gentlemonkey Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 So, one of our kitties has a growing bald area on her belly, ass and haunches.. we also noticed she has hacked up some disturbingly huge hairballs. (by 'noticed', I mean 'stepped in') Anyway, we have changed up her food recently in case its an allergy, but does anyone have any experience in this? Are there gross flavoured sprays I could coat her underside with? I have caught her 'snacking' on herself quite often lately. Aesthetically, I'm okay with it. but I'm worried if she ends up in the real world someday, other kitties may judge her harshly. Help!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gentlemonkey Posted December 17, 2010 Author Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 I should also admit that I've always wanted a bald cat- so maybe its just a wish coming true. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Freak By Night Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 My cat was doing the same thing on her back a couple of years ago. I took her into the vet and they tested for any skin conditions (they charged me plenty for the tests).No problems were found. The vet explained that sometimes cats exhibit strange behavior when they get older, and there's not much that can be done about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bONES Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 (edited) does anyone have any experience in this? my story doesn't end so well Marbles, my cat had the same thing happen to her in the spring. I was starting to notice hair loss mostly in her hind end. Then it spread to her legs and when she was in the vets they were pulling it out by the handful. The doctors tried many, many tests to pinpoint what was going on and an ultrasound finally detected 3 large masses in her liver. I held her in my arms as the veterinarian put her down, and it's been one of the hardest days of my life. I'm sure this is not what you wanted to read/hear, but it might be worth a trip to the vets. Edited December 17, 2010 by Guest forgot to mention...Marbles was NOT a kitten (I think she was about 10) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StoneMtn Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 I had the opposite experience with a dog. She was prescribes skin cream to address the areas that were itching and she was biting. Problem solved thereafter.You should take her to be examined. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phishtaper Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 well, count me among the many terribly disappointed once i opened up this thread. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fluffhead77 Posted December 17, 2010 Report Share Posted December 17, 2010 Shave it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Im going home Donny Posted December 18, 2010 Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 well, count me among the many terribly disappointed once i opened up this thread. Ha!Ya I experianced a 360 emotional spin around...Hope your guys kitty is okay. Meow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deranger Posted December 18, 2010 Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 well, count me among the many terribly disappointed once i opened up this thread. yep Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted December 18, 2010 Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 Take the cat to the vet, or at least call them (it may save you money too). Cats are the best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phishtaper Posted December 18, 2010 Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 yeah, go to the vet. thats the only way to know for sure. but then be prepared for some very very expensive prescription cream that will likely be no better than $3 walmart vitE cream. (that's how them dudes make that cash) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MuleMomma Posted December 18, 2010 Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 My kitty was going bald around the ears and head, and the vet prescribed her Prednisone (a kitty dosage of a steroid-based antibiotic) and some olive/fish oil combination to sooth the irritation, and her hair magically grew back. Not sure if it was a result of these things or that whatever it was had just run it's course, but I'm happy to report that she got better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hal Johnson Posted December 18, 2010 Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 Our cat Stan was eating the fur on his belly a few years ago. We took him to the vet and they said he had anxiety issues. They wanted to put him on prozac. Seriously! Put a cat on prozac...as if. We got him some new food, new toys, and generally just tried to improve his overall quality of life as best we could. Took him to the rippers...that kind of stuff;) But seriously, it seemed to work, he's still here, 15 yrs young. Hope that's all that's wrong with your cat, but you should follow everyone's advice and visit a vet. Better safe than sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velvet Posted December 18, 2010 Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 At one point the late Studebacher Hoch (Cat Of Cats, Benefactor Of Grand Affections) grew (ungrew?) a bald spot on his lower back. The vet suggested that he may be allergic to fleas, a suggestion I found strange as it was clear to all parties that he didn't have fleas. Regardless, we gave him a shot of that clear flea goo that goes on the neck. Gave it to him once a month for two or three months. The hair grew back and the problem never returned.Nine years later he got cancer, however in the interim he reached para-nirvana. I invite you to draw your own conclusions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phishtaper Posted December 18, 2010 Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 im not sure what you are implying, velvet. are you suggesting that the meds caused cancer? was it the topical flea treatment called "advantage" that comes in the small vial/tube? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ollie Posted December 18, 2010 Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 One of our cats has had chronic licking/bald patch/hairball/vomit issues for most of her life. The vet has prescribed various treatments over the years: new diet, prednisone, shots, anti-anxiety medication, creams, etc. Nothing really worked. Expensive allergy test revealed nothing.Eventually I got tired of seeing my cat being treated as a guinea pig on my dime so I just stopped taking her to the vet. If not better she's doing no worse than when she was being treated.But, yeah, take your cat to the vet. Hopefully it's a treatable condition. