Cat with hair loss

Lizzy Thornton said:

 
My cat was being temporarily fostered by a friend. While he was away he was outside most of the time. When we got him back he was going bald on his belly, sides and legs. I've checked his skin but can't see any redness or bumps, but he is itching quite a bit and grooming a lot. I figured it was just stress-related, but now my husband and I are being bitten by something. He was given flea drops and we haven't SEEN any fleas (which we usually do whenever our dog gets fleas), but the bites are still continuing and we are both itching like crazy now. Any ideas what it could be?

Click to expand...

StephenQ said:

 
Fleas aren't easily seen.  What was the treatment that you gave him?  If he and you are both itching it sounds like fleas.  One test, brush his area near the upper base of his tail with a brush over a wet paper towel.  If the dirt that falls on the towel turns red, then it isn't dirt but dried flea blood and then you know.  He may need another flea treatment.  Is he grooming where he has lost the fur?

Click to expand...

PushPurrCatPaws said:

Fleas can be persistent buggers, hard to get rid of, so that cannot be ruled out.

But how long was he fostered by your friend? Do you know how much time he spent outside? Were there other animals around (either inside or outside)?

Integrating into another home, or into another (outdoor) neighborhood, can be stressful for a kitty - esp. if he feels like an intruder in another cat's territory. And some of his own favorite habit patterns were probably really shaken up! Some of that hair loss pattern looks to me very similar to stress-related hair loss from over-grooming. However, just in case, I think it would not hurt to take him to his vet and have a culture done to test for any fungal skin infections, or perhaps for early-stage ringworm, as an example. Ringworm is contagious and humans can get it too. Do you see "bites", or circular marks, on your own skin where you itch? Or is it just generalized itching?

In any case, a vet visit may be helpful so that he can be prescribed some relief for his itching, if needed.
Good luck!

Click to expand...

Lizzy Thornton said:

 
Thanks, I'll try that.

 

He was there for 6 weeks and there were other cats. He spent probably 70% of his time outside. I do have bites but they don't seem like the bites I usually get from fleas. They are about half a centimeter big and red. I can't take him to the vet for a while since my husband works all through the day. 

Click to expand...

StephenQ said:

 
Can you tell us what the original flea treatment was?  Brand?

Click to expand...

Lizzy Thornton said:

...

He was there for 6 weeks and there were other cats. He spent probably 70% of his time outside. [...]

Click to expand...

Lizzy Thornton said:

...

It's a long story but a woman who actually catnapped him put the flea medicine on him the day we got him back. The cops were involved and her "right to claim him as hers" was based on the fact that she had put flea medicine on him.

Click to expand...

PushPurrCatPaws said:

  OH MY. Your kitty needs some tender lovin' care right now! Sounds like he has had quite the 'adventure'.

Click to expand...

Lizzy Thornton said:

 
Yeah, I had arranged to pick him up from my friend's apartment on Monday 18th (after a trip to the coast) but she called on the Friday saying she was having to leave town on an emergency and had left him with a neighbor who adored him. We cut our trip short and went to get him on Sunday only for the neighbor to say that she had been told by someone that my friend had taken the cat with them, so they had never called him in, so I spent 2 hours calling him and searching for him. I spoke to another neighbor and it turns out my friend's roommate had taken him and locked him up as soon as my friend left and had been telling people for weeks that he was her cat that she had rescued. She had the nerve to even call him "my cat" to my face when I had visited him the week earlier and I had commented on the fact she probably didn't realise who I was but how weird it  still was that she would call him hers when he was being fostered by my friend. When I finally got him back after the police were called he was traumatised and for days he wanted nothing to do with me, but now he's finally back to normal and is playing with my other cat.

Click to expand...