Atticus is going bald

I have a four year old tiger cat (barn breed) that has been licking himself bald since the arrival of my son. It started in small spots on his back and seemed to be within managable bounds until we moved from Germany to Switzerland last spring. He has now managed to lick the hair off of most of his belly and back legs. I have been to the vet and she says he is healthy but stressed. I have tried new toys and an Atticus play time, hiding treats around the house to reduce boredom, buying a new scratching post so he can look out the window better, even cat massage and hormone treatment. Nothing seems to work. I would really appreciate any suggestions to solving this problem. I should add that he is a house cat and has never been outside. We live on a busy street so going out is not really an option for us. He is also very attached to me and is very rarely out of my sight. Help!

Kim - I am moving your question to the Health forum, as I feel you will get some well informed responses there. Good luck with your fur baby!

Kim, I can feel your pain. My older cat is kinda in the same situation but not going bald. She started breaking out all over and scratching, loosing weight (we got a new kitten in July and she terrorizes the older cat plus a stray cat adopted us about 3 mths ago). My vet called me in some decadron and so far it has helped some but she is still really stressed. Im curious as to what the others suggest for you also.

Good luck
Cathy

When one of my cats got destructive because of stress issues the vet perscribed anti-depressants. We had her on them fo about 1 month & then weened her off them. They really seemed to help & we haven't had any problems since. She took a drug called Amotryptolene (sp?).

That's exactly what they do in extreme cases. If there's no way to control the enviromental stress, then sometimes the prescriptions are necessary to help the cats adjust. I would talk to your vet about getting him a prescription.

I posted in the behaviour forum about psychogenic alopecia. It sounds like my cat Gabrielle has exactly what Atticus has. The vet told me that sensitive or nervous cats can react to changes this way.. I was hoping that someone on the forum may have had some experience with this. Gabby is impossible to pill - has anyone ever tried Bach rescue remedy for this?

Panther