Elderly Cat has pulled out a large portion of her hair

catmomisconcerned

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Hi there. I'm at my wits end and don't know what to do. One of my cats (roughly about 14 years old) over the past couple years has been progressively balding. When it first started, I took her to the vet and after several visits, the vet said it was stress induced. I've tried so much to try to help and I just don't know what to do now. The lower half of her body is almost completely bald at this point. Does anyone know how I can help her? All other behavior has been normal. She eats just fine, uses the litter box, plays. I just want her to be ok.
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StanAndAlf

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Poor dear.

Is it from overgrooming? My older cat was diagnosed with stress-induced OCD, and he used to pull out chunks of his fur with his teeth while grooming. He also acted relatively normal otherwise, taking into consideration his thyroid issues at the time. My vet put him on a hormone regulator called Ovarid, where he got one small tablet a week, and he stopped pulling his fur. What have you tried so far, and what treatments has your vet recommended?
 
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catmomisconcerned

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The vet didn't recommend anything :/. They ran tests, concluded it was stress and sent us on our way.

I've tried toys, cubby holes, changing food (just to test the allergy theory). Over all giving her her own spaces. She likes to sit with me a lot so I spend a lot of time with her. I ordered Feliway to try next.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. I presume she overgrooms? While not out of the realm of possibility, symptoms of stress usually manifest themselves in more than just one manner.

When the vet did tests, did they take hair samples, or perhaps even a skin scraping, for analysis to see if anything showed up from that aspect?

Has the vet performed metabolic testing to look for chemical imbalances? A higher level of hormone-induced steroids has been known to cause hair follicles to actually die causing baldness. How about arthritis? Surprisingly enough, arthritis can cause a cat to lick the areas where the arthritis is causing discomfort or aggravation.

If it is truly stress related, and the Feliway diffusers don't help any, there are other brands/types on the market to try. Also, you could consider cat music - David Teie's Music for Cats which is on Prime and Spotify, Cat In My Arms on Spotify and elsewhere, and RelaxMyCat. Members on this site swear by it for helping to relax/calm a cat! Perhaps, if it is allowed in your area, CBD oil might be an option.
 
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catmomisconcerned

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Hi. I presume she overgrooms? While not out of the realm of possibility, symptoms of stress usually manifest themselves in more than just one manner.

When the vet did tests, did they take hair samples, or perhaps even a skin scraping, for analysis to see if anything showed up from that aspect?

Has the vet performed metabolic testing to look for chemical imbalances? A higher level of hormone-induced steroids has been known to cause hair follicles to actually die causing baldness. How about arthritis? Surprisingly enough, arthritis can cause a cat to lick the areas where the arthritis is causing discomfort or aggravation.

If it is truly stress related, and the Feliway diffusers don't help any, there are other brands/types on the market to try. Also, you could consider cat music - David Teie's Music for Cats which is on Prime and Spotify, Cat In My Arms on Spotify and elsewhere, and RelaxMyCat. Members on this site swear by it for helping to relax/calm a cat! Perhaps, if it is allowed in your area, CBD oil might be an option.
I could try CBD as well actually! A lot of shops around here sell it for cats/dogs. I know they ran a lot of tests but arthritis I don't think is actually something they looked at. How would you suggest I go about looking into that?
 

FeebysOwner

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I know they ran a lot of tests but arthritis I don't think is actually something they looked at. How would you suggest I go about looking into that?
Most of the time, the vet will do x-rays of their neck/spine/hips and legs to look for signs of joint damage, bone thickening, and inflammation. Feeby has had them without sedation - I think in most cases they can do the x-rays without any sort of sedation.

Find out what tests they ran to know whether they looked for anything above and beyond the standard CBC and Super Chemistry blood panels.
 
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LTS3

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You can get another opinion from a different vet. I personally would not settle for a :dunno: and being sent on my way without getting a diagnosis or some idea what might be wrong.

How long did you try changing the food? It takes at least 13 weeks or so to see if a food trial helps or not. What brand of food did you try? What was the main protein in the food? Chicken is a common cause of food sensitivities that may show up as skin issues.
 
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