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My cat is pulling out bits of fur with her teeth. I did more research online, but cannot really find anything helpful. She seems to be doing fine, but has created a bald spot on her back (about a quarter size). She does not seem stressed or anything, she eat wells, plays and sleeps normally. Nothing has changed in her surroundings either. The skin does not look irritated and I do give her the treatment for fleas every month since she is indoor/outdoor.
Has anyone ever dealt with this? Has it something to do with the hot weather (I am in the bay area - we are having a "heatwave")? Or do I need to take her to the vet?
When she grooms herself she always uses her teeth a little bit, but never pulled out this much hair.
Any advise?
Thanks!!
Has anyone ever dealt with this? Has it something to do with the hot weather (I am in the bay area - we are having a "heatwave")? Or do I need to take her to the vet?
When she grooms herself she always uses her teeth a little bit, but never pulled out this much hair.
Any advise?
Thanks!!
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California
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Re: cat pulling out her fur
Sat, July 12, 2008 - 7:47 PMWhat are you feeding her? -
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Re: cat pulling out her fur
Mon, July 14, 2008 - 5:26 PMoh dear - might it be the food?
I give my cats different things all the time. Just to check what they like and what they don't like.
I give them dry food most of the time and the wet stuff about once a week.
Are you thinking of specific brands of food? What should I be looking out for? -
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Re: cat pulling out her fur
Tue, July 15, 2008 - 6:47 AMAvoid anything you can buy at the grocery store. Then look at the ingredients on the food. The main ones you want to avoid are grains (wheat, corn, rice, barley, etc.), chicken, beef, and non-species specific meats ("animal liver", "meat by-products", "meat").
Canned is much, much healthier for cats, btw, because they solely depend on getting their moisture through their food. A 10lb cat that eats a kibble-only diet will need to drink 2 cups of water/day to avoid being chronically dehydrated (causing a ton of stress on the kidneys and liver). A cat on a wet food diet will not need additional water.
It's possible that the pulling out of her fur is because she has a "hot spot" which can be caused by a food allergy. If the food change doesn't help her after a month, you might want to take her to the vet. At least you are feeding her healthy food though. -
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Re: cat pulling out her fur
Tue, July 15, 2008 - 6:04 PM::Avoid anything you can buy at the grocery store. Then look at the ingredients on the food. The main ones you want to avoid are grains (wheat, corn, rice, barley, etc.), chicken, beef, and non-species specific meats ("animal liver", "meat by-products", "meat").::
It depends on the grocery store--a better way of saying it would be avoid what you see at Safeway.
Pet stores (as in chains) food is also not reliable--there is a lot of mainstream crap being sold at Petco. You can't find better brands like Wellness there but you can find Wellness at Whole Foods. -
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Re: cat pulling out her fur
Wed, July 16, 2008 - 9:05 AMTrue, good point.
Petco has gotten better with their food selection though.
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Re: cat pulling out her fur
Fri, July 18, 2008 - 10:03 AMThanks for that info. I thought cats should eat dry food, cos it is better for their teeth?
I actually took her of the food I bought last - which was some organic all-natural very expensive food from a fancy pet store here in town... She stopped pulling at her coat at least! Yippee. I'll keep a closer eye on the ingredients of the food I buy.
Any brands anyone recommends? I heard about Flint River being very good for your pet, but my vet didn't know much about it... -
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Re: cat pulling out her fur
Sat, July 19, 2008 - 5:40 PMCats that eat kibble still have a lot of teeth problems, so it really doesn't help their teeth. What causes tooth decay and tartar is bacteria that feeds off of carbohydrates. When cats eat carbs it's a double whammy because their saliva doesn't have the enzymes that are needed to break down carbs. The majority of kibble is carbohydrates, so even if they did help clean teeth, it's also creating the problem to begin with.
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Re: cat pulling out her fur
Wed, July 16, 2008 - 7:45 PMI used to have a cat named Tutankhamun; big orange DSH type, who started pulling out his hair as a nervous habit. He'd pluck his whole ass-end bald. Never figured out why he did this, and he did it all his life. Vet never found anything wrong with him. -
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Re: cat pulling out her fur
Sat, July 19, 2008 - 5:24 PMare you using a flea treatment that you apply to the nape of their neck, like Advantage or similar? they have you put these in this spot because the cat really has trouble reaching back there. But it is possible that the treatment itself can irritate the skin and that the cat's going to the closest spot she can reach to try to get at it. You might try a different kind next time or go back to whatever you used before these new kinds came out and see if it improves.
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Re: cat pulling out her fur
Tue, July 29, 2008 - 9:43 AMmy cat does pulls out her fur on her stomach and inner hind leg.... This has been going on for 2 years. She had surgery and they shaved her and she will never let that hair grow back. I have tried everything. The vet put her on meds for a bit and it seemed to alleviate it but I didnt want her to get side effects from it so I stopped her from taking them. Also, they thought she has food allergies so she has been on hypo-allergenic food since December. She still does it..... I'm so frustrated by it all that I gave up. As long as she doesnt injure herself (cause bleeding) and the area looks fine, i think they are okay. I am starting to think that it just might be a nervous thing she does and the only way to stop her is to cone her or put her on some type of meds. I dont want to do that.... :o( I just got a kitten in hopes that she would have someone to play with if it is boredom or something. Good luck though!! -
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Re: cat pulling out her fur
Fri, August 1, 2008 - 9:35 AMAwww your cats having some cotton candy. Seriously though it could be a nervous habit.
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