Could stress cause skin sores?

I posted on here reciently about my rescue Emily and her skin condition. I can't find that thread so I thought I'd post a new one.

Emmie is 13 years old, fixed and declawed as a kitten, she spent her first 10 years as a strictly outdoor cat. The past three years she has been a mostly indoor cat. She was being fed cat food from the dollar store. When I got her three weeks ago she had a bad skin condition covering her entire back and small patches here and there on the rest of her. Her fur in these areas was thin, the lesions were crusty, thick and scabby. I was told she never scratches or bites at these lesions. And she hasn't since I've had her. She had been like this for the past three years. Emmie hadn't been to a vet since she was spayed and declawed, that was 12 1/2 years ago.

I took Emmie to the vet last tuesday, her lesions had cleared up so much the vet decided to hold off on taking a sample to test. She thought Emmie was probably allergic to the food she was being fed. Sounded good at the time, and might be right, but I've looked up food allergies and everything states that the cat would have been extremely itchy. Emmie wasn't.

Emmie's past "owner" came by the house today to pick up some carpet remnents from my son (he installs flooring). She wasn't interested in seeing Emmie, but I struck up a conversation about Emmie anyway. Something I hadn't known! Past owner told me how her two very aggressive big dogs, and her other cat (with claws) would torment Emmie constantly. Emmie had to stay on a certain chair in the kitchen, when she came off the chair to use her litterbox the other animals in the house would chase her and Emmie would freak out. Emmie was fed and given water on her chair.

Sorry for the long story, but I wanted to give all the facts. Could stress have caused the skin condition??? I do not have any other cats or dogs, it's just Emmie and she is spoiled!!! Lots and lots of attention, good food, and no stress. Her fur started filling in and the lesions started clearing up at a suprising rate as soon as we got her in our home. She's almost completely cleared up.

Does anyone know about the effects of stress on a cat? Emmie is a domestic short hair.

Thanks for any thoughts on this, I wish I had known this when I took her to the vet.

Here is the link to your previous thread, I myself am not going to be much help in this matter but I am sure that you will be helped by many of the great and very informed people here!!! Good Luck!

Oh, it most certainly can! We just adopted Sammy -- a loving, gentle, sweet boy of 8 years. He is so incredibly well-adjusted....and it's only been three weeks.....BUT, he grooms constantly. Over-grooming is a sign of stress when there is no outlet for agression or stress, it gets redirected elsewhere. He grooms so much he has two small sores on his tummy that only now are starting to heal as he settles in. He had three different cages in three different shelters in under a month. He was three days from being put down...and he was perfect for us. Also, I did take him to the vet and had a complete senior panel run....and his Thyroid came back abnormal, as in LOW. really low, 0.077 to be exact. Over grooming and sore, flaky skin are a sign of Hypothyroidism, the opposite of an overactive throid most common in Seniors. But the stress he endured is a LARGE part of it. We love him, so he certainly has a furever home now!

Sammy's lucky to have found you!! Poor guy went through a lot of stress. It's suprising how some cats can put rough pasts behind them and still be loving and trusting.