Severe Hair Loss

Let me say first, YES we have seen (and are seeing) a vet. 2 vets, actually. On general practice vet and one veterinary behavior specialist.

I have posted about this cat before, concerned about the thinning of the hair on his legs and the base of his tail. But it seemed to really improve so I decided to wait and see. Suddenly, the hair is just gone.

Pictures:



I did take him to a general practice vet who tested him for ringworm and ran a full blood panel + thyroid test. Ringworm was negative and all blood values were normal. She sent his photos to an animal dermatologist to see what they think. In the meantime, she gave me some Clomipramine to see if it might be neurotic over-grooming (personally I think not). I haven't given him the Clomipramine because I am running it by the veterinary behavior specialist he sees for his aggression issues with my other cat. We will see what he says.

While I am waiting on the opinions of various professionals, what do you guys think? The hair loss is symmetrical. Both front legs, both hocks, all over his thighs and underbelly. The bald spots are not red or irritated. The remaining hairs are soft, not prickly. I do not observe him grooming more than the other cats. They all eat the same food. They are all indoor only. He used to have normal hair. He is 3 years old. Neutered. Bottle baby, always been vaccinated. Sorry for the string of details, just randomly thinking of things that might be relevant.

Miliary dermititis presents as excessive licking especially on the stomach, right above the tail, and outside of the back legs. Stress aggravates it, but sometimes it is behavioral. My girl is on steroids to see if that helps.

Well like I said. I don't really see him licking much. In fact my other cat licks way more and has a beautiful hair coat. Do you notice your girl licking a lot?

Yes, she was licking excessively.

Has a food sensitivity been ruled out? A mild sensitivity may just cause balding and some itching which a cat would try to soothe by licking.

LTS3 said:

Has a food sensitivity been ruled out? A mild sensitivity may just cause balding and some itching which a cat would try to soothe by licking.

Click to expand...

Nope, this hasn't been ruled out. I did ask my vet if he could have allergies and she said she would expect a lot more redness and itchiness. Would you disagree? I'm open to suggestions here because I haven't a clue.

Well one of my cats gets bald spots from the most random stuff It wouldn't hurt to look into a food sensitivity. Common ingredients that can cause food sensitivities are chicken, grains, gums, and other fillers. What brand are you feeding the cats now?

Fancy Feast Classics pate. Turkey, Beef, and Chicken. Pretty simple ingredients in those, but there is indeed chicken and guar gum.

How do you suggest going about finding a good allergy? Do I need to switch foods entirely, or should I just try cutting out the chicken variety of what I already feed?

Maybe just cut out chicken to start. I think many of the FF has chicken in some form? You may want to switch to a brand that has varieties without any chicken or a vague label (say "meat by product" or just "liver"). Give the new chicken-free diet about 13 weeks or so to see if there's any improvement with the balding or not. Then try going gum-free for about the same amount of time. If the balding continues, try eliminating another ingredient. With some cats it takes quite awhile to figure out what is causing the sensitivity.

You can use this chart to make finding suitable foods easier: Check This Out.... Chart For Cat Food Ingredients

Hmm, okay. You're right, all of the varieties contain liver or meat by products. Food is a frustrating topic to me. It's difficult to find food that is high protein, moderate fat, low carb that doesn't empty my bank account. I'll have to look around and see what I can find.