Take her to a vet. They can prescribe kitty valium. My cat had a problem with overgrooming and the vet said cats can be stressed by all sorts of stuff, like the dog a few doors down that we can't even hear.

On the other hand, if it's only her ears, she might have ear mites, which many stray cats do. This is why you want the vet.

How long has she been with your? You don't know how long she was on her own or what kind of situations she was in or what kind of run-ins with other animals or people or struggles to fin d food/water. It can take a while for a once-homeless cat to feel secure in her new home and recover from what's basically PTSD

Yes definitely have a vet check but before going onto valium I think I would try Feliway plug in .... but with this caveat - for some cats it doesn't do anything at all and some small percentage of cats can have a bad reaction to Feliway. (My orange cat recently did with the multicat formula - which is what alerted me to this.) Also diet - is cat getting enough protein/oil/wet food for good skin and coat.

That's going to be my last option as seeing the vet only terrifies her. She had a major dental problem when I first adopted her from my back door and that with usual new cat vet visits it's the last place she wants to be. She loves going in the car after the first 15 minutes when she is sure she is not going to the vet. It really calms her down and loves looking out the window or sitting on the console next to me. I was hoping someone had found some other tranquil type chews. I found a couple since I posted and will see if I can get them locally since I'm not about to buy a lot until I find they work. Thanks anyway.

Google ear mites and check her for them. I think you get some kind of black dust if you swab her ear. Parasites can cause animals to really hurt themselves scratching. My guinea pig scratched himself so badly he has a scar before a vet managed to diagnose mange mites and prescribe medicine.

She's loose in the car? What about at the vet?

Ear mites? I'll check them out. Never thought of that. I have looked in them but they seem pretty clean. She has been 100% indoors since she came here, she'll sometimes stand on the inside garage doorstep if I go out and leave the door open but never outdoors on her own. She wears a harness when I take her outdoors on pleasant days or in the car. Worry not, her harness is strapped to her carrier seat belt.

Mites can burrow down into their ears out of site and drive them crazy. Our older cat had them so bad we were constantly at the Vets. Ear infections can also cause a similar response of over grooming.

You sound like you love your cat very much so you probably already know this, but they do tend to hide symptoms when ill so your kitty could be sick with an infection and you wouldn't know it. Happens all the time.

The majority of cats don't like going to the vet, but part of being a good animal parent is doing what's in the cats best interest even when it's not what the cat would want. And if he's skittish already, it's also better to have someone else do the cleaning and treatment so your cat doesn't relate that negative experience directly to you. Lastly, I've never used a harness on our kitties and it sounds like a great way to enable an indoor cat to step out once in a while, but when in a stressful situation, the carriers do tend to make them feel more secure. Just a thought.

I agree...my cats LOATHED visiting the vet, like all cats, but it's necessary. Terrapots, I hope you will take your kitty in and rule out ear mites or skin parasites or some other condition.

If she's losing weight & pacing as well, she may have hyper-thyroidism, which isn't rare in cats.

I wish you the best!

Thanks again. She seems to have slowed up on over-grooming since it has gotten colder. Her fur is filling in some. She eats well, eats her usual servings well, and her behavior has not changed much. I did change her canned food some and maybe that has something to do with it or the cold weather. I don't want to start her on RX tranquilizers as my daughter's cat has been on them and she is still having problems. She has not gained or lost any weight.

Feliway diffuser. Also, please check out Jackson Galaxy's "catification" tips -- providing safe hideaways to the cat's taste (up high or down low) for example.