Hairloss from stress - Emily

[sirrahbed]

Starting about 1 1/2 years ago, we noticed a balding patch on Emily's belly - very small like dime sized - would come and go. Last week, I noticed this patch was as big as a silver dollar. We had her vet appointment this morning and he tested her for parasites, mange, ringworm, etc though he says the balding does not appear to be any of those things. He is nearly positive that it is a psychological issue and that she is biting her hair off :eek:

She IS our most timid kitty and if anyone is picked on - it is Emily. I have also noticed that Robbie is trying to take over as alpha cat but I don't see that ever happening because Dylan is a firm and peaceful alpha and Robbie is...well, a little too goofy to be respected ;)

Has anyone had experience with this issue of hairloss due to stress? I read various websites and believe it would be a Psychogenic Alopecia from excessive grooming though the vet did not use this term. Well, excessive grooming he did talk about that. I am glad that she does not likely have any of the illnesses but am wondering what I should do if all the clinical findings are negative.....try to stop her if I catch her biting or vigorously grooming? Try to catch any of her siblings grooming her and intervene? Maybe even some extra TLC would help her. She always seems so "needy" of my attention and I often push her off me when she goes all velcro on me. I have never caught her biting herself nor have I ever seen the other cats doing anything to her. She often "nurses" the babies - even Robbie. She is also a woolsucker as is Lizzie. As far as the possible bullying, the worst I will see is Robbie running her off my lap or off the bed if he is in a pesty mood. There have been no fights. Foster Boomer used to badger her, chase her, bite her...nothing serious.... but he has been gone for several months now and her hairloss is worse than ever!

Thanks!

[Catty1]

Oscar was doing that due to a UTI, but also due to stress as he was a tamed wild kitty who was living indoors, and then had a new brother to live with a year later.

All good things - but good "stress".

He went on Feliway about a year ago - I make it last longer than it does (which is a long time) by putting nylon or cloth collar on him, and putting a tiny squirt on it morning and evening (vet said 2 - 3 times a day).

Now I can rub his furry tummy again, and in Nov the vet said he had some a long way! Little Mama's boy! :D

Feliway is made from a cat's face hormone - so I preferred that to the tranquilizer alternative. My vet let me try Feliway first - and it is fine. So no pills.

Craftlady also used some herbal stuff on Thumper to stop her pulling hair. You might want to PM her.

Good luck!

[Kirsten]

Poor little Emily!

I have a friend whose cat has a very bad case of psychogenic alopecia, she constantly has to wear an E-collar. :( We're going to contact a pet psychic to try to find out what is bothering her so much.

I'd suggest to try Feliway or a Bachflower remedy for Emily. Or a homeopathic remedy that may help her to get more self confidence. I'm not a specialist, but a holistic vet may be able to help...

Kirsten

[Craftlady]

I found out after all these years of Thumper going bald in her tummy that it was excessive grooming. Mind you she has been seen by many vets lately & in years past and it took a trip to her new vet (1 month ago) to tell me what that was all about. So knowing that, we gave her a special rescue remedy 3x a day for a month and she has stopped accessive grooming and the hair is slowly growing back. :)
If you would like our Reiki persons phone # pm me.

[nsweezie]

My Pickles suffers from what I see as stress related hair loss.
He had a very rough start in life, and also spent about 3 months in a shelter before we got him. When we got him he had a large number of bald spots. The vet assured me that there was no physical reason.
Anytime Pickles is under stress, like when he has to go to the vet, or if there is any kind of changes, you can guarentee that there will be at least one bald patch out of it. I've never seen how the fur falls out- is it just falling out or is Pickles pulling it out?
I've also heard of this happening to people- I think it is called stress related alopecia, so it does make sense that this happens to people.

[jennielynn1970]

It definitely happens in people. We have kids at school that pull out their hair, eyelashes... it's a stress thing. The one boy had to have a crew cut all the time basically cause he'd pull out his hair and eat it. This is a Pica disorder. Eating non-edible things (kids who eat crayons, soap, chalk, boogers, things like that).

[ramanth]

Has anyone attributed hair loss to old age?

My parents 13 year old black cat Reebok has a large patch of hair loss on his belly between his hind legs. The fur is really soft, like it's regrowing from a shave.

No sign of iritation and there have been no recent changes in his lifestyle. He's just a laid back guy that's content on your lap. So we don't think he's obsessively grooming.

Negative for parasites and mange.

It's just odd.

[Catlady711]

Dusty started that overgrooming when she was about 12-13 her entire belly. No mites, bladder problems etc. We tried collars, bitter apple, feliway, even diet trials in case of food allergies, nothing worked. She would get a rather 'high' look if you'd interrupt her grooming. We came to the conclusion it was a combination of stress (from the other cats picking on her) and boredom because she couldn't play like she used to. She had that problem right up until we had her PTS in July.

My mom has a single cat 9 yrs old that's just now starting to do that, although her spot is very tiny and can be distracted from it so far. We haven't found anything that actually stops it totally though.

Good luck, and love your kitty bald belly and all. lol

[neko1]

my tama has psychogenic alopecia and he has to wear a bite not collar all the time.

i've spent thousands of dollars on so many ways to try and help him, but nothing works.