TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Cat Health › Balding Kitty
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Balding Kitty

post #1 of 3
11/14/11 at 6:19pm
Thread Starter 

So one of my cats has gotten into the habit of licking/chewing his fur off. Yes, off. He's almost bald from his midsection to his hind legs. He doesn't seem to be in pain, and I've checked him for any kind of ailments. No fleas, worms, etc. Not even any flaking or discoloration that I would expect with dry skin. He looks like he's in perfect condition apart from the lack of fur. I thought it might be a food allergy, but we've switched his diet a couple of times with no change. He's fairly young, too. Only around 3 years old. Any ideas?

Reply
post #2 of 3
11/14/11 at 6:52pm
Have you taken him to the vet? If not, please do so. While many of us here have extensive experience with cat health issues, we are not vets and cannot substitute for them.

What do you mean by "switched his diet?" Some cats can be allergic to lots and lots of things in normal cat food -- corn, wheat, chicken, turkey, or a combination of any number of things. If the vet thinks it's a food allergy you might have to do a strict elimination diet, meaning you take away just about everything in his food until you find out what's causing the problem. In the long run, raw feeding may be the way to go. Head over to the nutrition forums and check out the stickies at the top for more info.

Also, you could try using a hypoallergenic, unscented litter. Some scented litters will cause sensitive cats to develop issues.

Does he have fighting issues with your other cats? The stress could be getting to him.

In the meantime, until you can get him to a vet, try a Feliway diffuser from Amazon. My cats don't need it, but it's worked wonders for other people on here. It emits a synthetic pheromone that is undetectable by us, but basically sends a "be happy, chill out" message to your cat via smell.
Reply
post #3 of 3
11/15/11 at 10:24am
Thread Starter 

Mostly been switching his brands of food. Tried the all-natural route, doesn't seem to be a change. Haven't done raw food yet, I don't really know what's good for him in that area. I didn't think about the litter, actually. Ours isn't scented but for a while we were using Feline Pine, but we switched back to Tidy Cat because none of the cats seemed very fond of the pellet shape of the litter. Its been about a month since we used it, could it still be affecting him? 

 

There's no fighting issues, apart from the occasional squabble that comes from simply having four cats. I'll look into the diffuser though, it could help. His father was a nervous kitty, so you might be right on that.

Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home
  Back to Forum: Cat Health
TheCatSite.com › Forums › Our Feline Companions › Cat Health › Balding Kitty