My cat has been going bald

by MIchelyn
(Beaver dam WI)

Um hi, a few months ago (around 6) we noticed our cat going bald on her back near her tail. The hair grew back then, a short while later her hair was falling out easily. Now her back legs, tail, and rump are bald. The hair on her front legs is almost gone. She throws up any food immeadiatly after eating, but she seems to want to eat, FROMM food she can keep down, but the "lower" brands she can't keep down, like purina and meow mix. She also gets hairballs sometimes that she throws up with food.

We had brought her to to vet, they said no for mites or anything.They said she might have allergies So we put her on Science Diet Z/D. But she seems to be getting worse!! AND she had diareaha really bad. We used to give her human food and she NEVER got diareaha. I am really worried about the hair loss. She seems to act normal and everything. I've noticed since we moved to my mother's house she has been worse. The flea's here are crazy cause my mom has 3 dogs and dosen't do anything about the flea's. We have her on advantage cause i won't see her sufer with flea's.

Could this problem be a diesese or something? Nothing seems to help her bring her hair back, the food does nothing, and i've tried alot of differant food. She itches a little, and has scabs around her neck, and little red bumps on her back near her tail. I'm not a vet but her hair and skin feel soft.

Answer by Kate
well it could well be an allergy to flea bites. My own cat gets this and if not kept completly away from fleas will drive herself crazy scratching which could lead to fur loss. the other casue of fur loss is over grooming which is caused by stress. it may well be that the cat feels unhappy around the dogs.

if I were you i would take them back to the vet and ask for further tests to see if it could be a flea allergy. In which case you may have to persuade your mother to get the dogs treated for fleas otherwise the problem will persist.

If it is not a allergy then you may have to look at the cats home arrangements concerning the dogs in case it is a stress thing.

best wishes Kate

Comments for My cat has been going bald

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back leg hair loss
by: deb r.

My 5 year old grey tiger cat has lost her hair on both back legs from her hips to her paws. Also, I notice hair loss on her belly. There are no sores, no redness and no visible signs of fleas. She acts completely normal and does not scratch excessivly. Just gives herself her normal bathing. Eating normal, although I have started buying better cat food. She eat wet food in the morning and always has a dish of dry food. Occasionally, spits up a hairball. Has been vomiting once in awhile.....maybe a couple times a week. I thought it was from gobbling down her wet food. So, I give her half a can to begin with, then a few hours later, the other half. She is an inside cat. I used to take her outside on a least once a week or so, to eat grass and just enjoy the outdoors, but quit doing that. I also quit using catnip on her toys. I used to give her "people" food on occasion, thinking it was a treat. I quit doing that, too. With these changes, I hoped to see improvement. It has been 2 weeks now and I will have to call the vet. The strange part to me is, she acts like she always has. Any comments as to why this is happening would be appreciated. Thank you.
A possible cure
by: Janet

Our cat like yours suffered from baldness at his rear end between his legs and stomach, he had this for about 3 years we tried everything the vet said but nothing worked. We noticed he was getting a bit skinny so we added GoCat biscuits once a day to his meal and after 2 weeks we noticed that some of the hair was returning he is now back to his former handsome fluffy self.
I think this was probably due to a lack of varied nutrition in his diet and supplemented with GoCat put back the vitamins he needed.
Another tip: He is now 18 and his joints are getting a little stiff so we have started to give him Cod Liver Oil capsules 50g (from the chemist) every other day and he is moving so much better. Simply break open the capsule into a dish, my cat loves it.
Hope this is helpful.
bald cat
by: val from lower brailes nr banbury oxon

my cat is going bald on his head and by his shoulders help wat is it he is still eating well. but he is drinking more do i need to take him to a vet he is 2 years old we live in a quiet area he is not stressed he is loved loads we have a hen and a small westi dog they all get on well
bald
by: Anonymous

One off my cats has started to go bald on her back by tail , she's not got flees ticks and eating normal and her coat is still immaculate , the other cat is fine shebis a Persian cross
Help
by: Anonymous

My cat Charlie is going bald too. What started out as patches of baldness is now his whole back end is bald. He also has sores around his neck area. I don't know what to do he looks awful .the vet gave him a shot said it was probably allergies didn't do any good. Going to take him back to the veg need answers he's my baby

Comment
Have you checked out the allergies page on this site?
Also make sure you are not using a flea collar as this can cause nasty problems for some cats too.

Hope you can find out what is causing the fur loss soon.

best wishes Kate
Cyd
by: Anonymous

Our kitty had the same problem getting sick losing hair. We took him to the vet and had his blood checked he has hyper thyroid. He has been taking medicine daily since then and his hair is coming back.. His weight is normal ( he was a bit overweight) and he is more active and keeping his food down just fine.
My cat has been going bald!
by: TgirlIndy

I notice my cat was losing his hair on his spine near his tail. He does not have fleas or any signs of irritation. He is an outdoor indoor cat so I was thinking it might be we're he is going under fences. But I recently brought home a new puppy so it may be a stress thing. My friends cats also has the same issue. He too is in a house of multiple animals. Leaving an animal or introducing new pets may be stressing them out. This seems to be the most common situations when this happens. My husband started loosing patches of his beard from stress.
enduring the same issue
by: Marie

Hi! I too,have a cat loosing his hair. Have taken him to the vet & had many,many test with no explanation as to why it's happening-it remains a mystery. Buzz (my cat) is healthy,happy & very loved! We have never had a problem with any fleas,mites nor disease-even the vet compliments us on how well we care for our animals. To us they're not simply our cats/dog but,our babies. It has been quite baffeling with Buzz. When he first began going bald,few months later,his hair returned only,to again loose it. Nothing has changed in his daily activities ethier-he still loves water,playing,eating(the cats enjoy wet food for breakfast & supper & dry all thru day/night;they are kept on same brand-Friskies that,has been given since thier birth)
Besides him,we have 2 other cats-each have shown no balding & 1 dog. Have done much research but,have yet to find the answer(s);anyone with information,please let me know-can be reached at mariebennett2008@hotmail.com


Marie,from NC

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