Calling all cat owners

[earthbot1]

Has anyone ever had a cat that started losing fur? She seems to pull it out in chunks. Steroids seem to control it a little, but it comes back once we stop treatment. Her toes were also infected a bit and the vet gave her antibiotics for that.
I treat her for fleas and never see them on her, but maybe the meds are not working as good?
Tested negative for ringworm. I am trying a corn and wheat free food (Purina One Beyond) after trying many high end brands that she won't touch.
I also switched to fragrance free laundry detergent and washed the bed sheets and covers.

Thanks for looking!

[LisaLynne]

1. Is she pulling the fur out herself?

I had a cat that had seasonal allergies that would do that twice a year when SOMETHING was tossing pollen or something into the air. The vet at first suspected that she was allergic to fleas, but I never saw any on her, like you said in your case, so eventually, the doctor just decided it was some other type of allergy. So, I'd say you are on the right track but that's all the advice I have, which isn't much I know!

[earthbot1]

2. thanks

I think some fur is falling out, but I have seen her bite and pull at it. So a bit of both. She has not been on this food long enough to know if it helps. Hope so.

[LisaLynne]

3. I actually never saw my cat pull it out, but ...

apparently that was what was happening. So, if you are seeing it at all, I'm sure she'd doing it. My brother's dog does that to himself, too. I hope the different food helps!

[mythology]

4. My mom's cat used to do that

She just needed the steroid injections periodically. But that cat, even by cat standards, was just crazy.

[winter is coming]

5. My best friend used to have a cat that did that when stressed.

Any changes in your environment that could be freaking her out?

[earthbot1]

6. well, yes

our two other cats died of old age and my wife and I divorced. Sometimes I work long hours, so
she (cat) is alone on those days.
I debated on getting a kitten, but was not sure if she would be good with it.

[tanyev]

7. We have a cat who obsessively grooms.

It seems to be a compulsive thing that gets worse when she is anxious about something. Her patches on each side are pretty visible right now because we took a couple of trips in November.

It first flared up when she was having some digestive issues. We found a different type of food and it started getting better.

Flared up again when she hurt her leg jumping onto something in the garage. (This is the most ungraceful cat I've ever seen.) The vet gave her steroids for the leg, but she didn't react to them well and it didn't help her obsessive grooming.

After finally getting better, it flared up again at the same time she had a few piddling incidents in the house. We never figured out what was making her anxious, but we moved one of the litter boxes from the garage into the house and both the piddling and the grooming improved.

Her fur was almost entirely grown back when we took a trip to Canada at the beginning of November. Poor thing. It's a good thing she's got a sweet disposition, because she's turned out to be fairly high maintenance.

[Walk away]

8. Have you had blood work done. There are so many reasons for hair loss.

Even frequent use of steroids can cause Cushings symptoms.

If your Vet thinks it's allergies or a skin condition, have you tried salmon oil in his diet?

(I'm not really a Kitty person but that's how I would treat my dogs)

[earthbot1]

10. have not tried salmon oil

and the vet has not recommended blood work yet.
I'll investigate the salmon oil.

Thanks!

[ailsagirl]

9. My cat stopped once she was on steroids

And cats tolerate steroids better than dogs or people. So said my DVM.

Good luck!

[earthbot1]

11. my vet

said the same thing

Thanks!

[ailsagirl]

13. In fact, I have two cats now who are currently on steroids

One cat daily, the other every other day.

[gvstn]

12. I've been having a lot of problems with my cat recently too.

He is an excessive groomer during the summer but it seems to stop in cooler weather. I never see fleas until they get bad. I searched him every night all summer for fleas but only found a few in August. Advantage flea treatment always works immediately for him. I'd treat him proactively but he really hates that stuff and sulks for two days after treatment. I only mention because I have read some forums where some people believe the ingredients in Frontline may be at the point where some fleas have a resistance to them making that product less effective. So if you suspect fleas you might consider Advantage.

I've also been trying many cat foods since he rejected his long time dry food a few months ago. I feel you on your cat's rejection of the healthy foods--I feel like I live at PetSmart and could stock the cat food aisle shelves while I am in there comparing labels and getting more and more confused only to have him reject each one out of hand.

I was just there today and picked up one that mentions sensitive skin. It is Purina also, so not the healthiest but at this point I am desperate to find something he will eat and keep down. I haven't tried it yet but thought I would post it as it could possibly have some minor advantage towards skin issues. Note it is very high calorie compared to others so consider that too. I'll post if my cat rejects it immediately. https://www.proplan.com/dry-cat-food/focus-adult-sensitive-skin-stomach-lamb-rice-formula/

One thing I learned from reading many forums is that an all wet food diet is not a terrible thing. I've always fed a mixture of dry and wet but apparently all wet is OK. My cat still enjoys his wet food but I just don't feel like it is a good thing to go from dry and a 1/4 can of Fancy Feast to 2 full cans of Fancy Feast as his diet. Too much of a change. But he would be happy with that diet and his coat has come back nicely. I still am searching for an appropriate dry to add to the mix and reduce the amount of canned food.

