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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / March 2005Balding cat
Hi Who has a balding cat, every winter our Floss washes and washes until she has no fur left. She looks so sad. I have heard she may have climate change stress, anyone heard of this. Lorraine > Hi > Who has a balding cat, every winter our Floss washes and washes until > she has no fur left. She looks so sad. I have heard she may have > climate change stress, anyone heard of this. > Lorraine It could also be dry skin from having the heat on in the winter. She could be itchy, and this is causing her to overgroom. Take her to the vet, this needs medical attention. Also, try adding a humidifier and look into derma-caps.  Signature-Kelly kelly at farringtons dot net "Wake up, and smell the cat food" -TMBG Did the Derma Caps work? What are they? > Did the Derma Caps work? What are they? I haven't used them myself, but I've heard from others that they help control itchy skin and excessive shedding. http://www.thepetcenter.com/exa/derm_cap_win.html Signature-Kelly kelly at farringtons dot net "Wake up, and smell the cat food" -TMBG Or an allergy to something that comes out that time of year. If you think it is stress, try buying a Feliway diffuser to see if it helps. Your winters are milder than us (usually) maybe there is a mold or spore that she is allergic to. > Hi > Who has a balding cat, every winter our Floss washes and washes until > she has no fur left. She looks so sad. I have heard she may have > climate change stress, anyone heard of this. > Lorraine > Hi > Who has a balding cat, every winter our Floss washes and washes until > she has no fur left. She looks so sad. I have heard she may have > climate change stress, anyone heard of this. > Lorraine It was stress with my cat. I figured out what was bothering her, removed it, and she stopped. My cat, Kathleen, who is an 8 year old spayed female who lives indoors and is the only animal in the house, is having a sort-of similar problem. For the past couple of weeks she has been scratching, itching, licking, biting on herself. It's not fleas. I took her to the vets this morning and they gave her a shot (depo-medrol is how it's listed on the bill). The vet said it should give her a couple weeks relief. According to the notes the vet keeps each time s/he sees Kathleen, she has had this problem a couple of times over the last two years, but not to this extent. Kathleen is not bald, but the fur on her tummy and the back of her hind legs is sparse, and she has a scab on her back. The vet said maybe it was a food allergy and suggested some food they sell there which has an alternative protein source--duck + peas, venison + peas, etc. The vet said I could try changing her food to that alternative protein source stuff and see if it helps, and if it doesn't, well, then try something else. She said maybe styroids. Any suggestions on what to do? If it's a food allergy or any other allergy, why doesn't it present a problem all year long? >Any suggestions on what to do? If it's a food allergy or any other >allergy, why doesn't it present a problem all year long? Food allergies can come on suddenly in cats -- even if the cat has been eating the food just fine for years. If this behaviour has only started in the last couple of weeks, it's not going to hurt anything to give the novel protein diets a try. Orchid See Orchid's Kitties! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/bengalpage Want a Purebred Cat? Read This! -- http://nik.ascendancy.net/orchid I hadn't realized food allergies could come on suddenly for cats. I don't mind trying a new food to see if it works. But what has me stumped is--Kathleen had a similar bout of this a year ago (according to the vets notes), although not to this extent and it came + went without any treatment. If this is a result of a food allergy, wouldn't she be plagued with it all year, not just once last year and then now again? > I hadn't realized food allergies could come on suddenly for cats. I > don't mind trying a new food to see if it works. But what has me stumped > is--Kathleen had a similar bout of this a year ago (according to the > vets notes), although not to this extent and it came + went without any > treatment. If this is a result of a food allergy, wouldn't she be > plagued with it all year, not just once last year and then now again? Yes. Provided her food stayed the same. What has changed since she began overgrooming? Climate, season, household members, food, detergent? Another cat coming into her turf, or seen through the window? Have you been out more, or in more? Make a list, and figure that she was overgrooming for a couple of weeks before she was bald enough for you to notice. Trust me on this. It just happened to my cat. I kid you not, I just posted a message about my cat with the same problem. I don't know what to do. I feel so bad for her - my vet gave - I shouldn't say gave, he SOLD us some spray oatmeal based relief spray and SOLD us a lamp shade looking thing....SHE HATES IT!! But, it makes her stop licking.... I feel bad for you kitty, but at least now I know she's not the only one out there with this problem. |
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