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My cat is licking off big bald spots of fur

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none - 24 Apr 2004 06:01 GMT
My cat is licking off big bald spots of fur.

The spots are on his belly back and front leg.

We have had him to the Vet twice. Full exam with blood tests etc and
we have always given him excellent vet care and food and affection.

No disease or pests of any sort found.

Sometimes he licks so hard it bleeds a little.

We have two other cats that he lives with that seem to be fine.

He sleeps well and eats well and otherwise seems OK.

Any ideas?

Very worried about my old friend "Happy".
Grandpa
Jon C - 24 Apr 2004 07:07 GMT
Did the vet offer any explanation?

> My cat is licking off big bald spots of fur.
>
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> Very worried about my old friend "Happy".
> Grandpa
none - 24 Apr 2004 12:39 GMT
>Did the vet offer any explanation?

Not really....didn't know for sure. Prescribed anti-deressents
thinking it was, perhaps, something behavioral but did no good.
Laura R. - 24 Apr 2004 15:39 GMT
circa Sat, 24 Apr 2004 06:39:50 -0500, in rec.pets.cats.health+behav,
none (none@none.net) said,

> >Did the vet offer any explanation?
>
> Not really....didn't know for sure. Prescribed anti-deressents
> thinking it was, perhaps, something behavioral but did no good.

What about a dietary switch? Ask your vet to give you one of the
veterinary foods for cats with allergies- they usually have a single,
"unusual" protein source, such as rabbit or venison. Also, how long
has this been going on, and how long was the cat on the
antidepressants?

Laura
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I am Dyslexia of Borg,
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Karen Chuplis - 24 Apr 2004 12:43 GMT
> My cat is licking off big bald spots of fur.
>
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> Very worried about my old friend "Happy".
> Grandpa

Sometimes this if from allergies (possibly food) and sometimes it is a
developed compulsive obsessive disorder. I would try the allergy track and
talk to a feline vet (or at least get a second opinion) and if that does not
solve it, I would be tempted to try an antidepressant (again talk to vet.)
m. L. Briggs - 24 Apr 2004 20:06 GMT
>My cat is licking off big bald spots of fur.
>
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
>Very worried about my old friend "Happy".
>Grandpa

Think contact allergies!  What kind of carpet is he laying on?  Does
he go outside?  Does he lay on cement?   Any chemicals he comes in
contact with?   etc..........
nobody@junk.min.net - 24 Apr 2004 21:37 GMT
>My cat is licking off big bald spots of fur.

He could be allergic to something.  Fish, perhaps, if you feed him tuna or
or other fish cat food?

Alan

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none - 25 Apr 2004 08:47 GMT
>>My cat is licking off big bald spots of fur.
>
>He could be allergic to something.  Fish, perhaps, if you feed him tuna or
>or other fish cat food?
>
>Alan

Happy (the sick one) and Nick get,
Science Diet Senior+7
and our young cat gets Science Diet Adult.

All of them get a few of the Science Diet d/t nuggets to keep their
teeth clean.

We will give them special treats from time to time but nothing over
the top. The vet says their weights are right on the money.  Nick the
feral cat has only been to the vet once-he just wouldn't put up with
being caught and put in a cage. So far he has never had a sick day in
his life.

With the exception of Happy's bald spots all of them have good clean
coats, healthy mouths and good clear eyes and are active and alert.

Grandpa
minerva nine - 25 Apr 2004 06:50 GMT
Is this new behaviour, or has he always done it?  How long has he been doing
it?  How old is he? -- M9

> My cat is licking off big bald spots of fur.
>
[quoted text clipped - 15 lines]
> Very worried about my old friend "Happy".
> Grandpa
none - 25 Apr 2004 08:25 GMT
>Is this new behaviour, or has he always done it?  How long has he been doing
>it?  How old is he? -- M9

He has been doing this for about two months and is nine years old.

He lives with two other cats and none of them are ever allowed to run
free. The cats have their own nice warm south facing porch protected
by chicken wire where they can lay in the sun and watch the birds and
stuff. We live in the woods in an isolated rural situation.

The other two cats are Nick 15 years old who is feral. He has never
allowed us to touch him but he will sleep at the foot of our bed and
gets along well with the other cats and us otherwise. He is our only
mouser which is very important to us living as we do out here in the
woods-our place would be over-run with field mice without him.

Little Man is a young stray we brought in a little over a year ago who
seems to have adjusted well to our household. Affectionate and always
knocking things off the desk and tables to get our attention when he
wants something from us. Just a good sound all-around stray barn cat.

Happy we got from my niece when he was about 5 years old when she
could no longer keep him. He is a Siamese. He is a very people-centric
cat who has little interest in the other cats. He sleeps between us in
the bed. He is always the first to notice our leaving the house and
the only one sitting in the window waiting for our return when we come
driving up the driveway. It  could be the most beautiful warm day with
the other two cats sitting in the sun out on the porch but happy will
be right next to me on the desk as I work on office stuff. His humans
seem to mean everything to him.

I wish I could do something for him.... I'm thinking of bringing him
into the University Vet school to see what they might have to say. The
local vets are primarily large animal vets for the local farmers and
may not be up on cat behavior problems.

Grandpa
minerva nine - 25 Apr 2004 23:26 GMT
Any changes at all in the house, food, schedule, etc. that would coincide
with when he started?  When I've seen this it's been either an allergy or a
stress reaction.  When allergic, cats get itchy skin rather than runny noses
and watery eyes like we do.  Any new plants or new kinds of food he's been
exposed to?  Changed laundry detergent recently?  Anything new in the house
that he might have rubbed on or eaten?  As far as the stress goes, since he
is so attached to you he's going to be extra-sensitive to any changes in
schedule, behaviour, etc.  If it's none of these I'd have the vet check him
to make sure nothing organic is wrong -- M9

> >Is this new behaviour, or has he always done it?  How long has he been doing
> >it?  How old is he? -- M9
[quoted text clipped - 33 lines]
>
> Grandpa
Gee - 26 Apr 2004 03:21 GMT
> My cat is licking off big bald spots of fur.
>
> The spots are on his belly back and front leg.
>
> We have had him to the Vet twice. Full exam with blood tests etc and
> we have always given him excellent vet care and food and affection.

> Any ideas?
>
> Very worried about my old friend "Happy".
> Grandpa

Pulling his hair generaly means stress, boredom or habit. Try finding out
what may have happened 2 moths ago when he started this. Since he's
madically OK, he is either still doing it cos of stress or now he's too used
to doing it to stop.

Pls check some of the sites I found on Google search:

http://www.vetinfo.com/cathair.html#Cat%20pulling%20out%20fur
http://www.vetinfo.com/catfur.html
http://or.essortment.com/atopydiseaseca_rnsc.htm
http://medicinegarden.com/Pets/CatPullingHair.html
http://www.practical-pet-care.com/cat_question.php?ID=2.2004041411395176
http://www.auspet.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000236.html
http://www.auspet.com/ubb/Forum1/HTML/000180.html
http://www.petpeoplesplace.com/Advice/cats/behavior/06.htm
http://www.billingsgazette.com/community/20001009_cvet.html
http://www.voy.com/74269/7.html
http://handicappedpets.com/msgboard.mv?parm_func=showmsg+parm_msgnum=1007957

Gee
 
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