My cat is licking her fur off :-(

[Peardrop]

I have a 12 year old black cat called Mitzi.  Since August 2016, she has been licking the fur off her tummy and back legs.  At the moment, she has no fur on her tummy and she is missing about 50% on both her back legs.  She does not have any sores and there is no inflammation.  She is not in any pain and does not seem distressed.  She is eating normally and her diet has not changed.  She does like to spend most of her time outside but she has a place in the house that only she goes to - the draws under a bed.  There is another cat in the house and they have lived together since they were born.  My other cat is completely fine.  She has had 4 depo medrone v injections (the last one being yesterday) and the vet has prescribed zylkene (75mg) - 1 per day.  I was just wondering if anyone could offer any advice?  Thanks, Natalie

Been there done that got the T-shirt. Mine has a 40 a day habit !

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

IT WOULD BE GOOD IF THE POSTER VAME BACK TO LOOK!

[Liz]

Depomedrin is a steroid which can be used with hair loss, I have one of mine on it for mouth issues every 4 weeks and its helping the mouth issue - he is rejecting teeth for no reason in fact he is off on Friday for his cocktail of drugs as he has a middle ear infection which is proving hard to move

Another thing to consider is a Program injection for fleas it is done 6 monthly and seems to also help then stopping them removing all their hair - a friends Bengal is on it as she is an overgroomer and so far seems to be helping

[Tigerlily (Allison)]

I had this happen with Molly and it turned out to be a flea allergy, even though I did both of mine with flea drops as regular as clockwork. I changed from Frontline to Advantage and that cured the problem.

[heather sullivan]

i was also going to suggest a blood test, one of our cats has lost hair on his back legs and patches on his back, and I know thyroid problems can cause hair loss too. He was tested but came back normal.  We still haven't got to the bottom of why he is a baldy!

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

   TO PURRS AND SORRY TO HEAR ABOUT MITZIS PROBLEM.

I THINK THAT 4 depo medrone  IS QUITE A POWERFUL DRUG BUT ROSELLA IS OUR EXPERT ON STUFF LIKE THAT.

HAS YOUR VET DONE A FULL BLOOD TEST? HAIR LOSS CAN BE TRIGGERED AS THE OTHERS SUGGEST BUT COULD ALSO BE AN INDICATION OF SOMETHING ELSE.

I HOPE THE REASON AN BE FOUND OUT ASAP.

[Judecat (Paula)]

Hi Natalie,

Welcome to Purrs

I swear by Zylkene, when Merlin came to me he bullied one of my other cats unmercifully and had groomed his tail fur very thin, since the Zylkene being given he has calmed down a lot, I was also giving it to Emo as she was scared to come downstairs to the extent I was having to feed her in my bedroom, they are both a lot better and Merlins fur has grown back. I would say though that you'll probably find it a lot cheaper to buy the Zylkene from Amazon rather than the vet. (Emo is currently playing in the hall with a tinkly ball, so it has worked really well for her too. )

[Cherry24]

My cats do this when they are stressed, usually when we go away on holiday or when other changes to their environment occur. Obviously I can't say that this is the case for your cat, as Sue says, it could be a number of things. Hope you come to the bottom of it soon.

[Sue P (Paddysmum)]

Hi Natalie.  Welcome to Purrs.   

Am sorry to hear Mitzi has begun to have grooming problems.

It's a tricky one to pin down when this happens, as there can be a number of causes for hair loss in cats.  Some are down to stress, and some are down to physical ailments, such as an allergy to something in their environment, such as flea saliva (even when there are no visible signs of fleas, a previous flea problem can leave cats - and dogs - with extremely sensitive skin. 

Another cause could be a form of mange, or even hyperesthesia, which can make cats act and react in highly unusual ways to certain stimulus.

Sometimes vets prescribe steroids.  I suspect your vet will be feeling their way with this a bit to see what Mitzi responds to.  Zylkene is a great idea anyway, and many of Purrs Members swear by it (including me!).

There may be others along later who have encountered this sort of problem too and can throw some more thoughts into the mix. 

Saying "Hi" to MItzi and your other cat too.   

[NatalieJWilson]

I have a 12 year old black cat called Mitzi.  Since August 2016, she has been licking the fur off her tummy and back legs.  At the moment, she has no fur on her tummy and she is missing about 50% on both her back legs.  She does not have any sores and there is no inflammation.  She is not in any pain and does not seem distressed.  She is eating normally and her diet has not changed.  She does like to spend most of her time outside but she has a place in the house that only she goes to - the draws under a bed.  There is another cat in the house and they have lived together since they were born.  My other cat is completely fine.  She has had 4 depo medrone v injections (the last one being yesterday) and the vet has prescribed zylkene (75mg) - 1 per day.  I was just wondering if anyone could offer any advice?  Thanks, Natalie