Old cat losing fur

My old cat Smokey Joe is 20 years old, he is still eating and drinking fine and is as vocal as ever, in the last month or so he has started to lose his fur, a friend whoses cat did the same, was told my the vet this was the start of his body shutting down, as is body can only cope with keeping so many organs going, it is sending the vitamins and nutients etc to the parts that need it ie heart and liver etc, and that not to worry.

What do you think, he hates being caged to goto the vets it really distresses him, I have been away on holiday for 2 weeks and he has not left myside since I got back he is really craving attention, at the moment he is cuddled upto the biggest fluffiest of the huskies.

Is it just a sign of old age?

It's an interesting theory but I've never heard it. How bad is the hair loss? Is he scratching? If he doesn't usually stick close to you, he may be trying to alert you to a problem. Given his age, I think a visit to the vet would be a good idea. It may be something that a little medication could fix, a nutritional imbalance, some kind of allergy. Best to have him checked out.

I would trust a vet before anyone else's opinion. This scenario may have been true in your friend's case but just like we are all different it doen't mean it is the same in your case. Although a trip to the vet may be stressful for your kitty, in my opinion if there is something seriously wrong it is better to stress them out for the hour that they are there then allowing them to endure the ongoing stress from an abnormality. I agree that it may be an allergy or a nutritional problem but there is only one way to find out for sure. Even if your cat has never had allergies, animals can develop them just like we do so it is not impossible to think it may have happened. I would do some research online and book an appointment to your vet.