Cat fur - thinning. Been to vet, now what?

suelees1

We've got two male siblings who are spoiled rotten. One is fine but the other tends to overgroom so has balding stomach and inner thighs. We first noticed it when back from our holidays. We'd left them at home with a cat loving neighbour popping in throughout the day so thought it was because he'd missed us. It stopped for a while after we'd got back but he's doing it again now. I'm convinced it's nothing to do with the food - they've always eaten both wet and dry. I just think grooming makes them feel better but he's just gone over the top with it

suelees1

tricklesthegreek wrote: »

What kind of foods would you recommend for a wet diet?

Our two really like Lidl Opticat sachets and Tesco's own sachets, both in gravy - not too keen on the ones in jelly the awkward b's!

They also like the equivalent dried food which helps keeps down plaque and tartar accumulation on their teeth.

They've lovely shiny coats and are both fit cats. They're nearly 4 and the vet is always very satisfied with them when they have their check-ups

Gorgeestwo

One of ours does this every year coinciding with the central heating going on in the autumn. She's not been too bad so far this year, but its only been on a couple of weeks so we'll see!

jenhug

Have a look at Applaws dry food, this is what I feed my cat, along with raw chicken mince daily. His coat is like silk. I have compared his coat with coats of cats fed on supermarkets own wet and dry and the difference is alarming.

suelees1

jenhug wrote: »

Have a look at Applaws dry food, this is what I feed my cat, along with raw chicken mince daily. His coat is like silk. I have compared his coat with coats of cats fed on supermarkets own wet and dry and the difference is alarming.

I'm sorry but am not convinced by your remark which in effect means 'my cat's coat is silkier than your cat's coat'. This just isn't a good way of measuring health in general and is like comparing the hair on peoples' heads! Neither am I persuaded by the generalised remarks about supermarket food. I'm not conned by the cost but am persuaded by checking out the active ingredients. This goes for all aspects of consumption - for example drug companies trying to con us by saying their expensive 'named' are much better for you (than generic ones).

krlyr

suelees1 wrote: »

. I'm not conned by the cost but am persuaded by checking out the active ingredients.

Cereals,Meat and Animal Derivatives (minimum 4% Duck in the component with Duck, minimum 4% Rabbit in the component with Rabbit, minimum 4% Chicken in the component with Chicken) ,Oils and Fats ,Vegetables (minimum 4% Vegetables in the component with Vegetables) ,Minerals ,Additives: Antioxidants ,Colourants

dried chicken, dried potato, fresh chicken, poultry oil, poultry sauce, beet mash, dried whole egg, dried yeast, salmon oil, cranberry extract, yucca extract, citrus extract, rosemary oil extract
No artificial colours, flavourings or preservatives

If I were checking out active ingredients, I know which one I'd pick..


OP, might be worth a blood test to rule out an underlying cause, e.g. a vitamin deficiency or perhaps a thyroid problem.

Mrs_Z

Hi,We had this with one of ours few years ago now. She must have been overgrooming for a while before I noticed that all her lower belly and inside thighs of her back legs were furless! Anyway, off to the vet we went, he thought it was stress related - we could not think of a reason why as nothing had changed, except we had been on 2 week holiday with a neighbour feeding the cats who probably did not stick to the routine feeding times. The vet gave her an injection and said to come back for another one if no better (can't remember if I had to leave it for 3 or 6 weeks). Anyway, we did need another injection but that was the end of the problem. The vet even mentioned Prosac as the next possible thing..... Luckily we did not need to go down that route!!!

Scrapaholic

Hi, our 13 yr old female cat does this off and on . Someone mentioned theirs does it when the central heating is turned on again . Ours has and she's got a bare abdomen again . She's been fine all summer , doesn't seem stressed and is otherwise well . I don't even see fur on the floor when she pulls it out + she doesn't go out that much . Her skin isn't broken and she isn't overly grooming the area . I think it's just what she does .

andrewbarke

our 15 year old cat started this about 3 years ago (some time in october), first its was just small patches then by the end of january it was pretty bad with some scabs forming as well,

took him to the vet, did some tests, found out he had a vitamin d deficiency, so had a shot of vitamin d, within a week the scabs had reduced and the baldness reduced.

since then every winter its the same, as soon as the sun appears less and less the scabs and fur loss reappear, so back to the vet for a shot, then fine all winter

Fire_Fox

suelees1 wrote: »

I'm sorry but am not convinced by your remark which in effect means 'my cat's coat is silkier than your cat's coat'. This just isn't a good way of measuring health in general and is like comparing the hair on peoples' heads! Neither am I persuaded by the generalised remarks about supermarket food. I'm not conned by the cost but am persuaded by checking out the active ingredients. This goes for all aspects of consumption - for example drug companies trying to con us by saying their expensive 'named' are much better for you (than generic ones).

Human hair is a product of genetics, lifestyle health status and - more than anything - how we treat it. Cat hair doesn't get dyed or heat styled, washed with harsh sulphate shampoos or vigorously brushed every day for a couple of years. The skin is a n organ of excretion and saliva is an excretion, what gets excreted is partly dictated by how healthy we are and what we eat.

By all means compare pet food to human food but not drugs to food, they are not comparable either in their composition or their effects. A generic and branded drug are almost identical, that is how they get licensed, whereas the composition of Go Cat and Applaws are completely different. Cats are obligate carnivores - they must eat meat - so 4% is just shocking. IMO there is a huge difference between the average supermarket dry food and the average supermarket wet food, I don't think we should be lumping them all together.