bald spots

Thread view:

Enable EMail Alerts

Start New Thread

Thread rating:

Melissa Jones - 16 Mar 2005 17:41 GMT

I have read some of the posts but my 3 yr old male cat has been pulling his
hair out in clumps. He is beginning to show bald spots and I know he is
pulling his hair out because I have found him with clumps in his mouth. It
looks like he has been in a cat fight with himself. There are clumps of
hair strewn about my house. I am taking to vet this week but wondered if
anyone else has had any similar experience.

Reply to this Message

Ted Davis - 16 Mar 2005 22:41 GMT

>I have read some of the posts but my 3 yr old male cat has been pulling his
>hair out in clumps. He is beginning to show bald spots and I know he is
>pulling his hair out because I have found him with clumps in his mouth. It
>looks like he has been in a cat fight with himself. There are clumps of
>hair strewn about my house. I am taking to vet this week but wondered if
>anyone else has had any similar experience.

It's fairly common and is often due to an allergy. Often it's a flea
allergy and products like Frontline and Advantage provide relief by
controlling the fleas. Only you vet can tell for sure.

Note: flea control products that actually work and are safe for the
cat tend to be expensive, but you can buy the large dog size and
measure out your own 0.5 ml doses with a syringe or dropper. The
products you see at the grocery store are either not very effective or
very dangerous to cats, even some sold for cats.

T.E.D. (tdavis@gearbox.maem.umr.edu)
SPAM filter: Messages to this address *must* contain "T.E.D."
somewhere in the body or they will be automatically rejected.

Reply to this Message

Lynn - 17 Mar 2005 04:28 GMT

This is often an allergy. It also may be a stress reaction. There is also
the possibility of some systemic illness. The vet will be able to shed some
light on the situation. Best of luck.

Reply to this Message

Mel - 17 Mar 2005 20:57 GMT

Hi, Melissa!

My 14 year old male has done this now and then over the past years - - -
right now it is really bad. He licks and chews at the fur on his tummy, and
right now has NO fur from about 1/3 to almost all the way down his tummy. I
thought he had stopped, but the little brat fooled me.

My 19 year old "little girl" passed away January 12th...............he had
been doing some chewing of his fur before that.....probably because she was
very ill and I was spending a lot of time with her. After she passed away,
this got worse. His stress seems to have increased, and therefore the
"stripping". I asked my vet for Varitone (a yucky-tasting cream which is
soothing, but tastes bad enough that most cats will foam at the mouth), but
their drug supplier is unfortunately back-ordered about 6 months! I have
been threatening Osker with tabasco sauce, but I would never do that to him

He has only ever done this lick and chew fur to the skin thing when he is
stressed. I cannot always find the cause of the stress, but sometimes the
vet has given me medication to soothe his nerves. This time, it is bad
enough that I need to get him to keep his tongue off all that pink skin.

Your kitty may have an allergy, or it could be stress. With kitties, it is
often difficult to tell what it stressing them. Something as little as
bringing in a new piece of furniture, or even moving furniture around, may
stress them out.

Best of luck with your baby!

Melody

>I have read some of the posts but my 3 yr old male cat has been pulling his
> hair out in clumps. He is beginning to show bald spots and I know he is
> pulling his hair out because I have found him with clumps in his mouth. It
> looks like he has been in a cat fight with himself. There are clumps of
> hair strewn about my house. I am taking to vet this week but wondered if
> anyone else has had any similar experience.

Reply to this Message

Melissa Jones - 17 Mar 2005 21:27 GMT

Thanks guys for the feedback. I do have dogs but have had them since early
December and it hasn't seemed to bother him up until this point. They are
outside dogs so I hoped he would not react negatively to them. If it is a
reaction to the dogs or stress will he always do this? He is known for his
beautiful fluffy coat and super sweet demeanor with all of his/my friends
and I hope that he will not continue to yank his hair out. I do still have
plans to see the vet tomorrow.

Reply to this Message

Mel - 18 Mar 2005 04:01 GMT

Melissa: it would seem odd that he would wait 3 months to react to the dogs
in this manner..................did you bring something into the
house/remove something he was familiar with? My vet had a cat who beame
upset when she changed fabric softeners ................his "blankie"
smelled differently after being washed. She warned me that it is difficult
to tell, often, what might be the stressor, as cats do not think the same as
we. A new piece of furniture is a change, so that can bother them. They
will eventually become used to it, but for some cats, there is that
integration period.

If you normally led a quiet life and then suddenly stepped it up socially,
having more people around could bother kitty. Try to think of even small
changes (movement of food bowls or litter pan to a new area, a change in
litter type or food) that might be a possibility to bring up with your vet.
A short term of medication might just help your kitty through whatever is
bothering him.

I had two "fur-eaters", one of whom is now in Heaven, and I used to work at
the veterinary clinic that my cats go to. A lot of trying to figure out
what is going on with your babies is trying to remember "think cat, not
human" *smile*, as something very minor that would not bother us, such as a
tiny change in their daily ritual, might really stress them out. When I was
on a surgical leave, I started sleeping in until 10 am (yeah I know LAZY!!)
and Osker expressed his distress at the time change from 6 am to 10 by
licking his entire lower abdomen bald in almost no time flat. He always
accompanies me to the washroom when I brush my teeth and wash my face. So
as you see, what may seem quite trivial to us can be a big deal to them.

I wish you all the best at the vet's - - keep us posted!!

Melody (plus Osker the bald-belly and Miss Winkye who isn't bald in the
least!)

> Thanks guys for the feedback. I do have dogs but have had them since early
> December and it hasn't seemed to bother him up until this point. They are
[quoted text clipped - 3 lines]
> and I hope that he will not continue to yank his hair out. I do still have
> plans to see the vet tomorrow.

Reply to this Message

M.C. Mullen - 18 Mar 2005 02:02 GMT

| He has only ever done this lick and chew fur to the skin thing when he is
| stressed. I cannot always find the cause of the stress, but sometimes the
[quoted text clipped - 9 lines]
|
| Melody

Have you ever tried Feliway?

Carola

Reply to this Message

Mel - 18 Mar 2005 17:07 GMT

Hi, Carol!

I didn't even think of that - - thank you! Feliway worked well with my
little girl when she decided that bare tummies were current fashion (we
never did figure out what set off her one-time chew-out spell).

I will make a call to my vet today, to ensure they have it in their sale
stock - - - their clinic is ~ 3 minute drive away. The Feliway spray is
definitely preferable to medicating! My vet clinic uses it in their kennels
to soothe their patients.

Thank you again for the tip!

Melody

> | He has only ever done this lick and chew fur to the skin thing when he
> is
[quoted text clipped - 17 lines]
>
> Carola

Reply to this Message

Rate this thread: