Is This A Past Memory Come Back To Trouble My Cat?

[chanel5]

I would like to ask the opinion of any cat lovers on this site.
One of my cats (female, 10 years old) was the sole survivor of a fire that killed her three siblings when they were about 3 weeks old, still being nursed by their semi-feral mother. The mother was able to save only one kitten, which she picked up and carried in her mouth. As the mother ran through the burning material, we think she may have dropped the kitten once or twice and picked it up again, as both mother and kitten suffered burns to their paws, legs and face. They went to the vet together, recovered together, fur grew in patchy clumps where the burn scars were, and they have lived happy lives together in my house.
Just over a year ago, the mother died of kidney failure.
Since then, the daughter (now 10 years old) has begun pulling any remaining hairs out of her legs, so that her legs are once more completely bald, as they were when she was a kitten.
The vet can find no physical cause for this and says it is a behavioural phenomenon. I have tried Feliway, different types of bedding, cuddly toys, special food, extra attention, but nothing stops her.
Is this a grief reaction, because of the mother's death? Has the bereavement triggered the memory of the painful burns that she suffered as a kitten?
I would appreciate any opinions or advice as I want to see her happy again.

[TheChair]

//Is this a grief reaction, because of the mother's death?//
Almost certainly.

//Has the bereavement triggered the memory of the painful burns that she suffered as a kitten?//
Doubtful.

[woofgang]

age 10, she might also be beginning to dement which in dogs at least can make a stress reaction worse. Don’t know if you can get them for cats, but there are meds available that can help dogs with dementia.

[hereIam]

If she started doing it straight after her mother died, then yes it could be grief. Animals suffer from it too.

[chanel5]

That's a good point, woofgang, her age might be a factor in this. I expected her to miss her mother, of course, but over a year later she is still carrying on with the grief-related behaviour.
I would love to know what I can do to her her with it.

[woofgang]

talk to the vet about dementia meds