Bald spot : stress??

Snoopy has a rather large bald spot on her tummy. I see little scars and she is also licking there a lot.
Monday morning I went to the vet with her.
He gave her a shot of antibiotics and prescribed her food supplements for cats.
When I asked him what caused this, he said: "It's your fault"
At first I didn't understand what he meant, so I told him that.
Then he answered:"You have been away for almost 3 weeks right (we went cruising around Indonesia)? Well Snoopy missed you"!

I am wondering if what he said is true!? Our son Jo took good care of the cats during our trip. Of course they ware alone during the day, but Jo fed them in the morning before leaving, and around 5 pm after he came home from his work. During the weekends Jo's girlfriend stayed at our house too, and I know she played with the cats; she is very fond of them!
Is it possible then that Snoopy missed us that much so she licked herself to much?

Is it possible? Definitely!!

Is that what caused this? No idea, and since Snoopy is not talking, no way to know for sure.

Is she wearing a cone collar so she can not reach the area to lick it? Did the vet give anything topical to address the itch feeling? Do not put a cone collar on unless she has something to stop the itch -- nothing worse than having an itch and you can not reach it!

I guess wait and see if she settles down now that things are back to normal.

Leaving cats for 3 weeks is a VERY long time for them. I only did it once, and my cats also had major issues on my return; took almost a month for them to calm down and realize we were back to normal routine.

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Originally Posted by Freedom

Is it possible? Definitely!!

Is that what caused this? No idea, and since Snoopy is not talking, no way to know for sure.

Is she wearing a cone collar so she can not reach the area to lick it? Did the vet give anything topical to address the itch feeling? Do not put a cone collar on unless she has something to stop the itch -- nothing worse than having an itch and you can not reach it!

I guess wait and see if she settles down now that things are back to normal.

Leaving cats for 3 weeks is a VERY long time for them. I only did it once, and my cats also had major issues on my return; took almost a month for them to calm down and realize we were back to normal routine.

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Snoopy does not wear a collar, she never has. She doesn't wear a cone either.
I thought that the vet would have prescribed an ointment or something else to put on snoopy's skin, but he didn't...!
I am not sure she has this because of us leaving for 3 weeks, because nearly 2 years ago, we were on a cruise for 4 weeks, I she didn't have this then.... .
Do you know something that would stop the itch?

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Originally Posted by Maya & Inka's mommy

Snoopy does not wear a collar, she never has. She doesn't wear a cone either.
I thought that the vet would have prescribed an ointment or something else to put on snoopy's skin, but he didn't...!
I am not sure she has this because of us leaving for 3 weeks, because nearly 2 years ago, we were on a cruise for 4 weeks, I she didn't have this then.... .
Do you know something that would stop the itch?

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If you can get a cone on her, so she doesn't lick off the ointment, only then can you put any cream on it to stop the itch. It's a vicious circle. And yup - I would not be surprised if it was the stress, she's older now and more set in her ways than she was 2 years ago, and I am sure as nice as Jo is, he is NOT THE SAME as her beloved mum!

Son and / or girlfriend may have fed some treats, some human food, that she is not used to, and she had an allergic reaction. But I do think this is stress. As Karen said, the older we - er, um, I mean the older kitties! - get, the harder it is to deal with change.

Time will tell, if the antibiotic helps and things clear up, then if it stays gone, you will have a good clue.

We see this a lot, surprisingly. Yes, oftentimes it can be caused by stress. Especially since it happened while you were away for a few weeks, it makes complete sense :)

My Bosun (RB) was upset when we were away for 10 days in 2012, even though we had petsitters who she knew. This was also during Superstorm Sandy so who knows how much the wind was howling!

Great news: Snoopy isn't licking that spot anymore, and i see the first signs of new furr!!

I think I found what must have caused so much distress to her...!
Our son invited some friends to our house to celebrate his girlfriends 21st birthday. We knew about this, so it was okay to do that; But Jo says he put all 4 cats in our bedroom, because his guests were also playing pool. The pool table is upstairs, next to Jo's bedroom. I bet they made quite a lot of noise, and when you know that our bedroom (downstairs) is exactly under that pool table (upstairs), ......!!
Poor Snoopy, she must have been so scared.....

Oh, poor baby! So scary for her!

I hope this is indeed clearing up now that life at home is back to normal for the kitties.

:love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love:

Aww, glad the new fur is growing back in! Pool is noisy no matter what, and add to that strangers invading her home, oh, the horror!

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Originally Posted by Maya & Inka's mommy

Great news: Snoopy isn't licking that spot anymore, and i see the first signs of new furr!!

I think I found what must have caused so much distress to her...!
Our son invited some friends to our house to celebrate his girlfriends 21st birthday. We knew about this, so it was okay to do that; But Jo says he put all 4 cats in our bedroom, because his guests were also playing pool. The pool table is upstairs, next to Jo's bedroom. I bet they made quite a lot of noise, and when you know that our bedroom (downstairs) is exactly under that pool table (upstairs), ......!!
Poor Snoopy, she must have been so scared.....

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Good detective work Lut.:) I'm glad you figured this out. Hope Snoopy is getting back to normal now.:)

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Originally Posted by lizbud

Good detective work Lut.:) I'm glad you figured this out. Hope Snoopy is getting back to normal now.:)

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She is!! Her fur is almost completely back!!

Oh, that's wonderful! :love::love::love::love::love::love::love::love: