@JourneymanGeek Very true, and a different framing would definitely make it a better question. I can't ignore the welfare of the animals; there's a lot of similar questions where there's a base answer to give ("Here is the safe level of supplements" "Here is how to add water to cat food") but the "real" question is different from the title ("Is your cat actually deficient?" "Is your cat actually dehydrated?")

In this case "How do I stop the overgrooming?" would be a decent summary of the "real" question, and the target question of "how heavy of a collar should I use" could be reached fairly easily.

"My cat is overgrooming. We've been to the vet, and are treating with an anti-itch ointment, but want to help protect her skin during the treatment using a soft collar. My cat is this size, is this amount of weight around her neck okay?"

The way the question was posed danced around the actual treatment question, refusing to offer up that information in a way that made it very much seem like they were skipping any medical treatment of the issue at all

yup

I think the latter's not a good question because it depends on the cat

I think it could be formed into a good one, if it's genericized out a bit to factor in size/different sizes. It would need a more agreeable starting point/not someone who's stressed by their cat's stress and taking it out on the stack