Cat problem----Help Please

Hi golfcartrider,

I posted this reply in your other thread on Among Friends -- don't know if you saw it....

Your cat may have been bothered by something and pulled some of his fur out. Sometimes this can morph from a one-time problem into becoming a habit --which then becomes a behavioral problem.

One of the most common reasons for cats to pull their fur out is an adverse reaction to internal or external flea treatments.

Food allergies can also cause a cat to pull their fur out. Food allergies are very difficult to pinpoint. A recent change in diet can cause problems too.

Fleas can bite just once causing flea dermatitis and cats will pull their fur out around that area. Once the bite heals up, cats can sometimes get into the habit of pulling their fur out.

Or your cat may just be in the habit of pulling his fur out because of some type of stressor.

If the case is that your cat is in the habit of pulling his fur out, you need to re-train your cat not to pull out his fur. Can be challenging, but is doable.

I would suggest that you buy a wrap-around cat harness or a Thundershirt that will cover most of the cat's body. This will immediately prevent him from pulling his fur out.

If it's the back or the tail where he is pulling out his fur, there is also a product called SELF-STICK WIDE BANDAGE WRAP that you can wrap around the cat's body which will also stop the cat from pulling his fur out. Make sure that you don't wrap it too tightly.

I suggest that you supervise your cat closely while he is wearing either the harness or Thundershirt and/or if you decide to use self-stick bandage wrap on your cat.

Next, look into changing the type of litter you are using. Choose a litter that is non-scented. Gradually add a cup or two daily of the new brand of litter to the old brand of litter so that the cat doesn't notice the change. Eventually, swap out the entire old litter and use the new litter exclusively.

Buy a Feliway plug in diffuser and plug it in where your cat hangs out. Feliway is a synthetic cat pheromone that calms anxiety in cats. Feliway takes a few days to work so don't give up on it if you don't see results right away.

Prednisone will help temporarily. But you still may need to interfere with the cats HABIT of pulling the fur out so you may still need to immediately prevent the cat from accessing the area's of his body where he is prone to pull fur out.

Increase the cats play time. Buy him a TURBO SCRATCHER ($12 Walmart) so he can play independently. Flick a feather at him so he jumps up and down. Increased playtime will get his mind off of pulling his fur out.

I've read that some people who had cats that pulled their fur out -- rubbed orange zest in their hands and applied some of it to the cats coat where he was biting at himself. The cat didn't like the taste of the orange zest and stopped grooming himself (temporarily.) By the time the orange zest wore off, the cat had forgotten about pulling his fur out. (I can't recommend this remedy as I've never tried it on any of my own cats so I don't know if this would be successful. I'd also be concerned about the orange zest getting into the eyes of the cat.)

Hope these suggestions are helpful and that you find the answer to the problem soon.

On 9/17/2014 Jeremiah 2911 said:

Hi golfcartrider,

I posted this reply in your other thread on Among Friends -- don't know if you saw it....

Your cat may have been bothered by something and pulled some of his fur out. Sometimes this can morph from a one-time problem into becoming a habit --which then becomes a behavioral problem.

One of the most common reasons for cats to pull their fur out is an adverse reaction to internal or external flea treatments.

Food allergies can also cause a cat to pull their fur out. Food allergies are very difficult to pinpoint. A recent change in diet can cause problems too.

Fleas can bite just once causing flea dermatitis and cats will pull their fur out around that area. Once the bite heals up, cats can sometimes get into the habit of pulling their fur out.

Or your cat may just be in the habit of pulling his fur out because of some type of stressor.

If the case is that your cat is in the habit of pulling his fur out, you need to re-train your cat not to pull out his fur. Can be challenging, but is doable.

I would suggest that you buy a wrap-around cat harness or a Thundershirt that will cover most of the cat's body. This will immediately prevent him from pulling his fur out.

If it's the back or the tail where he is pulling out his fur, there is also a product called SELF-STICK WIDE BANDAGE WRAP that you can wrap around the cat's body which will also stop the cat from pulling his fur out. Make sure that you don't wrap it too tightly.

I suggest that you supervise your cat closely while he is wearing either the harness or Thundershirt and/or if you decide to use self-stick bandage wrap on your cat.

Next, look into changing the type of litter you are using. Choose a litter that is non-scented. Gradually add a cup or two daily of the new brand of litter to the old brand of litter so that the cat doesn't notice the change. Eventually, swap out the entire old litter and use the new litter exclusively.

Buy a Feliway plug in diffuser and plug it in where your cat hangs out. Feliway is a synthetic cat pheromone that calms anxiety in cats. Feliway takes a few days to work so don't give up on it if you don't see results right away.

Prednisone will help temporarily. But you still may need to interfere with the cats HABIT of pulling the fur out so you may still need to immediately prevent the cat from accessing the area's of his body where he is prone to pull fur out.

