Pets > CatsMay 20, 2010

Cat Pulling Hair Out

I have a one year old cat that bites herself and pulls out her hair so much that she is almost bald and has sores all over. I use Advanage on her once a month and spray her with Veterinarian's Best Natural care Hot Spot Itch Relief spray with tea tree oil and soothing aloe. It sometimes seems to help, but then most of the time she gets worst.

By Veronica from Leesburg, FL

Answers

Read answers for this post below.

By
05/21/2010

Hello,
I don't mean to scare you but my Woobie did that, and he had a severe medical problem. Please go to the Vet asap. It is not always caused by food. I have been a vet tech for over 27 years.

By
05/21/2010

Do not feed grocery store cat food crap. Usual first ingredient is corn. You want no grains. You de-flea your house with natural product like dry 20 mule team Borax--leave for 2 weeks before you vacuum to go through eggs, larvae, and adults. The least amount of stress possible, warm sleeping quarters, soft bed and lots of love.

By
05/21/2010

I forgot to tell you what I have been doing for my animals. I hate yeast and it is not good for animals at all, so I put 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar in a quart of water for them. Tis will change their chemistry or something like that in a course of a couple of weeks. It takes that long to start working. It is mainly for fleas not to like to bite them, but I use it for the yeast killing effect as well.

There is lots of info on earthclinic.com

Robyn

By
05/21/2010

She sounds like she might be allergic to her food. My cat did the same thing. I switched food (from cheap Purina at the grocery store to Taste of the Wild venison and salmon flavored dry food. Any high end, specialized food with no grains and alternative proteins is best.) He loves his new food and he stopped chewing off his fur. It took over 2 months for his coat to grow back, but the itching stopped within about week or so. Good luck!

By
05/21/2010

Some pets are highly allergic to flea medications. I second no tea tree oil and ditto taking her to the vet!

By
05/21/2010

Here is what I would do if I had this as one of my fosters.

First I would take away the spray with tea tree oil in it since cats can be harmed by tea tree oil.

Second, if the cat has a long coat, I would trim it, and then look for pustules or sores under the cat's coat.

All allergies, most of the time show up through the skin.

Buy a can of mackerel at the Dollar Store or Dollar General and give it a little each day.

Don't buy cheap cat food. Moist food is better than dry.
I would look for meat and not meat by products as a first ingredient.

Does the cat let you bathe her or him?
If the answer is no, then I would take a rag each and every day and have it wet with water, but not dripping, and go over the skin, softly, to the bottom of the skin where the hair starts to grow.

When you find sores, and you probably will, take a dosage syringe that you can buy at the drug store to give kids their RXs with, and fill it with peroxide. Quickly feel for a sore or bump and squirt it on the bump. Quietly with no fanfare, keep the cat near, if possible, make sure it doesn't lick the peroxide. After a minute or even less, wipe the peroxide off with a wet rag.

Never use a flea collar on a cat. They are nasty.
Do get a drop of olive oil and give it to the cat, maybe by putting it on it's paw.

I would also look into buying fish antibiotics and giving him or her a round of those, if you can't afford the vets. I will look up the dosages for the cat after you let me know what size and weight it is.

I would use Drs. Foster and Smith, in their fish supplies and get cephalaxin. I wish they sold z paks, but they don't.

I would do a kitten formula with two drops of infant vitamin added:

evaporated milk mixed with water
water
glop of mayonnaise
2 drops of infant vitamins

Tell me how t his works if you like.

Robyn

By
05/21/2010

It's possible your cat has allergies to its food. You might want to use a grain-free cat food for a few weeks to a month to see if it will help. It's kind of pricey, but I recommend Evo Herring & Salmon. Cats LOVE it (even picky eaters) and it has 50% protein and NO grain!

Also, if your cat has really dry skin, try adding Salmon oil to its diet.

EVO:
http://www.evopet.com/products/default.asp?id=1704

ALSO: Here is a phone number for a high-end pet store near me (it's like a health-food store for pets) & they REALLY know their stuff. Call them and ask about your cat. They are super-friendly & open 9:AM to 9:PM PST.

MUD BAY PETS:
360-459-9200

RE: Cat Pulling Hair Out

By
05/20/2010

I would recommend that you take your cat to the vet and have him/her checked for several things. It could be stress or one of several medical conditions. Animals get stressed just like people. If you work and this happens mainly when you are gone your pet might be stressed and doing this in reaction to your being gone. You also might want to have your pet checked for thyroid problems. We had a cat a few years back that was losing her fur and she had problems with her thyroid. Hope it is just separation anxiety which is much cheaper to handle by getting her/him a companion animal. The thyroid means medication for the rest of your cat's life. There are other medical problems also that cause this. So your first thing to do is take your pet to the Vet and have it checked for any medical problems.

Questions

Here are questions related to this page. Click "Ask a Question" if you have a question to ask about this topic.

Cat Licks and Pulls Out Hair in the Summer

My cat licks and pulls out her fur only in the summer. She is an inside cat. She does this till she is almost bald and bleeding; what can I do? I have tried giving her Benadryl, antibiotics, and using medicated powder. The vet said it is only a skin irritation, but it happens every year only in the summer. It looks very painful and if not bleeding, it is oozing. The rest of the year her fur is beautiful. She is albino and gorgeous most of the time.

By Judy

 

Most Recent Answer

By FARSTAR 08/23/2011

Change your Veterinarian and brush / comb her daily during the summer months when she is shedding her coat. Is she laying in front of glass door with hot sun on her.? Good luck.

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Why would a cat pull its hair out by the roots, under the chin and around the neck?


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