hair pulling

Hi--new guy here--our cat has been reaching back and pulling hair off lately from his back--a lil bare spot now there--anyone know why this be happening?? hot spots?? treatment for this?? thanks

Is it possible he has fleas? It could be an allergic reaction to something in your house? You should take him to the vet just to make sure it's not something serious.

might have too--thanks

Vet visit time.. could be fleas, allergies to almost anything including litter and the household shampoos, dry skin

Yes I agree it could be fleas. Sometimes it could be just one or two but the bites can cause terrible allergic reactions like what you are experiencing. Have you ever used Frontline?? It is a great safe product. But check with vet first.

Also, food allergy comes to mind. Grain-free diet might be in order for your cat. There are so many new lines of grain free diets out there and I have had great success with one of my cats who was chewing its coat. As soon as I put him on the grain free all the itchy symptoms went away. Now all my cats are on grain free.

I have one cat lucky who is 9.5 years old. Since I've gotten her she's been pulling tufts of fur out. She's been in and out of the vet being tested and what not. I've tried all kinds of food grain free even vet prescribed food and to no avail she's still pulling fur out. They even tried her on a behavioral modification type med with no luck. The vet finally told me that it may be environmental and that if she's not causing any scabbing or scars there's nothing much else to really do. They have some type of shot that they can give her or put her on some allergy meds.

So at this point I just try to keep hair ball paste down her to help with constipation and hairball issues she has because of it. Otherwise she's happy and healthy.

My foster cat, Marigold, is a hair puller. She did it in the shelter and she is doing it at my house...it comes and goes. I also switched her to grain free in case that was the issue but when she grooms she bites at herself and often yanks out tufts of fur.

I fear this is a long-standing, neurotic behavior. She is flea-free, has had a shot of Depo and as I said ... is on grain free. Also use Dr. Elsey's litter.