Cat pulling out hair on tail

frosti

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Hi everyone.

I´m turning to you for some advice. My cat (soon 1 year old) started to bite/pull out hair on her back and on the tail about a month ago. It started on the back and went on to the tail. Her tail has now bald spots and I find hairballs on the floor every morning.

I´ve been to the vet with hair and they couldnt find anything wrong, no fleas etc. She is very healthy and fine. They said it might be allergy and adviced me to give her a cortisone injection, which might help for it. 

Have any of you experienced something like this? I am so frustrated 
She had a big bushy tail and now her tail is very thin and has bald spots near the root of the tail. 
 

She was sterilized during eastern and this behavour started shortly after.

I´ll appreciate any advices or suggestions to help my beautiful Lilli 
 
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otto

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What are you feeding her? A diet change may be all that is needed.

Has there been any new stress? You'll have to give that some thought, because what stresses a cat may be something we wouldn't ever notice.

A new cat in the neighborhood she sees out a window?

Any changes? New laundry detergent or new soap you are using and so on. New litter?

Do you use those plug in "air fresheners"?

Do you notice any other 'behaviors' such as the back twitching or rippling, or her running around like she is being chased?
 
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frosti

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[font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]Thanks for your reply [/font]


At the moment she is eating kibbles from "Brit Care" and she has also had Royal Canin, Hills etc. In addition she gets boiled cod now and then, and sometimes wet cat food.

I have been thinking a lot about it, but I cant think of anything stressrelated. She got sterilized during the easterholiday, and it was shortly after Easter this behaviour started .... 

There is a cat who often sits outside here waiting for her, but they seem to be friends and are "talking" to eachother. I have also been using the same laundry detergent for years, without perfume. After she got sterilized and is spending a lot of time outdoors, she hardly uses the litter box inside. I also have no air fresheners .. hmm.

Maybe she is allergic to something outside? She is also scratching herself around the neck more often than normal.

I really hope that she will get better soon 
 
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frosti

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Yes. She is getting these drops in her neck one time a month during spring/summer. The vet also checked her for fleas, but couldnt fint anything. Now she has almost no hair left on the right side of her tail. 

Maybe I should try to change her blanket and groomingcomb, maybe she could be reacting to that as well? I am trying to think of anything that could cause the problem or allergy. Hope it will get better soon :) 
 

otto

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What kind of flea drops? What brand, I mean?
 
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frosti

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Its called "Frontline Vet" fipronil. She started pulling out fur before she started on these. I found one tick on her. She had justed started to go out then.  Do you think the tick maybe can have something with she pulling out fur? I found this a week or two after she had started pulling out her fur and removed it immediately. 

Thank you 
 

catmanlady

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Did your kitty ever regrow the hair near her tail? My kitty is doing something similar and I'm wondering what you learned after all you did. Hoping all is well.

Thanks!
 
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frosti

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Hi there and sorry for my late reply! But better late than never, right? 
 Well, I never found out what caused my cat to pull out the hair. She was bald at the tail root for some time, because she pulled out hair all the time. After a while she didn´t do it that frequently and eventually some of the hair grew back. She now has hair there, BUT the hair is only short and you can clearly see a difference between the one side she pulled out the most hair. Is your cat long haired or short haired? MIne is long, and the long bushy hair didn´t grew back in full length where she has pulled it. But she seems fine otherwise 


I speculated if it could be the food, maybe stressrelated or something else, but as I wrote, I never actually found out  :( She still pulls of hair now and then and I can find furballs around the house, but then its not from a specific place, I think she just pulls out hair here and there where and if she finds a "hair lump" or leaves etc which has stuck in her long fur. 

How long has your cat been doing this? Have you treated him for fleas etc? I tried that and I also had mine checked at the Vet, but they couldn´t find anything.
 
 

catmanlady

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Thanks for the reply! I'm so glad to hear that things are under control for the most part. My kitty is long haired too -- a beautiful calico. I treated for fleas about two weeks ago and I think that's helped but it's too soon to say. We've considered all the things you mentioned: stress, food allergy, fleas, and even hyperthyroid (she's lost some weight and howls at night occasionally). However, she's only two and that would be unusual for a cat as young as she is. If things don't improve, though, I'll take her in to see the doctor. Thanks again and good luck!
 
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frosti

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I really hope everything will be fine with your kitty! Its so sad when cats get ill and we can´t figure out what is wrong. I really hope the flea treatment will help you and that your cat hopefully will stop pulling out hair soon. I will keep my fingers crossed for you. Lots of greetings and good toughts to you and your cat all the way from Norway 
 
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