Why cat is pulling hair out

[buddyrhonda]

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• buddyrhonda
• May 26, 2014

Anyone know what makes a cat keep pulling it's hair out back by it's tail? Mine started losing hair( back by it's tail only ) in Winter. I figured it was dry skin from winter cold, but she still does it.  Now She scratches all over (but doesn't seem to pull hair out anywhere else, but by tail). She has been gave Advantage flea medicine a couple weeks ago, and has took it for years, so I know she's not allergic to it.  I've gave her vitamin e twice but she still scratching. Her skin under her hair looks fine, except where she's pulled it out by the back of her tail (it's just white where she's pulled hair out).

  It doesn't seem like these 2 problems are caused by the same thing, since the trouble back by the tail started 5 or 6 months ago and the itching everywhere else has just started.  Any help would be appreciated..

 

[red top rescue]

Food allergies can often cause general itching of the skin and ears.  Did you change her food 5-6 months ago when this all started?  What do you feed her?  You might try putting her on a good grain-free diet for awhile and see if the itching clears up.  Common allergens are corn, wheat, soy and food dyes, sometimes glutens also.  Read the label on the foods you are feeding her now, because even if you didn't change food back when this started, it could be that she only developed an allergy then after eating something for a long time.

 

[42cattier]

I don't have the reference material at hand, sorry, but if you do a search for cats and allopecia, and go through results long enough, you will find two points of view: one that this is psychogenic and another that this is a change in cat's sensitivity, that it is physical, as a strong itch you can't scratch. There was research on around one hundred of cats with this condition, and, if memory serves correctly, only 5% of them had pcychogenic allopecia.

There is no one known solution, organism have to restore itself to a healthy state. Local treatments, including rubbing in vitamins, healing compounds or/and protecting area from licking didn't work. Making sure that it wasn't poisoning or reaction on vaccination or house chemicals, changing food for healthier one or different brands, at least for some time, providing herbal or holistic support for immune system for months worked for me, more than once.

In US and Canada the LifeGold from PetWellbeing is available. Usually used to improve resistance of cancer cats, it solved my issue for my second cat (balded on the back near tail, half of the tail and lower part of the belly, a lot of licking but not as compulsive as with the first cat, who spend most of the time doing that). Not affiliated with them in any way, tried this from desperation, after exhausting all other options and it worked. Cat genetics (breed) may affect this too. The first cat was more intense in everything, why second was more reserved and calm.

My experience:

I had the balding problem with two different cats, with likely different causes.

For one it was maybe allergy for flea bites, when one flea's bites can wreak havoc in organism's sensitivity. It takes a lot of time to heal it all to the initial level of sensitivity. Advantage as a preventative or, at least, watch for first signs of fleas and apply early. By the way, this compulsive first cat (Island of Man grey cat) felt not well after application of Advantage, while Ragdoll, the second one, had no particular problems with it.

The second time with the first cat was canned food mass poisoning in 2007. Changing food, monitoring recalls and reacting fast, adding handmade food in variety helped with hair loss and sensitivity, but his health never restored completely.

The second one Ragdoll, balded fast with less compulsive licking, after stopping eating after arrival from shelter, even when he wanted to. He had also during this time edema- or inflammation-like inside his ears, but not exactly this, no liquid accumulation or redness, but ear structures increased in volume, leaving less space for ear cleaning. Had horrid sensitivity to any ear cleaning solution, even what worked well for a first cat, any except damp cotton pad. Vet couldn't see anything wrong, except one elevated blood parameter, specific for parasites or allergy, and no parasites were found and preventative treatment was given anyway, Advantage Multi twice, with interval of 3 weeks. I tend to believe that this was reaction on rabbies vaccination right after URI in the shelter. LifeGold solved problem, in 5 months fur was restored. They say it has bacon taste, but my cat despised it, so it was a bit of striggle. And he flatly refused Grizzly wild samon oil, as anything else salmon based. This was the firt step I'd taken before trying LifeGold.

From what I had read, low humidity in winter can contribute to that, and lack of omega-3 oils.

Best of luck to you and your cat!

P.S. Just found another post with useful information what cat can be allergic to: http://www.thecatsite.com/t/278022/cat-scratching-but-no-fleas-found#post_3560096

 

[red top rescue]

The Ragdoll's ears as mentioned by @42cattier sounds exactly like the food allergy Manxes have, with the hot swollen puffy ears, and the blood work also supports the allergy diagnosis, whether to food or something else.  A grain free diet seems to have cured the Manx brothers (Halo's Spots Stew grain free chicken).  I may try the Lifegold on my cream point Siamese mix who gets hot spots from any bug bites.  Even though he wears Advantage and does not have resident fleas, he does go out in the fenced yard (and sprays in the house if not allowed to, although neutered since a young age).  He doesn't go all the way to bald but just looks moth-eaten.

 

[buddyrhonda]

Veternarian said it was because of a flea bite and that my cat is allergic to them. I don't see how that could have happened early winter and still pulling her hair out back there, even though she was gave Frontline  a week or two ago.

  Have not seen ANY fleas on her or even any dead ones (even though she was gave Frontline). Vet never even suggested allergies or asked me what she ate.  She gave the cat a steroid shot and said she should start being given Revolution instead of Frontline.

 

[zoocat]

 
Veternarian said it was because of a flea bite and that my cat is allergic to them. I don't see how that could have happened early winter and still pulling her hair out back there, even though she was gave Frontline  a week or two ago.

  Have not seen ANY fleas on her or even any dead ones (even though she was gave Frontline). Vet never even suggested allergies or asked me what she ate.  She gave the cat a steroid shot and said she should start being given Revolution instead of Frontline.

I'm beginning to think that is the "go to" answer Vets tend to give regardless of the evidence to the contrary!!  I have an orange tabby that has "chewed" himself bald for years and the Vet was adamant that it was a flea allergy.  I religiously used Advantage or Frontline every month even though the cats are strictly indoor cats...I do have a dog that goes out and so do I, so I'm sure fleas can and do get on the cats, but not often and not too many.  I flea comb them and rarely find a flea.  I had been feeding them dry food and canned food, neither of which was grain free.  About six months ago I switched their diets to strictly grain free, mainly canned, but with a little Wellness Core Grain Free (also fish and chicken free) dry food.  Sammy's hair has completely grown back and although he still scratches and chews a little bit...no where near what he used to.  He has a full coat of hair and only his tummy is partially bald.  So I think it was primarily the grain issue, but he could still have a slight allergy to some other ingredient, but I'm so happy with the improvement that I'm not too worried anymore.  I also changed Vets!!  I had asked him a couple of times if it could be a food allergy and he kinda poo-pooed that idea and said we could test for it but it would be too expensive and wasn't necessary since it was a flea allergy.....yep, time to change Vets (after 20+ years with him).  I love my new Vet and she seems far more inclined to listen to what I might suggest or question....she agreed with me that it wasn't necessary to give my totally inside boys all those shots my former Vet insisted on giving them every year.   

 

[buddyrhonda]

I put Frontline on her almost 2 weeks ago. Why did I find 1 alive flea on her, still?