fur loss

Hi,

I am new to this forum, and was wondering if someone could help with some advice regarding my kitty.

I adopted Milly in 1997, and not sure about her breed, she has gold and black markings, and is a large cat. Her legs seem shorter in front.

Approximately three weeks, ago, Milly, had a large section toward the rear on her body that shows fur loss. I have her on natural meds from a holistic vet in North Carolina. This holistic vet has done a tremendous job of keeping my pets healthy over the years. I have Milly on these meds for approximately two weeks. and the vet says to wait an addtional two weeks, as it may take a month for the fur to come fully back.

Blood work doesnt' show anything serious, however, to determine if it may be cancer would require other tests.

Does anyone on this forum know of cats that have this fur loss, and if so, what caused this?
Since Milly is an older kitty, the vet thinks she could have hormonal imbalance like humans get in older years, or diet deficiency.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
[email protected]

A flea allergy comes to mind- is she on a flea medication?

I think allergy ...

Hi,
thanks for answering, I will ask the vet that question about allergies.

My cat whiskers loses hair at the base of her tail if she gets fleas. We keep her on flea meds year round now so we haven't had a problems in a few years (Long Island is FULL of fleas and ticks)

Hi,
thanks also for answering. I am going to do furthur checking and testing from the vets office.

I just caught Milly pulling at her fur this morning, that is why the fur is missing on part of the rear. This is the first time I saw her do this.

Some think it is allergies, fleas, skin infection or stress.

Hope to get at the problem soon.

Over-grooming can cause hair loss, and can be a behavioural issue as much as a medical one. I'd look into all possibilities to figure out the root of the problem. Has anything changed in your lifestyle? Has she been acting any differently beyond this? Stress can be triggered by many things.

There is nothing changed in the environment, I have two miniature schnauzers dogs, and they will bark at Milly sometimes, and this causes her stress at the time, but she does get over their barking, and walks around and just ignores the dogs most of the time.

She stays in one room (bedroom) when I am working, some say she may be bored also.

I am going to mention this to the vet also.

Thanks for your message.

hi
if she is actually pulling her hair out, i would think she has an allergy of some sort (which can be aggravated by stress)

my sister had a cat who was terribly allergic to milk, but she loved it

she would always know if her cat had snuck into the kids cereal bowls and lapped up the milk that was left (it took very little milk to set her off) because she would be yanking out her hair near her tail and hind end til she was bald.

it can take up to a month to get the allergen totally out of the cats system

in the meantime you might want to try an e- collar so she does not do any damage to her skin or get a secondary infection.

also ask about fatty acids being added to her diet, that is supposed to help

depending on her weight, and FIRST ask your vet, you may be able to give her 1/2 of a chlortrimeton allergy tablet up to twice a day to stop the itch.

also because of her age, was her thyroid level checked? hyper T cats will often lose fur, but i do not know if they pull it out

pulling it out really seems to suggest an irritation or allergy
fleas are the number one allergen for cats, then you want to look at foods and other environmental things.

once a cat is allergic to one thing, chances are, that, just like people, they will add more things that cause allergic reactions, as time goes on.

good luck!!

Hi Althea,
Thanks so much for your message and advice. I am going to be calling the vet again this week. I will keep everyone posted on what I find out.

Pulling fur out can be from a lot of things

they can lose fur from stress and trauma, and even though you do not think that your cat is stressed, she could be.

She could have an allergy

She could have some sort of dermatose- meaning a bacterial infection

Could be in pain

could be nervous or in need of human company

could be fleas

see a vet to find out the cause