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.

[susansnider]

See my post from Jan. 21, 2009.  Mittens was given Reglan (sp?) during her sick bouts.  A newer medication that has come out is Amitriptryline and that is what I now give her when needed, which is now on a rare occasion.  I read somewhere a while ago about massaging cats and dogs to relieve stress and help keep them calm.....so for about the last year I have been massaging her VERY firmly all over with one hand, including her belly....firmly enough to where her whole body moves on the bed.  I rub and knead her.  She wasn't sure about it at first, but now she loves it and talks and talks and purrs so loud.  I also try to give her as much attention as I can.  I have seen a HUGE improvement in her......she rarely gets sick and when she does, it's only a 1 time thing....no continually getting sick with the white foam.  Once in a geat while she does and that's when I give her the Amitriptryline for several days until she is better. And she now has fur all grown back now on her  legs, stomach, so the obsessive licking has stopped.   I am thrilled that she is so much better and that I hardly ever have to medicate her anymore.  So try this and let us know if it helps.  It can't hurt!

[Ghilly]

Self-grooming is a cat relaxation technique.  When they are tense it calms them down.  Sometimes it gets to the point, however, that it becomes an obsessive-compulsive disorder and they end up with bald spots.  It's usually stress related although it CAN be caused by thyroid problems.  It might be a good idea for your vet to run tests to make sure there are no issues with the cat's thyroid.

Ghilly

[bakedgoodsbyjk]

did he end up stopping cleaning himself? My cat is stressing me out beyond belief because he is over grooming to the point of bleeding. I have paid over 600$ in vet bills testing him for everything and he has a clean bill of health its just nervousness. I also have a second cat which is his sister and she doesnt do any of it. Any advice would help.

[tracey1966]

my cat is licking and pulling her fur out, first vets thought it was flea allergy now they treating her for stress with tablets and also specialist food as it could also be a flea allergy well over £200 later and 4 weeks later, still no improvement, give it another 4 weeks and i will have a bald cat, vet thinks it stress when im not about, but she does it when she is with me, any ideas

[opus88]

yeah never know about the carpet....also what kind of litter are you using?...try NON perfumed or other more natural products such as paper pettets. when its the belly and hind legs as you describe its often associated with something they are 'in contact' with in that area...so I believe you are on the right track...good luck and keep us posted, btw it may take awhile to notice improvements so don't give up...-)

[hamptonva]

Same story, young 6 month old kitten adopted from shelter, nothing wrong with her, brought her home, got along well with our other cats, always used Feline Pine, dry food, sparingly wet food at night only, all inside cats so no fleas.  All was happy for many, many months.

But then she started licking her hair off, hind legs, belly, etc., and just the one cat.

We took her to the vets, tried holistic food, that didn't help, and eventually allowed a steriod shot to give the poor thing some relief.  That helped for about a month, and then it started again.

However, all along, we "knew" that she began licking herself after I bought some cheap carpet at Lowes to lay down in our hallway, to cover up the hardwood floors that I need to replace and re-finish.  I laid the carpet down to help keep the cold out during the winter months, just as a quick cheap fix until I get around the re-finishing the hardwood floors.

The wife and I think the capret might be the problem so today, we removed it.  And I got this brainstorm after reading a previous post where someone had a similar problem, just by introducing a plastic water & food feeder to their cat, and their cat began licking.

I will post the results but this carpet has to be the problem, and I will let you know.

And as s side note, decades ago, I had a hamster and I got tired of replacing the stinky cedar chips so I had a "bright idea" and decided to use small cut carpet squares in the cage instead of cedar.  I looked cool, and i was young and stupid. However, I noticed the hamster would chew on the carpet, make nests out of the fibers, etc. but after about 6 months, the hamster grew a cancerous tumor on its side and several months later, the hamster died.

And to think we have this carpet like this in our houses and work???  I think it's time for me to finish the hardwood floors!

I will post our findings in about a month, or when/if we see some improvement with "baldy."

Frank