Adult fur depigmentation, what is happening?!

[Senewma2]

Hi all. Appreciate any thoughts at all on this, I’m trying to not freak out but it is so strange.
My cat is losing widespread hair color.
I have a male DMH tuxedo, around 10 though unsure as I adopted.This spring, a couple weeks after quarantine started, he was sick for 5 weeks with Ear infections, herpes flare, loose stool. bloodwork in late April fine. When he started to get sick (early April) I noticed the root of his black hair was gray in various sections as if he was a smoke (he isn’t). I thought it could be undercoat, but it has been getting longer and longer and is the actual fur.

now, he has multiple inches of gray growing out, on big areas of his body that have always only been black. The neck beard, chest, sides of face, tummy, pantaloons, armpits. On top of this, he has been shedding way more than ever before, over grooming to get a couple bald spots, and even has ripped out chunks of fur. What the heck is happening?!?!

The overgrooming started in the past ~2 weeks and the gray I started to see in April so I don’t think they are connected. The WFH has been really stressful on me, likely on him too since all his normality of life changed, then all the stress of being sick for 5 weeks and 5 vet visits (more than he has ever done total). Waiting on new bloodwork to make sure nothing came up since late April, but what in the world?????
Has anyone seen or had experience with adult depigmentation?

 

[Senewma2]

Also will add: vet wants to put him on hydrolyzed diet to see if the overgrooming is allergies. The only thing that has changed in the time since the mowing and pulling began was 1) I started leaving home a lot more bc I am going crazy trapped in my apt alone still under quarantine 2)I tried giving him a dry food he’d never had before (I’ve never given him dry).
So I think it equally could be attributed to allergies or stress/boredom/anxiety.

I have no idea what to do!

 

[Willowy]

When a cat has been sick, it can affect fur development so the new fur comes in gray. It doesn't hurt him and will grow out black next time.

The overgrooming is a whole different thing, and can be very frustrating to deal with :/. Did you stop giving him the dry food? If all else fails, and health problems/allergies are ruled out, some have seen success using anti-anxiety medications.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi. What did the vet say about the de-pigmentation itself? The over-grooming probably is a separate issue, but it could possibly be tied to the loss of color if it were due to something like a hormonal imbalance. Excessive shedding/hair loss can also be a indicator of a hormonal issue. Stress and his illness could have even caused a flare-up of an underlying autoimmune disorder (e.g.; herpes, in your case, I guess) - which can cause loss of pigmentation. But, I would definitely stop the new dry food to see if that might be the culprit for the over-grooming.

I hope W Willowy 's comments regarding the fever coat are accurate, but new bloodwork is a good place to start to make sure no changes have occurred in his results since the April test! Otherwise, I hope he is doing much better now!

 

[Senewma2]

When a cat has been sick, it can affect fur development so the new fur comes in gray. It doesn't hurt him and will grow out black next time.

The overgrooming is a whole different thing, and can be very frustrating to deal with :/. Did you stop giving him the dry food? If all else fails, and health problems/allergies are ruled out, some have seen success using anti-anxiety medications.

Thank you for the reply! Interesting about the color change after Illness, I hope that is all it is.
Oh yes I stopped the dry cereal after 4 days I think..I was introducing it so he probably had 1/3 cup total but I know that could have triggered something. Or, he could possibly be allergic to the same venison wet food he’s eaten for years. I am a total neat freak so wouldn’t think enviro allergies could be at bay, but I did spend 2 hours vacuuming anyway. I have 2 air HEPA filters that always run. No scented air products or candles. I never open my windows.
i would feel AWFUL if it is stress, I love him so much and if I inadvertently caused this it would break my heart

 

[Senewma2]

Hi. What did the vet say about the de-pigmentation itself? The over-grooming probably is a separate issue, but it could possibly be tied to the loss of color if it were due to something like a hormonal imbalance. Excessive shedding/hair loss can also be a indicator of a hormonal issue. Stress and his illness could have even caused a flare-up of an underlying autoimmune disorder (e.g.; herpes, in your case, I guess) - which can cause loss of pigmentation. But, I would definitely stop the new dry food to see if that might be the culprit for the over-grooming.

I hope W Willowy 's comments regarding the fever coat are accurate, but new bloodwork is a good place to start to make sure no changes have occurred in his results since the April test! Otherwise, I hope he is doing much better now!

Hi there, the vet took a sample of hair to look at under the microscope, waiting for a call back on that plus the bloodwork (she is an in home vet, for circumstances right now that is way easier than my dragging him to another office visit in an uber where I still have to wait outside the building for the exam...the virus is still really bad in my city). Honestly, she seemed to be pretty stumped but did note the connection to it being visible approx 3 weeks after his life changed with me constantly being at home after 8 years of a super predictable schedule, then followed by all his illnesses.

She said if bloodwork didn’t show anything we could think about doing a biopsy. That sounds scary and I have no idea if I should put him through that? The skin under the color change is normal — no lesions, scabs, bumbs, color change, nothing.
I didn’t know adult cats could get fever coat but it was what I first thought of.

dry food has been stopped for about a week now, I’ll (begrudgingly because I know it isn’t great) put him on the Hill’s hydrolyzed to see if that can calm down the overgrooming. Vet said if that doesnt help, we could think about Prozac for the short term. I certainly do not love that and only want to put him on benzos if there is nothing left to do.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I don't understand the idea of a biopsy - of his skin? If so, why not just a skin scraping? Much less invasive and much easier on the cat (and, you).

