Front Paws Have Hairless Patches

[Saturnine2587]

hey guys! I have an issue that has stumped two vets. My 10 year old lil boy has a hairless patch on both front paws. They eventually grow back but reappear. Both vets had no clue however they did no scraping or black light testing. I have two other cats and they all eat along beautifully, however I have a very active and often annoying 4 year old toddler that Sowilo is scared of. In my head I’ve reconciled myself to thinking it’s over grooming caused by stress. I have purchased feliway stress reducer but have not received it yet.

Any thoughts?

 

[abyeb]

Have you made any recent changes to his diet? Do you use any cleaning products? Fur loss in cats can be caused by allergies.

This article has more information about various skin problems in cats: Skin Conditions In Cats

 

[Saturnine2587]

Thank you so much for replying abyed! Food, litter and treats have all stayed consistent. Also wet, Origen dry and pure bites for more than 3 years. I’m leaning more to behaviour.

P.S your little babe is adorable!

 

[Saturnine2587]

I meant almo for wet. Cleaning products have been consistent too!

 

[Etarre]

I tend to agree with you that it could be stress-induced overgrooming, although that would be an unusual spot for it. Does your cat have lots of hiding places where he can get away from your toddler, and safe paths around the house out of the reach of tiny hands? If not, you might try to increase his vertical space and give him some more nooks in a quiet place where he can go to chill out alone.

For some cats, brushing can also be very calming, and might be worth a try if yours likes being brushed. Short daily sessions of any kind of positive attention (play, brushing, petting) at a specific time can also help cats feel more secure and loved.

 

[Saturnine2587]

He has pretty much the whole top floor free from the little one most of the day. I even brought our tall cat tree up.

 

[Saturnine2587]

He has pretty much the whole top floor free from the little one most of the day. I even brought our tall cat tree up.

 

[Saturnine2587]

I made an appointment to get to the bottom of it. I’ll let you guys know what the vet says. Ugh the worrying just eats away at me.

 

[Saturnine2587]

Hey just an update! Vet says she thinks it’s a food allergy or stress. So I have to figure out which protein he’s allergic to and bought feliway spray to calm him.

Sucks but I kinda hope it’s an allergy over stress.

I also got a geriatric panel done but don’t have the results yet.

She wasn’t concerned about his overall condition tho.

 

[Etarre]

Good luck figuring it out! Sounds like the vet had some good advice.

We think that Juniper is allergic to chicken. She had a bald spot on her tail when we got her, and when we switched her to high-quality protein food, she started to get itchy rashes above her eyes. The rescue we got her from had suggested using chicken baby food to bond with her, and we noticed a correlation between giving it to her and her eyes swelling up, so we eliminated everything with chicken, and voila! problem seemingly solved. There's some good information in the 'health' thread on allergies, and in the 'nutrition' thread on foods to try once you figure out her allergy, if that does turn out to be the problem.