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velvet Posted December 18, 2010 Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 Sorry, not trying to imply anything of the sort, and I forget what brand of flea goo it was.I was trying to make a joke along the lines of..."he went ice fishing and bam, three years later died of syphilis."It occurs to me that it's hard to be funny when discussing pet death. Again my apologies.However I do think my cat reached paranirvana, I wasn't kidding about that. Which is a bit of a shame, as it also occurs to me that it would be significantly easier to be funny when discussing cats achieving living bodhihood.Anyways, Happy Birthday Gentlemonkey! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big Wooly Mammoth Posted December 18, 2010 Report Share Posted December 18, 2010 Iggy (may he rest in kitty peace) wxhibited similiar behaviour at one point. Vet suggested it was anxiety. a shot of cortisone in the area resolved the issue.We put Cassidy on Prozac as a last resort when she was having "issues." (like peeing and crapping everywhere and crazily hissing at the other cats in the house.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_rawk Posted December 19, 2010 Report Share Posted December 19, 2010 Anyway, we have changed up her food recently in case its an allergy, but does anyone have any experience in this?Are there gross flavoured sprays I could coat her underside with? I have caught her 'snacking' on herself quite often lately.We had a cat with similar issues. It was suggested that it was allergenic dermatitis. I'm not sure if that was actually the case -- I'd witnessed herself chewing on the area enough to be skeptical.In the end, we changed her food to a hypo-allergenic variety (we had to switch a couple of times -- I'm not at liberty to name names, but a certain representative of certain company that has a product beginning with the letter 'M' had to fly to Ottawa and give us a couple of thousand dollars to cover damages .. there was never a recall)She's been fine since -- I still catch her licking at herself to what I would think an unnecessary degree, but she's always been kind of like that. The diet change seemed to fix things. It's possible that it was behavioural (her 'Mom' had been working long hours and wasn't around a lot to give her attention, and I tend to not notice cats enough to give them love), but I don't know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmic ChrisC Posted December 20, 2010 Report Share Posted December 20, 2010 But, yeah, take your cat to the vet. Hopefully it's a treatable condition.Oh yeah, Ollie didn't mention that our cat was diagnosed with IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease), which includes excess hairballs, vomiting, not eating for long periods of time, excess grooming, anxiety, blah blah. She's a little mess, but even when she doesn't eat for five days in a row, she still has amazing energy. She's just a little bag of nerves! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmic ChrisC Posted December 20, 2010 Report Share Posted December 20, 2010 In the end, we changed her food to a hypo-allergenic variety (we had to switch a couple of times -- I'm not at liberty to name names, but a certain representative of certain company that has a product beginning with the letter 'M' had to fly to Ottawa and give us a couple of thousand dollars to cover damages .. there was never a recall) What type of damage was there from the food you were giving your cat? And how did you prove that the food did it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jaimoe Posted December 20, 2010 Report Share Posted December 20, 2010 (edited) I'd advise not feeding cats the shitty cheapo food (such as Whiskas) flooding the shelves of big grocery stores such as Loblaws. I feed my little monsters Wellness (both soft and dry - all natural). I also stick to the same flavour to avoid any "mishaps". Edited December 20, 2010 by Guest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d_rawk Posted December 20, 2010 Report Share Posted December 20, 2010 What type of damage was there from the food you were giving your cat? And how did you prove that the food did it?We didn't prove, which I suppose is why there wasn't an official recall (though I suspect that they made some changes on their end).Two samples were sent out - one internally from the animal hospital, and one to company in question.The animal hospital only ordered tests for molds and such. The sample that was sent to company itself was conveniently 'lost'.Four cats (yes, I have four cats now .. and I don't even like cats very much) were severally ill and had started puking everywhere as soon as we had put them on the food, and one was in the animal hospital for about four days (her bloodwork was all over the place, and her liver was failing). There had been no sign of such troubles before we switched the bag of food. A company rep came out here and covered the bill.We switched them off to another brand of food and all was cool again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seejay Posted December 20, 2010 Report Share Posted December 20, 2010 our cat started to overgroom himself when he was about a year old. we talked to the vet each time we were there but since he was healthy in all other ways never bothered with any kind of tests. every vet he had always said it was just some kind of anxiety thing that was resulting in compulsive grooming. sometimes he would lick his belly to the point where he would scab over and we would sometimes put olive oil on his belly to help protect his skin. he always had a bald patch on his back at the base of his tail, sometimes halfway up his back. we changed diets. we tried fish oil on his food. we tried to hold on to him and prevent him from licking in hopes of some sort of behaviour mod taking place. nothing made any difference and didn't want to put him on prozac. i think he did it until he wasn't flexible enough to bend like that. he will be 20 in march. clearly it didn't harm him any. it just made him look all mangy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Velvet Posted December 20, 2010 Report Share Posted December 20, 2010 For those that don't know, there's pet insurance (my mother is a long-time pet owner and she had never heard of it, so pehaps it's news to some of you). There are several different types of coverage and it may well be worth looking into for some of you.Our cat isn't covered yet; he has no way to afford the premiums, but we're looking into getting it and footing the bill on his behalf (cute little fucker). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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