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Old April 8th, 2013, 02:19 PM
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Genie Genie is offline
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Unhappy Worrisome Hair Loss

Hello,

My cat lost a lot of hair on her belly a few months ago. I noticed that the baldness is now creeping down the inside of her back legs and she has a spot on the back of one of her front legs. The skin is pink, looks healthy, no scales, no sensitivity. The newer spots still have some 'peach fuzz' but her stomach is completely bare. The skin does not look dry. I have not noticed any excessive scratching or licking.

She is 7 years old, has been eating the same food for years. Her belly has gotten droopy (hanging) but she hasn't gained any weight. She is strictly an indoor cat and there are no other pets in the household. We haven't moved in a couple years and there has been no redecorating or moving around of the furniture. Her view from the window is a rooftop, so all she sees are pigeons and squirrels. We live on the third and top floor of an apartment building, so there are no neighbours on top.

Thank you!
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Old April 8th, 2013, 02:40 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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Originally Posted by Genie View Post
Hello,

My cat lost a lot of hair on her belly a few months ago. I noticed that the baldness is now creeping down the inside of her back legs and she has a spot on the back of one of her front legs. The skin is pink, looks healthy, no scales, no sensitivity. The newer spots still have some 'peach fuzz' but her stomach is completely bare. The skin does not look dry. I have not noticed any excessive scratching or licking.

She is 7 years old, has been eating the same food for years. Her belly has gotten droopy (hanging) but she hasn't gained any weight. She is strictly an indoor cat and there are no other pets in the household. We haven't moved in a couple years and there has been no redecorating or moving around of the furniture. Her view from the window is a rooftop, so all she sees are pigeons and squirrels. We live on the third and top floor of an apartment building, so there are no neighbours on top.

Thank you!
Does your cat go right onto the rooftop, or just look out a window from there?
I would bring her to a vet and have her thyroids tested ,this can cause a cat to lose fur.
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Old April 8th, 2013, 03:00 PM
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Genie Genie is offline
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Originally Posted by Barkingdog View Post
Does your cat go right onto the rooftop, or just look out a window from there?
I would bring her to a vet and have her thyroids tested ,this can cause a cat to lose fur.
Thank you for taking the time to answer, I really appreciate it!

She just looks out the window.

I've made a vet appointment for her... but I'm very worried. My budget is limited and I'm not ready to lose my companion.
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Old April 8th, 2013, 03:13 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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Originally Posted by Genie View Post
Thank you for taking the time to answer, I really appreciate it!

She just looks out the window.

I've made a vet appointment for her... but I'm very worried. My budget is limited and I'm not ready to lose my companion.
Maybe you could see if the vet will let set up a payment plan. I hope your cat at will be OK.
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Old April 8th, 2013, 03:44 PM
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sugarcatmom sugarcatmom is offline
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My first suspect in cases of fur loss and/or excessive grooming is always diet. You say you haven't changed her food in years, but most allergies come about from repeat exposure to the same ingredients (typically inferior ones like grains or highly rendered meat, such as would be found in most dry foods). What exactly does she eat?

A vet visit is a good place to start for sure, although I have to warn you that most conventional vets just tend to throw steroids or antibiotics or crappy prescription diets at the problem without really looking at the WHOLE cat. Having said that, if your kitty hasn't had a thorough check-up recently, with blood work and a urinalysis, that might be a good idea. Then depending on what she eats, I think a diet change to a high quality, meat-based, grain-free, fish-free WET food, perhaps with a novel protein source like venison or rabbit, could really help.
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Old April 8th, 2013, 04:49 PM
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Genie Genie is offline
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Her diet consists of dry food which contains only chicken, brown rice, and added vitamins & minerals. She drinks a lot of water.

My worries about the upcoming vet appointment is that they will not be able to examine her properly. Daisy does not like other people (other than me) and will be overly aggressive towards them, even in her own home. She's always been like this. Veterinary appointments are always difficult because it requires an assistant wrapping her in 2-3 towels in order to immobilize her and both the assistant and the vet need to handle her with gloves.
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