Hello, I just got my first Bengal kitten about 4 weeks ago. (Feels like it was longer then that, she's grown so much in such a short time frame! :D) Everything has been going great with her, it only took her a day to adjust to her new home and to start properly using her litter box. She explores the entire apartment, plays tons, and sleeps on our laps when she's tuckered out.

However, we have started noticing in the last week that when we go to bed or sometimes when we are on the computer and she jumps into our laps that she will begin to groom herself. On its own that would be fine, but she only seems to be interested in grooming one location, her right back thigh right at the bending location between body and leg. To add to that she will continue to groom herself for an excessive period of time, sometimes it feels like only 5-10 minutes and other times when we are laying to to sleep it's like she won't stop. I feel like I have to choose between letting my little princess sleep in our bedroom and get little to no sleep from her bathing herself, or put her in the living room so that I can function at work the next day.

It has had me very concerned, so I have been keeping an eye on it to make sure she does not show any fur loss or injuries there, so far there has been no sign of injury or fur loss. (First thought was maybe she hurt herself, and the second was that maybe she was while doing it.) Sometimes we will try to get her to stop by distracting her with a toy, but a lot of the time she does not do it until we are ready to go to sleep.

Has anyone else experienced this or have any advice? - If it continues for much longer I am going to have no choice but to make a vet appointment to see if there is something going on.

Welcome to our forum. Excessive grooming is not uncommon. Sometimes there can be a skin irritation causing this. Other times, it becomes an obsession with the cat, just like OCD in humans. If she starts to show any bald spots, please take her to the vet for a complete checkup. It is better to be safe than sorry!

Know that my cat will take a very long time to groom his entire body. Once he starts, he does not stop until he is finished! But, one bath a day is about he does.

Glad to know that it is not uncommon, I will definitely take her to the vet if it she shows any signs of balding or injury from it. If it seemed like a normal bathing process I would not be as concerned, but it is the only place she will lick. - When she bathes it does not seem to take her very long, but she's still young so I that may change as she gets older.

I am actually starting to think that it may be out of boredom, because the same night I posted this thread I took her outside for a walk and played with her. Afterwards she curled up right next to me in bed for a decent 2-4 hours with no need to lick her leg. However, then my partner came to bed and apparently woke her up because after that she started to lick that one spot again. - I might be getting a new position at work, which would mean a promotion, so if that is the case then I'll look into getting her a playmate with her same energy level to see if that fixes it. Otherwise I will just try and continue to wear her out at night to see if that helps.

Over-grooming is a pretty generic symptom. It can be stress, some type of illness, or an allergy (either food allergy or an allergy to something in the environment), or it can be something like fleas or other parasite. It's a good idea to see the vet if it persists, but it can be really challenging to nail down.

_________________
The little monsters 3

She's still continuing to do it, but I still have not seen any sign of it seeming to hurt her or affect her fur in that location. - On a strange note she always kneads while doing it, and the other night she seemed to fall asleep while continuing to do it. Wondering if instead of licking or chewing, maybe she's sucking on her leg?

I was aware of the possibility of it being an allergy or stress induced, but nothing has really changed. If anything she has seemed happier and more relaxed. The past three nights she's slept in bed with my partner and me almost through the entire night or at least to my knowledge. - This morning she was bouncing off the walls and pounced my face to wake me up. Quite the rude awakening, but she's typically really good about not using claws on us so I think she was just a bit too playful to pay attention. - As for food, I have been using the same kind that her breeder used, and will be switching her over to Wellness Core after we run out. (I have given her a bit of it here and there just to make sure that the switch-over will be smooth. She's such a pig I think she'd eat anything! )

Regardless thank you to both of you for your responses. Like I said if it seems to start harming her or her coat I will definitely get her to the vet for a checkup. In the meantime, I guess as long as it doesn't bother her then I will just put up with the noise.

Spend some time Googling the issue. You may find some help there.

My two cats have been doing this for years and both have licked and chewed the fur off their bellies. Sometimes they break the skin. My vet thought it was an invisible mite and had me bring them in every week for sulfur lime dips. $800 later it did nothing to help the situation and seemed to make it worse. I am not really sure what to try next. They make the most annoying sound while doing this.

Sherry - I had done what I thought was a fairly extensive google search prior to posting, but had inevitably come here because I thought another Bengal owner might have a similar experience and some advice on how to handle it. However, I had not looked into the licking/biting/sucking with kneading as an additional keyword and was quite pleased to find what I think may be the answer! Apparently "When kittens nurse, they knead at their mother’s abdomen to help stimulate the flow of milk." (Feel like I heard that somewhere once upon a time, but it would have been many moons ago now), so I think that she is probably sucking on her leg while kneading to simulate nursing. When we originally got her I thought she was around 15 weeks, but it was closer to 11 or 12. She came already weaned onto hard food and litter trained, my guess is that they weaned her too early. The article I read stated that it is possible that she could be stressed or seeking comfort if she is kneading and 'nursing' at the same time. - Best case she will grow out of it, worst case she won't. Regardless that is a better possible outcome than an allergy or mites.

Bengal kittens are usually started on solid food at around 7 to 8 weeks. They usually leave the breeder around 12 weeks. It is very possible that kittens continue the kneading and nursing, but there is a difference between suckling and licking. Just keep an eye on her and make sure the area she is going after doesn't have anything else going on with it.