Increase the cats play time. Buy him a TURBO SCRATCHER ($12 Walmart) so he can play independently. Flick a feather at him so he jumps up and down. Increased playtime will get his mind off of pulling his fur out.

I've read that some people who had cats that pulled their fur out -- rubbed orange zest in their hands and applied some of it to the cats coat where he was biting at himself. The cat didn't like the taste of the orange zest and stopped grooming himself (temporarily.) By the time the orange zest wore off, the cat had forgotten about pulling his fur out. (I can't recommend this remedy as I've never tried it on any of my own cats so I don't know if this would be successful. I'd also be concerned about the orange zest getting into the eyes of the cat.)

Hope these suggestions are helpful and that you find the answer to the problem soon.

Thank You, He is on flea prevention and never has any fleas or flea dirt when checked.

I really hope it turns out to be an allergy that is found through blood work at least then we will know how to resolve the problem.

I hope the vet finds out what the problem is through the blood work too. It's tough not knowing exactly how to help your pet.

However, if it turns out not to be a food allergy, please ask the vet about the possibility that the problem is due to the flea treatments your kitty has been having.

I've done much research on flea treatments and have read many, many adverse event reports at the FDA Veterinary website. There have been many complaints from cat owners about their cats pulling out their fur and biting themselves after being treated with flea preventatives. This problem is considered a side effect of many flea preventatives.

GCR, you mentioned on the other thread that all he does is stay under the bed now. Did he start doing that at the same time he started pulling out his hair? I keep thinking about that, and I guess that could be either because of an allergy or an illness problem, or it could be part of a behavioral problem. Just wondered if you mentioned that to the vet.

One of my male cats (lost him 2 years ago) had problems with itching and he would chew his hair off-he was short-haired, but he chewed it off his stomach so his stomach was bare and he chewed it off the backs of his legs. He was all black, and he did look kind of funny (poor baby) when he made the "bald" spots. His problems were usually helped by shots when he needed them, so they figured it was an allergy. He eventually stopped having that problem. The reason I mention this is that he didn't change any of his other habits --I could tell it was really bothering him a lot, but he didn't hide under the bed or anything like that.

I just thought that the vet would need to know about his staying under the bed, as that could be indicative of something else. When my Baby Cat with kidney disease had some problems recently and had a really upset tummy and wouldn't eat, she would stay behind a chair. She feels better now, and doesn't do that anymore.

Just some things that I thought might help. I hope you'll get some news from the vet and can treat whatever is wrong.

On 9/17/2014 Jeremiah 2911 said:

I hope the vet finds out what the problem is through the blood work too. It's tough not knowing exactly how to help your pet.

However, if it turns out not to be a food allergy, please ask the vet about the possibility that the problem is due to the flea treatments your kitty has been having.

I've done much research on flea treatments and have read many, many adverse event reports at the FDA Veterinary website. There have been many complaints from cat owners about their cats pulling out their fur and biting themselves after being treated with flea preventatives. This problem is considered a side effect of many flea preventatives.

That is what I have heard so I stopped the treatments this month.

On 9/17/2014 kittymomNC said:

GCR, you mentioned on the other thread that all he does is stay under the bed now. Did he start doing that at the same time he started pulling out his hair? I keep thinking about that, and I guess that could be either because of an allergy or an illness problem, or it could be part of a behavioral problem. Just wondered if you mentioned that to the vet.

One of my male cats (lost him 2 years ago) had problems with itching and he would chew his hair off-he was short-haired, but he chewed it off his stomach so his stomach was bare and he chewed it off the backs of his legs. He was all black, and he did look kind of funny (poor baby) when he made the "bald" spots. His problems were usually helped by shots when he needed them, so they figured it was an allergy. He eventually stopped having that problem. The reason I mention this is that he didn't change any of his other habits --I could tell it was really bothering him a lot, but he didn't hide under the bed or anything like that.

I just thought that the vet would need to know about his staying under the bed, as that could be indicative of something else. When my Baby Cat with kidney disease had some problems recently and had a really upset tummy and wouldn't eat, she would stay behind a chair. She feels better now, and doesn't do that anymore.

Just some things that I thought might help. I hope you'll get some news from the vet and can treat whatever is wrong.

I did tell the Vet about staying under the bed, He is eating well and drinking water, going to the Bath room normal. I think he just feels so bad from the itching. He comes out and lays on me at night and then sleeps with me.

It is so frustrating when they can't tell you what is wrong. He could be having problems from not being able to go outside anymore but why did it take a year to manifest.

Have you tried Brewer's Yeast for the natural flea treatment?

On 9/17/2014 lolakimono said:

Have you tried Brewer's Yeast for the natural flea treatment?

No I haven't how is it administered?

It's a tablet, and believe it or not they will just eat it! I have tossed it in the dish with dry food and it disappears. I think they like the smell of it.