Cat pulling out fur

One of my cats has started grooming herself more than normal lately, and I notice that she pulls at her fur with her teeth. Last night, I noticed that she she has a medium sized bald spot on one of her back legs, in the front thigh area. The spot is not red or irritated at all. It's just skin. The overgrooming did seem to start within the past few weeks or so, when the weather has started to turn very warm and everything is blooming. She is strictly an indoor cat, but could she still be affected by all of the pollen and other allergens in the air?

Another possibility could be stress, I suppose. My sister's dog has been staying with us temporarily. It is a very timid dog though and does not pose a threat. In fact, the dog runs from the cat and hides when she is near.

Her diet has been pretty much the same--the same dry (duck) food for the past couple of years and the same canned (Halo lamb and Pride lamb) for the past several months. She does seem to much prefer the dry over the canned lately though.

Any ideas on what it could be? I have to take her to the vet anyway tomorrow for her monthly weigh in, so I will ask about it then. I'm just anxious to find out.

I think you have covered the two main possibilities stress and allergies.  Even though she is an indoor cat she could still be affected by seasonal allergies.  If I were guessing I would guess stress from the dog being there temporarily.  Even though the dog doesn't seem to pose a risk it is still a new animal that she is sharing her territory with.

Tabbsia, One of my cats does the same thing! The Vet says it's nerves/stress which can be caused by many different things such as any change in your house hold or loud noises. You mentioned a dog staying temporally - this may be the cause. 

See what the Vet says. Unfortunately, I don't know the exact reason why my cat does this (on occasion - not all the time) and none of the powders or sprays that the Vet. gave me really work...What I did try is, "Rescue Remedy" (my own research) and this does help! He stopped pulling his fur out so, I haven't used it in a while. But I have noticed him pulling lately (within the past month), I catch him doing it and pick him up to hug him. He is nervous by nature and likes a lot of attention. So, I give him a lot but he does get jealous of my other cat (his brother) getting attention and wants more! Good luck tomorrow!

Thanks! I might get answers sooner though. My appointment got moved up to this afternoon.

Good! Ask about the Rescue Remedy by Bach.  My vet isn't holistic and wouldn't have thought to suggest it but said it was ok to try. The powder is Neo-Predef (with tetracaine powder), which worked okay and the other treatment, in the spray bottle didn't work at all (I don't remember what it was called). 

I'll ask about it, but my vet is definitely not holistic and has probably never heard of it. I haven't either. She is a little drug happy, and I have a feeling that she will probably want to prescribe some kind of antihistamine. My cat already takes two other medications for her IBD.

I'd love to hear how you make out and good luck again!

Thanks!

I've used Bach flower remedies (home made blends and rescue remedy) on myself, my dogs, my cats and my horses. A friend of mine used to be a trained Bach flower remedies practitioner. I've talked with her at length on the subject. She says that Bach flower remedies are totally harmless - if they're not needed they're just excreted in the urine, and if they are needed they will help. I asked in particular because her favoured dosage method was to add it to the drinking water. My dogs and cats share water bowls and I had to be sure that it wouldn't hurt the others to drink the 'medicated' water if only one animal needed treatment (in one instance our late dog was petrified of fireworks, but the others were all fine with them). Admittedly, for cats I favour dosing the food as cats don't drink that much. Sorry, I'm rambling here...what I'm getting at is that the flower remedies won't hurt but may help. My friend is very cautious (she's now a bowen therapist, and refuses to treat a horse without veterinary consent) and would never give an overly relaxed recommendation regarding safety. Sorry if this doesn't make sense - fibromyalgia brain fog today I'm just trying to give a little reassurance about trying them

When I went to the vet a couple of weeks ago, she was pretty sure that my cat was just stressed out about the dog being here, but she gave me an antihistamine to give her twice a day anyway. As it turns out, my cat was not having a psychological issue, but a physical one. She was just itchy, I guess. The dog is still here, but with the antihistamine, she is no longer over grooming or pulling out her fur, and the hair on her bald spot has almost completely grown back. The vet will probably want to keep her on antihistamines, but I am not sure how safe it is to keep her on the Chlormaleate long term. Maybe I will try one of the flower remedies in the future.

Thanks for the update. Good to hear it's treatable and just seasonal allergies. Thanks for sharing!