Fur loss after vacation

We returned from a one week vacation to our 2 cats (brother and sister, 4 yrs old) - only to find alot of bunches of the male cat's fur on the floor. On closer inspection it appears as though he had licked himself in one area (side, near ribcage). Now it's shedding season and these are both indoor cats so we didnt suspect fleas. He is the more `needy' of the 2 so we do suspect possible stress from our being away. Wondering how we might rule out any possible physical disorders without having to run alot of expensive tests....
We also had a neighboor visit every day while we were gone.

Let me know - we're going on another weeks holiday in 3 weeks.
Thanks

Excessive licking can be anything from a parasitic invasion, to stress, or a reaction to pain. A vet visit would be in order to determine if anything is actually wrong with the cat or not.

When I got my male, Peppurr, vaccinated, he pulled out alot of his fur! He once had a beautiful "velvet" coat, now he has some bald spots. There is a side effect from vaccinations call Vaccinosis that can cause hair loss. I just wish Peppurr would stop ripping his fur out! He doesn't have fleas, so Vaccinosis is probably what Peppurr had.

I agree that a visit to the vet would be a good idea. My bet is that the cat was licking excessively due to the stress of you not being home, but -- as Hissy said, it could be due to a number of other things.

One of my cats did this when we adopted a new cat, though she stopped once they became more comfortable with each other. Another did this due to being infested with mites. It took a month and a half of weekly dips in a sulpher bath to rid him of the mites.

Thanks to all of you - he is ALOT better since we returned and the fur seems to be growing back - no evindence if fleas etc.