Any change in general behaviour is indicative of something not being quite right, could be due to ill health and and it is vital to take the cat to the vet first and foremost in order to eliminate any physiological cause or medical cause before the symptoms are to be addressed and normal behaviour restored.
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Interestingly enough, an unwanted behaviour that may have started with a physiological cause (either a medical condition, or due to diet or pharmacological cause) may have turned into a learned behaviour. One of the most obvious examples is excessive licking of a particular area of the body, which could have been an original reaction to a skin condition like seborrheic dermatitis, a fungal infection or irritation due to flea infestation. As the licking provided relief from discomfort, the cat developed a habit and this habit persisted long after the condition was eliminated, thus becoming a compulsive behaviour. Begging and overeating are also one problem behaviour which could have originated in a medical condition due to a pharmacological cause, like iatrogenic (corticosteroid medication induced) Cushing’s syndrome. One side effect is increased appetite. The cure is slow withdrawal of the corticosteroid medication so that the adrenal glands can recover normal function. The cat may have developed a habit of begging and overeating during the disease and kept up the same behaviour after recovery.