I know it probably isn't what the vet suggested, but transitioning him to a new food is always advisable in order to help his body adjust to the new ingredients and reduce the odds of stomach/digestive disorders. It might take a little longer to get results should his current food be the issue, but still better than a drastic food change all at once, IMO.

 

[Senewma2]

I don't understand the idea of a biopsy - of his skin? If so, why not just a skin scraping? Much less invasive and much easier on the cat (and, you).

I know it probably isn't what the vet suggested, but transitioning him to a new food is always advisable in order to help his body adjust to the new ingredients and reduce the odds of stomach/digestive disorders. It might take a little longer to get results should his current food be the issue, but still better than a drastic food change all at once, IMO.

I will ask about the scraping instead. She didn’t talk much about a biopsy because she wanted to take things one at a time — the first was his food. I will definitely be weaning him onto the hydrolyzed food over a week to ten days, to slowly acclimate him onto it and off of his usual food. Or did you have concerns with even being weaned onto the hyperallergenic diet? I asked her about trying a different novel and she said the preference was to go to hyperallergenic as opposed to trying the only other food out there I think he can handle, which is alligator or kangaroo. And that is hard to get.

 

[FeebysOwner]

I will definitely be weaning him onto the hydrolyzed food over a week to ten days, to slowly acclimate him onto it and off of his usual food. Or did you have concerns with even being weaned onto the hyperallergenic diet?

The acclimation period was what I was concerned about, so good to know you will do a slow transition. I have no experience with hypoallergenic foods, but would imagine vets recommend it because it doesn't contain a lot of the possible allergy triggers. So I guess it has the potential to resolve an allergy issue quicker than testing a bunch of other foods, especially since it sounds like you've tried a lot with him already.

 

[Talien]

It's possible it could be stress, if you are stressed he will pick up on it and may cause him to be stressed too. Most Cats are sensitive to emotions and if those around them are feeling off, it will put them off too.

Dry food is terrible for Cats, even the "prescription" stuff because it has much of the same junk ingredients, so it's good that you stopped feeding it to him. If it was me I wouldn't put him on hydrolyzed protein, take a look at the ingredients and see for yourself.

 

[Senewma2]

I keep going back to when all of this started. I’ve had him for 8 years and other than 2 allergy induced ear infections he has been fine. As soon as covid19 became widespread, my city shut down, and I was home with him nearly 24/7 (and still am) it has been one malady after another. 2 weeks ago I decided for my mental health I need to get out more since I live alone, and right after I started being gone for a couple hours a day — overgrooming. But that also was when the dry food was introduced so who knows.

ugh this is so hard, these 5 months with him have been so difficult on him (and me, seeing him constantly sick) I don’t know how to keep being okay.

 

[FeebysOwner]

How do you think he would respond to some calming type music? It could help you too, maybe - especially if stress is what is behind all of this. Do you have people you could Skype or Zoom with that might help relieve some of the pressure of quarantine?

 

[Senewma2]

It's possible it could be stress, if you are stressed he will pick up on it and may cause him to be stressed too. Most Cats are sensitive to emotions and if those around them are feeling off, it will put them off too.

Dry food is terrible for Cats, even the "prescription" stuff because it has much of the same junk ingredients, so it's good that you stopped feeding it to him. If it was me I wouldn't put him on hydrolyzed protein, take a look at the ingredients and see for yourself.

Totally agreed on the dry concerns; he has been fed wet exclusively since I got him. I was honestly only planning on feeding a couple tablespoons total per day just as a “treat” to get some more nutrition in him.
I also am not keen on the hydrolyzed, but I do Understand the point of: if current situation is due to allergies, if I moved him to another novel and he ended up being allergic to that, I wouldn’t know. Or I wouldn’t be able to extract a reaction from that food versus the overgrooming reaction he is having now.
Ugh I don’t know, I’m so overwhelmed

 

[Senewma2]

Also: he is allergic to poultry, duck, beef, bison, seafood. Never tried pheasant but the vet says not to bother as it is close to others he is allergic to. Been eating venison and rabbit for maybe 7 years. Was on instinct, I tried ziwi peak but that was a month ago and he has never tried the green mussel that is in that.

The overgrooming: focuses on his hip, armpit on the front chest side, opposite armpit on the tummy side. Has mowed the inner armpit and hip, pulled hair out from armpit/front chest, and under tail. Doesn’t scratch much, some at his ears and recently his neck as I put a calming collar on him. Would food allergy be more itchy?

 

[Senewma2]

How do you think he would respond to some calming type music? It could help you too, maybe - especially if stress is what is behind all of this. Do you have people you could Skype or Zoom with that might help relieve some of the pressure of quarantine?

Ha in the past 3 days We’ve been watching cat tv with calming music all day, and I play calming music all night as well. One specific album zonks him out so fast! Also I’m buying him a cat tower and have gotten a couple interactive toys. This is him at the moment staring at the birdies on the tv.

 

[Talien]

Ha in the past 3 days We’ve been watching cat tv with calming music all day, and I play calming music all night as well. One specific album zonks him out so fast! Also I’m buying him a cat tower and have gotten a couple interactive toys. This is him at the moment staring at the birdies on the tv. View attachment 343465

A tower would be great, especially if he doesn't have any. Put it infront of a window and chances are good it'll be his new favorite place during the day.

Interactive toys, though.....eh. If he's anything like my Cats he'll be more interested in the packaging than the actual toy. Try a laser pointer if you haven't yet, they seem to be big hits with most Cats.