Cat licking her hair off - allergies or stress?

[Samson_Delilah]

My female cat has started licking off her hair on her paws and legs and possibly is starting on her belly - they are long hair and it's kinda hard to tell until a definite bald patch appears.  This has been happening since before Christmas.  At first I thought it was due to the loss of her beloved "Cat tree" but I got her a replacement - although I'm not sure she likes it near as much.  The Vet thinks it's an allergy - probably to food - but I can't get her to eat the $35 per 8lb bag of Green Pea and Duck food I bought for her.  She went days without eating and I finally gave in - as I didnt want to deal with those complications too.  So, I have just ordered another type of food - Venison and Green Pea - hopefully she'll like that a little better.....and I've ordered the stop itch wipes and lotion from Dr. Fosters and Smith.  I am hoping one of those will help.  The other issue is that I travel A LOT for my job - often gone at least 3 or 4 days.  I started travelling this heavy in September and her hair loss started after Thanksgiving.

Any ideas or things I can try.  I was thinking of trying the Feliway diffuser - but after just ordering over $50 of food and itch relief - I am going to hold off before spending $30 on an air diffuser.

Any comments are appreciated.

[tigermiller240]

Actualy your had may have a disorder called ocd
Or obsessive cleaning disorder... He/she may be a clean freak and be obsesed with keeping clean... To fibout if this is whats wrong take her/him to a vet they will give you a head cone or even a medicationt to help him/her stop

[opus88]

hi again, I am so sorry for the loss of your husband recently, I really don't agree with all the stress supplements your Vet prescribed. but thats my opinion.
like I mentioned earlier, excessive licking is almost always due to dry skin and sensitivities. especially when on a diet of dry food this can be a chronic problem. even heavy drinkers don't compensate for the loss of fluids they get when eating dehydrated food.
and believe me I know abt fussy eaters and dry food, when one of my boys got diagnosed with FLUTD over 2 years ago(he was also a kibble head and would refuse anything other than ONE brand of that)...it was extremely hard to get him OFF this dry food...but I did win, it has to be a slow transition.
I will send you a link to an excellent site, this Vet really pushes a raw homemade diet however if you skip over that and read what she has to say abt dry food diets you will too be convinced that this is his problem.

on the right hand side of her page you can click on best 'commercial foods' on the market for a list of good canned diets. however she does insist that ANY can food is BETTER than dry.
.you can also click on the right hand side(list) for 'help to transition from dry food to cans' she has many good suggestions that helped me.

so read her blog than come back and we will help you trouble shoot some more, good luck Marianne and Spike♥

http://www.catinfo.org/

[Spike11]

ok I did find the posts and found them most interesting......I was reading the part about dry cat food and my Spike is a constant kibble eater as well as wet food.....and the problem also with him is that hubby had spoilt him rotten to the extent he won`t drink from his bowl.....I have to turn on the bathroom tap for him to drink at all and that often is not a great deal......he lets me know when he does want a drink by sitting at the bathroom door as does he sit by the kitchen door when he wants a feed.....which he has several small feeds a day of wet food.....since my hubby has passed Spike has been a constant lap sitter and very rarely is out of my sight (or lap).....if I try to move him off he bites or scratches me.....I don`t want to sound morbid but my hubby passed away in bed and Spike was on his chest licking his face, which he now does to me if I tend to sleep a little later than usual, as well as giving me a gentle slap on the face, I figure he is afraid I am going to leave as well (does this make sense)....if I stop him from licking he does lash out at me a well.....he has never been like this as he has always been a bit standoffish only wanting a cuddle when he wanted it....this is why the vet has put it all down to stress and also selling me a fortune in products which have done nothing at all......they now want to do a pile of tests which unfortunately I cannot afford at this stage.......I buy the crystal litter which has no odour, but he is an extremely fussy eater that will only eat one brand of cat food and one flavour only......so I am thinking maybe the dry food is also aiding to the dry skin....what do you think?
sorry to have made this so long
Marianne

[Spike11]

That`s ok no worries, but I have been scrolling down and cannot seems to find the post you are talking about...sorry I was a blonde before my hair went grey lol......I did follow your link but nothing from Feb 2011.....is it me or?
hate to be a pain......Marianne

[opus88]

geez I'm sorry the above link I just gave you I now noticed is VERY OLD..contains many outdated and irrelevant postings..when you open it up please page way down to at least Jan 2011 and read from there...sorry about that...

[Spike11]

I have a Russian Blue and he is 11 yrs old......I have recently lost my hubby and this (spike) was his cat......since then he is continuously grooming and licking his fur off his back, which looks terrible......he is also continuously licking me....I have had him to the vet and tried stress tabs and the aroma stuff but nothing works.....he is an inside cat and is also regularly fleed........his skin looks dry from all the licking......if he has licked me I am soaking wet in that area......is there anything I can rub into his skin to stop him from doing this as it`s driving me nuts, besides making him look dreadful....
Marianne