Can I rule out stress/boredom if Atopica stops hair loss?

[Twinkie245]

My cat Twinkie started mowing down her hair in March when she turned 1 year old. It progressed from a tiny spot until 60% of her body was bald. She never broke skin and I tried air purifiers, hydrocortisone, pheromones, changing food, salmon oil, playing more…anything the internet suggested. I took her to a vet who recommended Atopica. All the blood, fecal, urine samples came back fine. Vet said she’s either allergic or this is stress/behavioral and the WORST case of hair mowing she has seen. I started Atopica 2 weeks ago and no new spots and the current bald areas are getting ”fuzzy”. Less scratching around the ears and neck.

Does this mean I can absolutely rule out stress/boredom? It makes me so sad to think my cat might be unhappy.

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi!

I hope so, but do be prepared in case it's something that's still "active" in her environment such as sound or vibration from a generator. (Years back, I was living in a highrise and had a mattress that was temporarily on the floor. The only time I could hear a high pitched whine was when I put my head down to try and sleep and nobody else could hear it at all. Turned out it was a bearing that was going bad in a big air conditioning unit on the top of the building).

There are other over-the-counter calming products, and there's CBD but you might also consider Cat Music. There's Relax My Cat, Musicforcats, and Spotify and other sources have harp music for cats.