Help! Himalayan cat losing patches of hair on neck :(

Hi everyone!

I have been searching for a forum to get some advice on my 8 year old himalayan cat. He has been itching his ears and neck and there have been clumps of hair I have noticed around our house for some time. Recently I noticed an area over his neck, moving into the top of his head where the hair was significantly thin/bald.

I took him to the vet thinking he had ringworm - the vet sent for cultures but didn't think it was that given that the skin underneath looked normal. He said he thinks its more consistent with allergies. 

For the past week, I changed his food (put him on a hypoallergenic diet - turkey/potatoes mix; his previous organic food had many many ingredients in it) and changed his litter to organic, all natural pine based litter. 

I think he probably has allergies although i'm honestly not sure. What else could it be? He seems very itchy and he definitely has watery eyes/sneezes. If it is allergies, how long will it take to subside assuming I have gotten rid of the allergen (food/litter)? 

Also, I want to soothe his itchiness. I put some coconut oil on it tonight - anyone have experience with this? I was thinking of giving him omega 3 supplement but I don't want to introduce anything new internally. I want to put something topically over the skin to relieve the itch and allow the hair to grow back. 

Anyway, I am just so worried and appreciate your help. 

Hi there

Cat allergies are vexing.  If its food related, switching to a novel protein or hydrolized protein diet also means no more treats that aren't of the same type and diagnosis is usually done by waiting to see if there is a response to the change in food.  But there are other causes of cat allergies (see links) and treatments can include a cat dosage of an anti-histamine like Benadryl (appropriate dosages are safe but do NOT do this without the advice of a vet) or in worse cases, a course of treatment with a steroid. Omega-3 fatty acid supplements (fish oil) can help as well

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/cat-care/allergies

http://www.mnn.com/health/allergies/stories/cat-allergies-how-to-treat-cats-with-allergies

Keep us updated.

Hi, 

Thanks for your response. They say it takes about 12 weeks to notice a difference with the elimination diet - is that what others have experienced? That seems quite long. 

Also, for the omega 3s - is there a certain brand that everyone recommends? My only hesitation is introducing something new into his diet. 

It's smart to be concerned about adding supplements or MEDS without a vets ok so just call your vet and do a phone consult and ask about the omega 3's and they can give you safe dosage amounts etc.

I will definitely ask. 

The thing is his skin looks normal it seems like he is just itchy and when he scratches the hair falls out. I can't visualize an obvious abnormality with his skin. 

The vet said that give prednisone (short course) for these types of situations. I really want to avoid this. I would like to be a bit conservative before giving him a strong systemic drug. 

I'm wondering if washing him w a hypoallergenic solution would work? Also, would this have to be ordered online - I didn't see any at my local petsmart. 

So I made an appointment with a cat dermatologist but it isn't for another week! Meanwhile I am very worried and just researching researching like crazy. 

He is still itchy and the area around his neck and ears is losing hair like crazy. The skin interestingly enough looks relatively normal?? I gave him a bath today with hypoallergenic shampoo and noticed two spots on his back! His hair definitely looks thinner but there were two round spots with hair loss and the underlying skin had these pinpoint red dots - does that point in any direction?? 

Hopefully the cutures will be back in time for the appointment, they can take 10 days.  Red spots under hair loss could be a sign of ringworm, but if your cat hasn't been outside or had contact with other infected animals, it is very hard to come up with a scenario where he could get ringworm assuming you've never had an active case in your home.  So does he goes outside? Meets other cats?  And he is not over grooming and pulling the fur out himself right?  If no to all the above then an allergy of some type remains likely.  None of this is dangerous, your guy will be ok in time.

Did the vet suggest a trial cat sized dose of an antihistamine to see if it helped? Because if it did help, the relief of symptoms would be diagnostic for allergies.  Do not give him any antihistamines without vet instructions ok.

Well the problem is we did have an active case in our home. My sister's cat was with us for some time and he got a horrible case of ringworm (took almost 2.5 months to get better). He is also a persian cat - maybe he picked it up at the groomer? But anyway, I spoke to the vet today and he said ringworm isn't usually itchy (the other cat was and I have read otherwise online). So I really don't know...

He said we could try treating with lotrimin until I can get in to see him but I would like to know what is going on. I have read, and correct me if I'm wrong, that there are cases of ringworm that do not present with classic ring redness on skin. His skin looks pretty normal but the area of hair loss is spreading from neck to head and ears. I have also been using coconut oil to soothe the skin.

HI

Well ringworm is very hardy in the environment so its suspect, but it invariably has welts, usually red where the fur has come out.  His is a  link to photos that are fairly classic for a bad case.

http://nationalcatgroomers.com/lynns-blog/gasp-ringworm

Yeah it doesnt look like that. The skin looks relatively normal. He itches a lot and the hair just comes right out with the scratches. There are two small circular spots on his back that i just noticed when washing him (the skin there isn't totally normal - has some red pinpoint dots).

smr00 said:

 
Yeah it doesnt look like that. The skin looks relatively normal. He itches a lot and the hair just comes right out with the scratches. There are two small circular spots on his back that i just noticed when washing him (the skin there isn't totally normal - has some red pinpoint dots).

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Ok then it sounds like something else!

Its so hard to tell. It doesn't look like classic ringworm but I have read that cats present differently and just because don't have classic ring lesions doesn't exclude the possibility of ringworm. And given the fact that the other cat had it, makes me suspicious...

Here are two pictures - any input/help would be appreciated! I have a vet appointment in two days but am getting so impatient.

The first is the back of his neck - you can see there is hair loss and an area under that (no captured by picture) is bald with normal underlying skin. Then the second picture is a spot I picked up on while washing him - a round area with black pinpoints.

Ok thanks for the photos. I have no idea, not ringworm, but no idea what it is.  It's great you have a dermatologist appointment.  Skin problems are hard to diagnose, so many of them look alike.

Thanks Stephen! 

Anyone else have any ideas? 

I know it doesn't classically look like ringworm and cultures have been negative but have heard of cases where diagnosis got delayed which led to a really bad case of it. So stressed out...

smr00 said:

 
Thanks Stephen! 

Anyone else have any ideas? 

I know it doesn't classically look like ringworm and cultures have been negative but have heard of cases where diagnosis got delayed which led to a really bad case of it. So stressed out...

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You've gotten cultures back that were negative?  I've never seen a case with negative cultures.

StephenQ said:

 
You've gotten cultures back that were negative?  I've never seen a case with negative cultures.

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Its been 11 days since cultures sent and no growth so far...

OK well between neg cultures and the photos i'd say it isn't RW   I'm glad you have an appointment with the dermatologist.  Keep us updated.

Feline acne usually comes on the chin, but with such long and soft- looking fur, it is a possibility. Also it may be an allergic reaction to a fabric or a collar, if he wears one

Vet dermatologist thinks its ringworm!