Help with ripping out fur

We adopted Abby from a shelter in the middle of January. She is a little over one year old. She had a host of problems when we got her - worms, ear mites, upper respiritaory infection, conjunctivitus, and the list goes on. She had a strip on the top of her back that had been shaved and was just starting to grow back in. The people at the shelter had no idea what was going on with her back. She also twitches her back a lot. During her first vet visit the vet gave her DermCaps fatty oil supplement. She is still taking this. I mix some into her food every morning. The vet felt it was a flea allergy, but was hesitant to do anything else until all of her other problems cleared up. During the next visit at the beginning of March, the vet prescribed Chlorepheniramine and todl us that if that didn't work, next she was going to prescribe Prednisone. The Clhorepheniramine seemed to help. she was still twitching, but not as frequently, and her hair was growing in nice. We had a very hard time givign her the pills. It was a 2 person job and we had to pretty much tackle her. We lost any trust that we had gained at that point.

About a month ago my husband and I went away for a long weekend. We did have a relative come in to feed Abby. Abby did not really eat while we were gone and she had started ripping out her fur again by the time we came back. She had 3 small bald spots. She greeted us at the door like she hadn't seen us in a month and stuck real close to us for quite a while. I went out for a few hours a few days later and I came home to find out she had ripped out another patch. She again greeted me like she hadn't seen me in a while. Since then she is still twitchign her back a lot adn ripping out fur occasionally although no where near as much as she was when we first got back. It does seem to be decreasing.

I realize I am probably a bad Cat Mom for not taking her to the vet at this point. My husband is totally against bringing her because he does not want her taking Prednisone. I am more open to it than him, but am really not too thrilled with the idea myself.

Does anyone have any other suggestions that could help with this? We will probably take a vacation sometime during the summer and really do not want to come home to a bald cat.

Thanks!

Karen and Abby

i'm no expert but my guess is that your cat has a nervous condition...my dad brought me home a cat once that was about a year old, he had gotten it from a man who was in prison on death row...back then prisoners were allowed to keep small pets, but a new warden started that put a stop to that and the man had no family so my dad brought it home to me, we kept it in the bathroom at first not wanting to shock it with such a large space, finally it got comfortable in our home, and was a wonderful companion, then my dad got a dog and the cat licked itself bald in several sopts we took her to the vet and found it was a nervous condition, because of the dog...the cat did adjust and the fur did grow back...i would say your cat worries about being abandoned again, and can't stand the thought of being without you!

I would find a specialist and see what they say. it could be a reaction to pain, a nervous condition or any number of things. Instead of steriods, I would go to a specialist

Any idea where I could start to find a specialist? Should I check with a liscensing board or a school of veterinary medicine? I have done soem online searchign and have not come up with anything yet. My current vet is a feline specialist. She does not deal with other animals.

Originally Posted by AbbysMom

Any idea where I could start to find a specialist? Should I check with a liscensing board or a school of veterinary medicine? I have done soem online searchign and have not come up with anything yet. My current vet is a feline specialist. She does not deal with other animals.

Click to expand...

Bumping for abby's Mom. Anyone know where she can find a specialist?

Thanks!

somewhere on here someone had links to site s to find specialists ...

What is the baby eating if I can ask... Mine bite herself till I got her away from wheat

She started on Iams dry and Iams canned. She now has Iams dry and chicken soup dry and Iams canned. I thought I was doing well by giving her IAMS instead some of the other brands, but I have learned on here that is not the case. I am SLOWLY switching her to healthier food. I haven't found a canned that she likes though.

I will do a search on the forums for specialists also, THANKS!

I have noticed that she has not been pulling anywhere near as much the past few days.

If she is getting better it is likely corn is her culprit... Have you tried merrick canned ??? or for a budget meaow mix pouches

She used to eat the meow mix pouches like they were candy. Again, not the best food. Since I started adding the chicken soup about 3 weeks ago, she really isn't as interested in wet food. She doesn't eat as much at all. I was concerend about this at first until I read that on higher quality food they eat less. I can tell she is gaining weight. I want to get her away from the meow mix and onto something healthier. I think it's important for her to ahve wet food, I do not want her to eat just dry. I will look for the Merrick's next time I go to the store.