Feline Compulsive Disorders

Dr. Dodman provided information on the common presentation of three compulsive behaviors in cats - wool sucking/pica, psychogenic alopecia and feline hyperesthesia syndrome. He addressed the cause and treatment of each disorder, including genetic foundations, environmental pressures that trigger them, and environmental and pharmacologic therapies that have been shown to reduce, or in some cases practically eliminate their expression. He outlined a phenotypic study of wool sucking funded by Winn, listing potential causes and preventive measures that can be taken to reduce the occurrence of this troubling and occasionally lethal condition. Also, Dr. Dodman discussed findings of a Winn-funded study to locate atypical genomic regions in Birman cats affected with this condition.