Conference misery::feline_v1

    
    
    A suggestion..
    
    Keep him occupied.  How about a new kitten friend for him?
    
    F.

    I wondered about that.... He has a cat flap which he happily uses
    and he goes out to play a lot with next door's cat who was in the territory
    before him, tho he's getting old and often stays in
                                          
    However two doors away got two kitties a few months ago, and he
    goes berserk if they so much as put their heads around the gate
    post, let alone play with them. I think that competition around
    the house might do more harm than good                                                    

    Maureen,
    
    My cat Cleopatra has the same problem as Georgie.  She bites the
    hair off her legs and tummy.  Cle was also a stray and is very
    insecure - but very loving.
    
    The vet I take cleo to told me that this is acutally a form of 
    dermatitis and is a result of nerves and eventually habit.  It is
    not good to let it go untreated, as the area can get infected and
    the cat injests too much fur which upsets the stomach.  An upset
    stomach means that Cle doesn't hold down her food too well.
    
    When I first brought Cle in, the vet gave her a shot of Pretizone
    (spelled phonetically) to get the itching and irritation under
    control.  We then had to give Cle Pretizone pills in decreasing
    dosages over time.  Pretizone is a steroid.  However, it is given
    in very small dosages so that it won't hurt the cat.
    You can tell if the bitten area is irritated because it will be
    very warm to the touch.
    
    Cle has responded quite well to the treatment.  Occasionally she
    gets flair ups - but that usually has a lot to do with the cold
    dry weather.  The "dermatitis" tends to be very persistant.
    It also takes a while for the hair to grow back, so you have to
    be very aware at the frequency of biting to tell whether Georgia
    is getting better.
    
    I hope this gives you a bit more insight into Georgie's problem.
    
    Good Luck!
    
          Kathy & Cleopatra, Lillie, Mr. Kitten and William Dodger

    When I first got Trouble, she had overgroomed herself to the point
    of baldness on both sides and her back legs.  She had been in a
    two-cat house and the other cat was molesting her, so the vet said
    it was stress and that a new home might help.  Since I've had her,
    almost two years, she's not overgroomed herself at all.  Now, I
    realize that finding a new home is probably not an option (at least
    it wouldn't be with me :-)   ), but since she doesn't seem to like
    the other kitties, maybe you could keep her inside for a while and
    see if that helps.  
    
    I guess what I'm trying to say in my long-winded way is that it
    might be stress-related.  If you can find out what is causing the
    stress and alieviate it, that *might* get rid of the problem.  
    
    Bernice
    Mother_of_Trouble

    Monroe went through the same thing once.  The medication was given
    in decreasing doses and eventually he was off it.  It also helped
    him.  He has not had a recurrence since that first time.  The
    medication will make him feel better so you may want to consider
    taking the vet's advice and giving it to him. 
    
    Who knows what may have made him decide to take up this habit of
    overgrooming now.  Monroe had never done it before and he was about
    6 years old at the time.  We never did figure out what had upset
    him enough to cause the problem.
    
    Jo

    I just wanted to reply to this note, since I just recently went
    through the same thing with my cat Louie.  It appeared that he was
    licking off all his fur around his hind legs and stomach.  When
    I brought him to the Vet, he told me that it was probably stress
    related, but also, just in case he tested Louie for Ringworm.  And
    sure enough - that was the problem.  I had to give him pills for
    a month and then had him re-tested.  He is now worm-free and his
    fur is growing back in nicely!!! 8^)
    
    I would have your vet do a ringworm test - they just pull a couple
    of pieces of fur with tweezers and it takes about 5 days for the
    results.   Could be well worth it!!
    
    Good luck,
    Judie

    Re .6:   Thanks for the suggestion Judie.  Actually I have been
    giving him the hormone tablets in the hope that they would calm him down
                           
    However, he's been naughtier than ever since he's been on them to
    the point where he made off with half of the  Saturday evening dinner party
    chicken  (How embarrasing to have to borrow from your
    next-door-neighbour the food which you're feeding them with that
    night!!!)                                    
                                                 
    I'll suggest ringworm and see what the vet says.
                           
                                                 
    M.                       
    
