Cat losing hair on back

We have a male Manx cat who is about 6 or so years old. Back in about October my mom took him to get a shot, I think it was his feline leukemia shot? Do they have those? Anyways, shortly afterward, we noticed that the hair on his lower back had thinned out a lot. Since then it has not grown back. All by his lower back / tail there is probably only half the hair there should be. Has anyone heard of this?

Could he be pulling his fur out? The lower back is a common area for cats to pull their fur. A trip to the vet woudl be the best thing.

Why would he pull his fur out? Mites or something? Itching?

I found small clumps of his fur on the carpet this morning.

Cats can pull out their fur for many different reasons including stress, fleas, allergies and pain. Your vet will be able to help you to figure this out and suggest treatments. My cat occasionally pulls her fur due to stress and allergies.

There could be a number of reasons for him to do this - from pyschological to physical. It's best to take him in to the vet and get it checked out.

My grandmother had two manx cats that this happened to as well. She ended up rubbing some salve on there but I don't know what is in it. Try googling that maybe?

First, a trip to the vet is in order, IMO.

That now being said, let me say that I don't know a lot about Manx cats ... but people I trust have told me that some of them can and do develop issues in the lower spinal area as they progress in age. My suggestion to you is to contact a reputable Manx breeder and ask her if she would be willing to discuss this with you. I find that many breeders are a lot more knowledgable than vets when it comes to these sorts of things and can be depended upon to give you better ideas on how to best address them.

Our vet has mentioned that Manx cats can develop problems around the lower back and whatnot. That's all I know and to me that can range from digestive problems, actual bone problems, skin problems.... so I don't know what the truth of it is.

We found Albert at a gas station when he was a tiny flea-ridden kitten, so he's not some thoroughbred manx. I guess it is possible his taillessness could be the result of some form of violence or something, but given his very young age when we found him, and the fact that it didn't look like an injury, we're guessing it's genetic. He also has the longer hindlegs that make him look kind of like a bunny.