Cat loosing hair & itchy (kitten, eating, carpet, belly)

[Jackiemohro]

Blue adopted well to our home (she moved in as a rescue 3 months ago). She always has been itchy and hectic grooming. She had a yeast ear infection that I think we got under control. She was overgrooming her belly and the vet said it might be stress. We also transitioned her to raw food.

Now she is loosing hair! Behind her ears, umher face, one spot on her neck, on on her front leg, and one on her hind leg. I know we need to see a doctor (urg), but has anyone a similar experience? Could be ringworm, I guess? Allergies (the raw feeding company now proposed to skip chicken), or just stress (family has been staying with us since more or less thanksgiving).

The spot on her leg is now already red, so urgently need to take her to the vet. Any ideas?

Thanks.

[Naturen]

Sounds like it could be stress and/or the new cat food. Maybe you could try the process of elimination with the food to see if it makes a difference.

Sounds like a trip to the vet is a great idea - poor kitty feeling itchy. I know what that feels like from the few times that I have gotten a rash or have noseeums bites in the summer.

[Jackiemohro]

Thanks, Decided to only feed turkey now. Also adding water and some herbal itchy drops. I also ordered some immune booster powder, in case it’s some fungus stuff she needs to fight off. And, Family is leaving this weekend. Trip to vet scheduled for next week. Thanks, I hope it’s just stress but last 6 months was a lot: from street to a rescue, where she got her babies, adopted to a family (didn’t work out as other cat was beating her up), foster in a small toilet (again, the other cats where beating her up), then finally to us, visitors entire time etc. Now we expect some quiet months :-)

[NYC refugee]

You could try an allergy pill as long as it's one that won't harm her. Itchies are usually either an allergy or something missing from the diet - could just be fat or it could be zinc. Those are big ones for dry itchy skin and missing fur.

[boxus]

I would take to the vet to see if it is some fungus thing, but absent that, thinking stress.

Perhaps diet as others stated, it just seems a few things happened at the same time as the hair loss, so kind of hard to nail down.

But I am thinking if excessive grooming, either an infection or stress is causing the excessive grooming.

[catsmom21]

I would also vote for stress being the cause. Or possibly something environmental. It is unlikely to be the raw diet, or a deficiency. Deficiencies can take months to show up usually.

Get some Rescue Remedy and dose her every 4 hours and kick the company out! Ensure you are using nothing toxic in the home. No candles, no "plug in" type things, no sprays, no heavy cleaning compounds, no carpet "fresheners". It could even be perfume or something one of your guests is using.

How about the litter?

[Jackiemohro]

Perfect ... working on everything recommended. Family is leaving tomorrow as said. Yes we used some candles over Christmas, brother chemicals around (I even use the boring no -smell laundry detergent). Litter is walnut. Rescue drops are a good idea. Vet as said next week Monday or latest Tuesday. Seems like hair loss is highly complex :-(

[writerwife]

I've had it happen to cats for 3 dif reasons... stress (my husband passed, I was packing to move and kitty lost all the fur from the middle down to her tail), immune disorder (unfortunately this one took her out), thyroid (the first thing they checked).

[Rene S]

ITA with everyone in saying it indeed could be stress. After we brought our Lucy indoors (after she lived outside for a year or more), she started licking around her bum and back legs. Of course we brought her to the vet and had her skin scraped, but it turned out to be stress and in time she stopped doing it.

I second the Rescue Remedy and a Feliway diffuser if you don't already have one.

[coffeemoments]

I think it could be allergies. Our cat when he was a kitten kept scratching at his ears. I took him in and our Vet said it was allergy. Not to food, but something in the air during summer & fall. He prescribed some ear drops and that took care of the itching. One other thing he told us to do was get a damp washcloth and wipe him down a couple times a day -- to get rid of some of those allergens on him. I did that. It came back again the following year but the damp washcloth did the trick and I didn't have to bring him back in. You could try that.