likely in my opinion that your cat has the symptoms return
because there was some "maintaining cause" that you did not remove.
If such a case came my way as a vethom, I'd look first at the diet to
find that cause - for example alfalfa in the food would cause this, as
would any number of other feline toxins common in cat foods.
SO before you look for a remedy - see if you can remove the cause?
Then your remedy has a better chance of long-term results.
Homeopathy is not enough alone when something maintains the problem -
I suspect that is the situation you see. It is a VERY common one with
cats, as the majority of cat foods contain toxins and the majority of
vets (including so-called homeopathic vets) know nothing about which
ingredients are toxic to cats.
Feline toxins in cat food is a huge problem. It might not be yours
but it is so common and the hyperesthesia and licking are so common a
result, that I think this is worth follow-up.
Namaste,
Irene
--
Irene de Villiers, B.Sc AASCA MCSSA D.I.Hom/D.Vet.Hom.
P.O. Box 4703 Spokane WA 99220.
www.angelfire.com/fl/furryboots/clickhere.html (Veterinary Homeopath.)
"Man who say it cannot be done should not interrupt one doing it."

[Celia M. Malm]

> SO before you look for a remedy - see if you can remove the cause?

I'm not sure that it could be the food. She eats the same foods as she did
before we moved to the small town where we live now. This symptom did not
start until after we moved here. The major change in that is that she is
allowed outside now, which she was not when we lived in the city. Our vet
checked her for pests (fleas, etc.) and didn't find a problem.

It probably sounds odd, and I may be totally mistaken, but I think that
perhaps it has something to do with the other cats in the
neighborhood--specifically, male cats trying to mate with her despite the
fact that she's been "fixed." At the least, she has unpleasant encounters
with other cats (whether there is an element of sexual abuse going on or
not).

She likes very much to go outside, so I do not want to try to keep her in.
But that's the only way I could remove whatever maintaining cause is going
on from her going outside.

Thanks for your help, everyone!
Cee

[Tanya Marquette]

so are you dealing with a mental/emotional condition? there are
certainly remedies that would be appropriate. using MIND rubrics,
there are those that deal with anxiety in public or fear of strangers.
there are rubrics for fear of being attacked, etc, etc.

i would explore this as a direction to go in and see whether it makes
sense to you.

tanya
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[Shannon Nelson]

Hi Cee,
If you were to describe her, or her case, aside from the licking, what
would it look like? What's her personality, preferences, etc.? Have
there been changes in anything else about her (temperament or etc.)
since your move?
Shannon

[Celia M. Malm]

> If you were to describe her, or her case, aside from the licking, what

She has never been a really affectionate cat. She will come to be petted
sometimes, and will lie on the bed with a person if she's not disturbed, but
she has never liked being picked up. She doesn't go out of her way to fight
with other cats, but she will fight if forced to it. She's very fond of
going outdoors. She's usually very quiet (unless she wants something in
particular) and often seems to make herself "invisible"--finding a quiet
spot to curl up in where no one notices. As I mentioned before, I never seem
to *catch* her at the excessive licking, although I know it's going on.

She's a smallish cat, not skinny or fat. She was spayed rather late, because
I was waiting until she went into heat, and it took months of her going into
heat repeatedly for it to become apparent that she was, in fact, in heat.
(I've had many cats over the years, so I know what a female cat in heat acts
like, and she *didn't* make it at all obvious.) The skin on her abdomen is
loose and saggy since she was spayed.

The only thing that changed in her temperament after we moved was that she
seemed happier because she was able to go outside.

As I'm looking at the rubrics that people have kindly posted (thank you!),
I'm seeing Nat-M under Mind; washing, bathing; desire for; cleanliness,
mania for. Does her personality strike you (as it does me, now that I think
about it) as Nat-M? Or am I totally off-track? I know that whatever remedy
it was that I gave her before, it was something I already had to hand. I
just wish I could remember how I chose it!

I really need to get a veterinary repertory one of these days--can anyone
recommend a good one?

Thanks!
Cee

[Luise Kunkle]

Hi Celia,
Did you ever consider that she may lick because the skin itches?

Regards

Luise
--
One thought to all who, free of doubt,
So definitely know what's true:
2 and 2 is 22 -
and 2 times 2 is 2:-)
==========> ICQ yinyang 96391801 <==========

[Celia M. Malm]

> Did you ever consider that she may lick because the skin itches?

When this first started, I looked for signs or sources of irritation on the
skin, but didn't find any. And she doesn't lick the skin raw, as I would
expect her to do if she were trying to get rid of an itch; she just licks
the fur until it wears down. (This has gone on for several months, both
times, so it's not just a matter of "not yet.")

That's the problem with animal patients--you can't ask them questions like
"Does it itch?" or "Why are you doing that?"

Thanks for the suggestion!
Cee