Exploring Normal to Abnormal Variations of Grooming Behaviours in Cats

BACKGROUND: Grooming is a maintenance behaviour accounting for 4% of a cat's activity budget. It consists of several short bouts, and is modified by pruritus and some psychogenic diseases in cats. OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to describe cats' grooming behaviour, investigating normal variations in relation to hair length and grooming modifications in cats with psychogenic alopecia (fPA). MATERIALS AND METHODS: We analysed 118 videos of 29 healthy cats and seven fPA shorthair cats. We studied five activities for nine body parts performed by cats during grooming, the duration and number of grooming bouts, according to hair length and health status. RESULTS: Major individual variations occurred between cats, with no differences regarding mean grooming bout duration according to hair length or health status. Most (95%) grooming bouts consisted in grooming two to seven body parts. Number of parts groomed by fPA cats was significantly lower than healthy shorthair cats; no differences were noted between healthy cats with different hair length. Hairless cats chewed their skin longer than other cats. fPA cats chewed their skin 10 times longer than healthy shorthair cats (p < 0.001). Licking and rubbing were shorter bouts (p = 0.021). Time spent grooming each zone did not differ with hair length. fPA cats groomed their internal hind limbs significantly longer (p = 0.016) and their neck shorter (p = 0.003) than healthy shorthair cats. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE: This study allows a better understanding of cats' grooming behaviour, helping to identify abnormal grooming behaviours, and supports classification of psychogenic alopecia as an abnormal repetitive behaviour.