Fur Loss Continues

I posted a while back about our cat, Tyran, and her fur loss. It started on her back legs. At first it was a thinning of the fur on the backs and insides of her back legs. We figured it was just stress and didn't pay it any mind. Its been a while now and we just looked her over and she has thinning fur on her back legs (and one or two spots with missing fur), her front legs, lower belly, underside of her tail, and on her ears.

None of the other cats have it. All cats are indoor cats. We have checked for fleas and found none though we did have a small case of fleas a few months back. There are no sores or blood spots. The skin doesn't look irritated other than the two spots that have missing fur (smaller than the size of a dime). Could this be stress, food allergy, or something else?

We have been having money issues due to having to buy a car (both our cars broke down at the same time and would have cost us a lot of money to fix) so we have not taken her to the vet. We have switched her to a grain-free kibble and wet food to see if it could be a food allergy. She has been on that for 2 days now. I could try and get pictures if that would help.

Sounds like a food allergy to me, but it could be to anything -- one of my cats is allergic to chicken. Or, it could be something else. You need to get her diagnosed when you can afford to. How's her comfort level right now?

It could be possible it is over grooming. Can be a result of boredom or stress. I have seen that a few times when I worked as a vet tech. I would make an appointment with your vet if you can make it possible. Maybe try applying for Care Credit, if you vet will take it. It is a credit card that can be used on medical expenses, a lot of vets do take it. Call your vet and find out if they take it, if so apply online.

If it is a food allergy it can take a few weeks before you seen any big change when you start a new diet. Some can see a difference quicker than others but that depends on the severity.

Good luck!
Sending vibes your way.

If it is overgrooming then how is she grooming the fur off her ears? Well even if it isn't a food allergy, she is in love with her new food! We have to separate her from the other 3 to feed her the grain-free food and she will take a few bites, come over and rub our legs and purr, then go back and eat a few bites, then talk to us and rub some more, then go back and eat a few more bites. This continues until it is all gone. If I can get a 2nd (or simply a better 1st) job, I really want to switch ALL the kids to this food.

I am happy to hear she is doing well with her new food. She seems to show her appreciation quite nicely. It may be possible for her to rub fur off her ears with her front paws while grooming if she does it a lot. It was just a thought. I hope you find results with switching foods.

Good luck!

My cat lucky has patches of fur missing on her belly around her legs base of her tail and her front, and one patch on her back. She's been like that since I got her in 03. Her back is starting to grow back and each time it seems like a different spot. My vet is thinking because I had her on grain free for at least a month or more than it's probably over grooming. I just got some behavioral modification medication to see if that helps. Otherwise she is fine, but does have problems with hairballs because she's ingesting all that fur that she pulls off.