[earthbot1]

15. Thanks for the info

Mine has never eaten wet food. The others loved it, but she won't go near it. Not even canned tuna.
She will eat fresh grilled tuna...of course.

I'm returning the Buffalo Blue food she did not eat, so maybe I'll try that Proplan next.
I will be saving all my receipts and return all the food from now on....wish they would stock sample pouches.

I am using Revolution now. I guess she is due for a dose.

[gvstn]

17. Yes, I started saving my receipts since they promote their return policy.

Last edited Fri Dec 20, 2013, 02:19 AM - Edit history (1)

I never return anything but at $20/bag (my Petsmart is always out of stock on the small bags of the ones I want to try) if they will take it back just because the cat won't eat it then I am good with that. I've been thinking the same thing that there should be some $2 pouches of the various brands to try for a few days--it would help both consumer and the companies.

My cat ate Nutro's natural brand and Blue's adult cat food but didn't really like them and vomited pretty much every day. That is a major switch from corn based to rice based but all the natural foods promote rice as more digestible. Petsmart's own brand which is supposed to be equivalent to Blue and often mentioned by their staff was rejected out of hand--he ate none of it (sweet potato/salmon). I was going from Purina One Urinary Tract version which the cat ate for 12 years and suddenly totally rejected (3 different bags).

I haven't tried totally grain free in the Blue brand--the salmon/sweet potato(Petsmart's Simply Nourish brand) was grain free but the cat wouldn't eat it.

I did just open the lamb based one and the cat was anxious to try it. He seems to have eaten a good bit (lamb is the only thing he begs for at the dinner table) so that is promising. I've been here before. I'll have to see how things go over the next week or two as far as vomiting. I really think my cat's problem with hair loss this summer was my not noticing fleas--I watched carefully but since the Advantage greatly reduced his excessive grooming I have to think the fleas were hiding despite my best intentions at detecting them. I've already decided to start dosing him with flea medicine at the first sign of excessive grooming this coming summer whether he likes it or not. Something was wrong with his usual dry food too as fleas wouldn't cause him to stop eating dry food but I haven't figured out what. Purina says no major changes to the formula since 2012 but he flat out wouldn't touch it and used to love it.

On your cat dissing wet food, I'll just say my cat rejects most wet food except for the gravy but really enjoys Fancy Feast Savory Salmon Feast flavor. I know this is probably one of their most popular flavors as it often has an empty spot on the shelves. He rejects most fresh fish and canned tuna but does like this food. I also remember seeing somewhere in my many cat food readings that it is one of the healthier varieties of mainstream wet cat foods. You might want to pick up a can to see if your cat will eat it to give a little oil to his/her diet.

I'll keep you informed on how he does with this Pro Plan variety. His coat has been looking good for the last couple of weeks eating mostly wet food so I am not sure I will be able to tell if it does anything for his skin.

[gvstn]

20. A quick update.

My cat officially "loves" this Pro Sensitive Skin and Stomach formula. It has only been five days but no vomiting. He is back to eating mostly dry and only a 1/4 can of wet at dinner time. He seems to have no desire for more wet but is back to his old "ways" of asking for refills of his dry food dish, something he hasn't done in several months. ( I kept his Blue Buffalo dry dish available these past few days but he never even touched it. So he was eating less because he didn't like it.)

The only down side I see is my cat has a tendency to be overweight. He actually was at a better weight after 4 mos. of problems finding a food he liked. This particular Pro plan formula is very high calorie at 529 calories/cup which is about 100 calories above most other cat foods which go between 360cal/cup to 430cal/cup. So he should be eating about 2/3 cup a day and I know I couldn't even keep him down to 1 full cup a day on the lower calorie Urinary Tract formula without him begging. 100 calories is a big jump for a cat so I, and you if you try it, should be careful about letting our cats eat too much.

Worth a try if you think your cat doesn't like his current foods. I can't say it will help with his patchy coat but it does feel good to see your cat enjoy his meal. I hope you find something that works for you both.

[angstlessk]

14. Have a very large cat...Maine Coon, I think

When we lived in VA his back side was horrible and bare...we moved to Detroit...the first year it was like 20 below zero...

Kitteh grew much hair all over his body....

This year...not so much cold...and he is missing hair on his backside again....not like VA....but still worrisome

I would never think I would wish for 20 below zero temps...for a few days, but I do...we can all cuddle up...and the fleas, or whatever is Bootsies (I call him Precious Face) problem can just go away!!!

[lastlib]

16. (There are no cat OWNERS--only cat SERVANTS....)

Jus' sayin.....................

[applegrove]

18. I know someone who has a dog that does that. He's tried all sorts of treatment. What seems

to work best is a cone around his head so he cannot get at his rear. That's unfortunate but he only got the dog at 7 or 8 years old so does not know its early psychological history.

[earthbot1]

19. Thanks for all the feedback!

I think the only solution is to get more cats to eat all that leftover food!