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  #1  
Old December 31st, 2014, 01:21 PM
2dogs&acat 2dogs&acat is offline
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Hair loss in my cat

My 2 1/2 year old cat is going bald. Her legs, sides and belly are where it is the worse. I thought it might be from the food which she all of a sudden started vomiting and not eating. Switched foods. No more vomiting and she likes it but the hair loss continued. My vet said it is excessive grooming from stress from our new puppy. I tried that i calm misting thing, no luck.
We have had the puppy 3 and half months now and the hair loss continues. I don't really see my cat grooming herself that often. So we are going to go back to the vet. Could it be thyroid? What else should I have the vet check for and has anyone else had a cat do this? She is otherwise playful and what fur she has left is shiny and she has no signs of illness. Thanks for any advice.
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Old December 31st, 2014, 02:39 PM
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http://www.peteducation.com/article....1+2141&aid=195
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Old December 31st, 2014, 05:13 PM
2dogs&acat 2dogs&acat is offline
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Thanks for the link. After reading all the symptoms I think it may be Psychogenic (neurogenic) dermatitis. She is an indoor cat. Vet didn't find any parasites. The skin is not inflamed anywhere and the head and back isn't affected at all. We do lots of play time, she loves her laser, and she gets coconut oil 3 times a week which we thought may help. She is a rescue also and has always been kind of needy so maybe the puppy taking so much of our time is stressing her out. Still, one more vet visit to make sure we haven't missed anything and maybe try rescue, does that stuff work?
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Old January 1st, 2015, 10:10 AM
2dogs&acat 2dogs&acat is offline
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Also I was wondering. Would bitter apple on her fur deter or just make her sick. Worked for the puppy.
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Old January 1st, 2015, 11:25 AM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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I would not put anything on her until you know why her fur is falling out.
Is she coughing up a lot of fur balls ?
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  #6  
Old January 1st, 2015, 03:08 PM
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Loki Love Loki Love is offline
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I would have a full blood panel done - just to make sure nothing is off, and that would rule out any thyroid issues.
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Old January 1st, 2015, 06:16 PM
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Thyroid issues in such a young cat would be extremely rare. I'd look more at the food (what was she eating before, and what did you switch her too?), and also stress as your vet mentioned. Does the puppy bother her? Does she have easy escape routes, lots of vertical places to hang out on, and plenty of opportunity to be away from the puppy?
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Old January 1st, 2015, 10:08 PM
2dogs&acat 2dogs&acat is offline
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She was on natural balance which she liked but a few months ago started to vomit when she ate it and then refused to eat it. We had tried a few hundred dollars of wet food trying to get her to eat wet but the only wet food she will eat is baby food, beef or chicken. So I switched her to Flint River Ranch grain free, she really likes it so I was hoping it would help. She gets coconut oil and sardine oil. The hair she has left looks really shiny and good. The puppy, being a terrier will chase her but we are breaking her of it, but the cat instigates it often as she is young and likes to play. She has perches and tables to get on for escape. The puppy is 5 months now and better about picking up signals from the cat on when she wants to play and when she wants to be left alone. But, the puppy has taken a lot of time and the cat shows obvious signs of jealousy. If I brush the puppy, Xena jumps up and wants to be brushed and will attack the puppy. When the puppy lays on my lap, same thing. Weird thing is Xena was never a lap kitty, and never cared for brushing as much as she does now. We bought her some new toys, puppy has crate time while Xena gets play time, but the hair loss continues. Weird.
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Old February 10th, 2015, 08:24 AM
2dogs&acat 2dogs&acat is offline
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We are going back to the vet thursday for my nearly bald cat. She wants to put a cone on her head to see if her hair grows back. I can just imagine how that is going to go and how stressed that is going to make my cat. If her excessive licking is due to stress from the puppy I don't see how adding more stress is going to help. But something needs to be done. I have even thought about re-homing her to someone where she can be the only cat or pet in the house. A friend who is a cat lover says she might take Xena for a month to see if living in a pet free home makes her hair grow back. I like that idea better then the cone. What do you think. They can find no medical reason for her hair loss.
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Old February 10th, 2015, 08:30 AM
2dogs&acat 2dogs&acat is offline
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Old February 10th, 2015, 12:06 PM
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I like the idea of your friend fostering her for a while to see if the hair comes back. But what if it works so well your friend can't part with her at the end of the month?
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Old February 10th, 2015, 12:42 PM
2dogs&acat 2dogs&acat is offline
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This is the friend who has promised to take the cat if anything happens to me. When Xena first showed up as a stray I was hoping she would take her then but she had just lost her cat and wasn't ready for a new cat. It has been a year and a half so maybe now she is.
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Old February 10th, 2015, 06:12 PM
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Sounds like a win-win scenario!
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  #14  
Old February 11th, 2015, 12:55 AM
2dogs&acat 2dogs&acat is offline
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She has changed her mind, she is watching her parents dog and thinks it wouldn't help So back to not knowing what to do.
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  #15  
Old February 11th, 2015, 07:05 AM
MarianE MarianE is offline
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My cat did this, too. Like your cat, she was healthy in every other way. And the main loss of fur was her tummy and the inside of her thighs. It started after our beloved dog passed. I think it was stress of missing her friend or may-be her way of dealing with the loss. In any case, it did lessen with time, but it took a good 6 months before I noticed the fur coming back.
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  #16  
Old February 12th, 2015, 10:36 AM
2dogs&acat 2dogs&acat is offline
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Well that is good to know it might get better. Now that the puppy is older and not pestering her so much hopefully she will get her full lovely hair back with time.
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