                           

                   <<< NOTES$:[NOTES$LIBRARY]FELINE.NOTE;1 >>>
                               -< Meower Power >-
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Note 2362.8                   OVERGROOMING...HELP!!                       8 of 8
SSVAX::HOFFMAN "SIMG Information Security"            0 lines   1-JUN-1989 16:54
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    I know this is late - trying to catch up - but... We went through
    the same problem with Munchkin, and it was due to stress because
    of an unaltered male, roaming through the neighborhood, playing
    havoc with the "pecking order" - even though Muchkin is an indoor
    (mainly) cat.
    
    The simplest solution, and least expensive, from a vet who is a
    determagology expert, is to get a can of Obtundia spray.  Obtundia
    is a topical antibiotic, and in the spray form, smells awful! It's
    the same idea to putting pepper or something that tastes bitter
    on a child's fingers to stop him/her from biting or sucking their
    thumb. 
    
    To this day, all I have to do is show Munchkin the can and he winces!
    
    Try it.
    
    Regards,
    J
    

    I thought I would reply to this note since this is so near and dear to
    my heart!!  In previous notes, I had mentioned that last year my cat
    Louie had ringworm.  This happened twice last year, in March and Aug.
    
    In October I adopted another dog and a few months later Louie was back
    licking his fur off again.  This time it wasn't ringworm and the vet
    figured it was the stress of the new dog and gave him a shot to calm
    him down.  Unfortunately, even though the cat and dog are now OK with
    each other (I wouldn't say best friends or anything), Louie has continued 
    to lick off his fur.
    
     So back to the vet in April and he said that Louie must be allergic to
    something (not food) and gave him a steriod shot.  This lasts about two
    months and then Louie starts up again and needs another shot. 
    
    This whole thing is just so frustrating.  My poor little guy looks so
    wierd with no fur on his stomach, rear end and hind legs........
    
    To Jo:
    
    I noticed in the CANINE file that you mentioned one of your
    cats were licking in the same areas and that it turned out she was
    Hypothroid.  Were there any other signs that the vet noticed or was it
    just the licking?  I figured that I could have Louie tested for this also.
    I will try anything at this point so he will just stop this nonsense!!
    It's going on for over a year now and I want him to get better!
    
    Any other ideas from anyone?  I could use all the help I can get......
    Thanks,
    Judie

    Judie, I have one cat that is definitely Hypothyroid, and two others
    that we suspect have it, but haven't done the tests yet.  
    
    The first symptom with the diagnosed cat was the loss of hair from
    the abdommen, hind legs, tail, and just above the tail area.  This
    loss is called Feline Endocrine Alopecia.  It can be a symptom of
    hypothyroidism, but can also occur all on it's own with no known
    cause (maybe stress).  Anyway, we did a test on Joui called a TSH
    stimulation (I think that was the name), and she turned up being
    hypothyroid.  This was over a year ago, and she has been doing fine.
    She must have a 1/4 tablet of Cytobin every day to help maintain
    the right levels of thyroid in her body.  She is very good about
    being pilled.  Joui's symptoms first started when she was about
    2 1/2 years old.  She is now four.
    
    One of my other cats that we suspect may have it is a excessive
    groomer.  He does this almost as a nervous problem.  If someone
    pets him, he will immediately start licking whereever he was touched.
    I had him into the vets on Friday, and we decided to take the
    conservative approach with him first, and rule out flea allergy
    (which can also cause that kind of hair loss).  So, we gave him
    a shot of prednisone, and I was sent home with pred to give him
    for a couple of weeks.  If after the pred treatment he hasn't improved
    then we will do the thyroid testing on him too.
    
    Hope this helps.
    
    Jo

    Thanks for the info Jo!
    
    When Joui's fur loss began, did you notice that she was licking in
    those areas, or was the fur just coming out on it's own?  Were there
    any other symptoms that prompted the vet to check for Hypothyroid?
    
    For Louie, we have ruled out flea allergy, stress, ringworm - you name
    it.  I kind of feel like the vet has given up and just wants to keep
    him on steriod shots on a bi-monthly basis - and I don't want to have to
    do that!!!  Tonight I am going to call him and ask about testing for
    the Hypothyroid.  I'll try anything.  At least Louie is pretty good
    about getting pilled - we've gone that route for a long time and he got
    used to having the pills so I'm not too worried about having to pill 
    him if it comes to that.  (Sure beats the rides to the vets all the
    time!!)
    
