Reactive licking

[manana]

my female cat starts to lick her front paw/leg as soon as I pet her backside above the tail. This is the same reaction when petting her hip. Have also noticed her licking almost unconciously, on the bedspread on our bed, in fact she licks enough to leave a wet spot. Today I lifted her up and checked her hip for ticks and she let out a disturbed meow. Nothing was found. She has not lost any hair.

Thanks for any suggestions/help

[aligator79]

My male tuxedo cat does exactly the same thing.  I asked the vet because he seemed to have really flaky skin when I would scratch or brush him.  She said it is probably dry skin and to use baby lotion on him.  I have taken the baby lotion and massaged it in as much as I can.  It seems to help him, but he still gets twitchy.  It is much worse during the winter than it is during the summer.  It's hard not to mess with him because he looks so funny, but it seems kinda mean to mess with him.. HAHA

[Savas]

Yeah...it sounds normal to me. If this is a sudden, new obsessive behavior though...I'd consider the possibility she's stressed over something. As long as she isn't removing fur to the skin, I wouldn't worry.

[Soror]

This is normal behavior, in my experience.