    Thanks again for the info,
    Judie
    

    Joui's hair loss kind of happened all at once.  One day she was
    normal, the next day I looked at her and shreaked "what happened!"
    She also has allergies that manifest themselves as rashes on the
    skin, so her hair hasn't really grown back all the way.  Hard to
    tell which is from which.  Anyway, I don't recall her ever being
    much of a licker.  Even when she is all rashed out, she isn't a
    big licker.
    
    I did have a cat that licked a bald spot on his back once.  The
    difference between that and Joui's problem is that her hair loss
    was unilateral.  
    
    Other symptoms might be sluggishness, weight gain, sleeping alot.
    Does Louie do any of those.
    
    Joui and Louie, what a pair. :^)
    
    Jo

    No - Louie doesn't have any of those other symptoms.  And he is
    definitely doing the damage to himself by licking.  Whenever I see him
    doing it, I try to make him stop.  But that doesn't really do much
    good.
    
    From what you've described, I doubt he is Hypothoroid.  Too bad....
    
    Well - I guess we will just carry on and hope the shots finally have an
    effect on him.
    
    Thanks for the info though !!
    
    Judie
    

    You might ask the vet for some prednisone to take home and give
    him yourself, rather than shots.  Or, maybe something to calm him
    down so that he doesn't overgroom.  Overgrooming is sometimes a
    symptom of nervousness.
    
    Good Luck,
    
    Jo

    Prednisone helped with T.K.  He is another allergy prone kitty, that I
    rescued two years ago from the woods behind our condos.  I first
    noticed T.K.'s allergy in the form of an eczema type rash that spread
    very quickly over one side of his body and stomach.  He had developed
    scaley, flakey, skin all over.  The vet first administered a
    long-lasting shot of cortisone which brought immediate relief to the
    itching, then sent me home with a 30 day supply of prednisone tablets
    with instructions to only give them to him in gradual doses.
    I think he received one whole pill for 3 days, then 1/2 pill for 3
    days, then 1/2 pill every other day for 3 days, or something along that
    line.  We also changed his diet back to strictly IAMS, and I had to
    perform trial and errors on the canned brands.  T.K. was never a canned
    food eater; his diet always consisted of strictly IAMS (his choice),
    then when he ballooned up to 16 pounds I took him off the IAMS very
    abruptly and switched to lo-cal IAMS which he hated.  He began eating
    the canned food put out for the other cats and that is when his rash
    began.  He does okay with Whiskas, Friskies, and Sheba; anything else
    seems to really wreak havoc with his system.

    I will ask the vet about getting some Prednisone pills for him.  I'm
    not sure what shot Louie has been getting - either Cortisone or
    Prednisone, but he never mentioned giving me the Pred pills.  Back in
    January when we thought it was stess, he gave me a prescription for
    Valium, but I never used it because it seemed like the cat and dog were
    finally getting along.  To me Louie never looks or acts stressed out,
    but who knows what goes on in their little minds!! 8^)
    
    Also - I asked the vet about changing his food.  He told that if it
    were food allergy, then the hair loss would be more in the facial area,
    not the rear end.  But I think I will get him something like Fromms and
    give it a try.  I have always given Louie 9-Lives canned and
    supermarket dry (all types) and he always seemed OK so I stuck with it. 
    But I think it will be worth a try to change his diet - it can't hurt!
    
    Thanks again,
    Judie
    

    Ming licked her back (from the base of the tail up about 4 inches
    on her back) until ALL the hair was gone. Immediately we thought
    flea allergies but nope, the vet also suggested food allergy. I
    had stopped feeding her IAMS, because of the EOX preservative scare.
    The vet gave me Prednisone pills for her, with the dosage pretty
    much the same as Roberta's TK. I workd right away and we put her back
    on IAMS and continuted with the Sheba and it went away. The fur has
    not all grown back but she doesn't touch that spot anymore.
    
    I believe the store bought dry food has a lot of red dye in it. I
    know Ming can't tolerate ANYTHING with red dye in it. MAYBE..??
    
    Hope you find an answer soon.
    
    Barbara

    A cat will sometimes act out his nervousness by licking.  That may
    be the only outward sign.  That is how it is with Winston.
    
    Prednisone contains cortisone.  So, that is what has been helping
    him already.  The pills are good cause you can give him a low dose
    over a gradual amount of time.
    
    Your vet is right, food allergies manifest around the head, neck
    and facial area.
    
    Jo (who has a cat with food allergies).