Conference misery::feline

    How old is Rascal?
    
    When we first got Rico, we noticed something wierd.  Rico has a kink in
    his tail, and after a week or so, we noticed that he had a bald spot
    all the way around the tail, right where the kink was!  So he looked
    like he had a lion's tuft on the end of his tail.  What was weirder
    still, was a couple days after THAT, Tiki ended up with a similar tuft!
    
    They both grew back.
    
    K.C.

    
    Rascal is almost 4 yrs. old.  She's not a kitten, but don't tell
    her that! She thinks she is.
    
    j

    My guess would be a fleas.   Even if you don't see a flea...one
    flea could cause alot of problems if the cat is alergic to them.
    
    Sandy

    Sounds like your cat may have Feline Endocrine Alopecia.  This is basically
    a fancy name for hair loss on the lower abdommen, back legs, and base
    of the tail.  Feline Endocrine Alopecia can sometimes be the first
    symptom of Hypothyroidism.  It was for one of my cats.  We did a blood
    test and discovered that she was borderline low thyroid.  She now gets
    1/2 tablet of Cytobin every day and that controls it very well.  Do you
    also notice that your cat is less active and possibly gaining weight?
    
    Feline Endocrine Alopecia doesn't necessarily mean hypothyroidism.  In
    some cases it just happens, and with no apparent cause.  
    
    Jo

    One of my cats, Lucky, suffers from fur loss on her belly and the
    backs of her hind legs sometimes, and at those times she does tend to wash 
    those areas a lot. My vet said it is eczema caused by a hormone imbalance 
    which is fairly common in spayed females. Perhaps this could be the 
    problem?

    Whenever it recurs she gets a short course of hormone tablets called
    Ovarid (probably got a different name where you are), which clears it up 
    pretty quickly. Too much of the hormone can have side effects, so I do 
    not give them to her all the time.

    Please let us know how you get on.

    June.

    We've recently noticed with Littlun (3 year old spayed female) that she
    has a couple of patches of worn fur near the base of her tail (not
    actually on her tail).  They're not bald patches, just that the fur is
    shorter than the rest of her fur.  It looks like she's found a
    favourite hiding place that she has to squeeze herself into, and its
    rubbing down her fur.
    
    She doesn't show any signs of discomfort, she's not grooming herself in
    that area more than usual, and she's eating normally.  
    
    Does this sound like it will grow back in due course?  Don't think its
    fleas, but we'll give her the treatment at the weekend anyway.
    
    The previous replies have been useful, but its difficult to know if
    this is the same thing that other people have described.
    
    Any thought or comments?
    
    Thanks
    Sue
    

    There doesn't seem to be a note about bald patches in here.
    
    2 weeks ago I noticed a tiny bald patch, inbetween on of our cats ears.
    I thought it had got bigger, so I took him to the vet.
    
    The vet tried the flourescent light trick, it did not flouresce, but he
    gave me some cream to rub in. He also pointed out that the cat seemd
    very "scraggy" and small for 10 months. When you stroke him, the fur
    does seem to come off and fly around a bit. So he had a tapeworm
    injection and a course of roundworm tablets.
    
    This was a week ago, the patch seemed to be clearing up, but recently
    he seemed to have developed another right next to the first one. 
    
    Could it just be the possible ringworm spreading before we started
    treating it, or do you think this, combined with the other symptoms is
    something more?
    
    Cheers,
    
    Greg

    I need Help.  My cat has started pulling her hair out. I have
    taken her to the vets and he gave her a shot of corotozone sp?
    and told me to call back if she gets worse and maybe we might 
    have to put her on kitty tranquilizers.  I would like to 
    get her back to her normal self with out the drugs if possable.
    We were doing real well for a week and then all of a sudden
    she has two racing stripes down her tail that she has chewed.
    I had our first child in October and went back to work in January.
    She started pulling/chewing her hair about the middle of February.
    
    Any sugestions?
    
    Donna 

It's probably no consolation, but my mother's cat, Sullivan, has what 
sounds like the same problem.  I talked to my vet (Dr Mulcahey @ Central
Animal Hospital in Leominster (MA)) about it, and since,
for him, nothing has changed in his 5.5 years of life, she basically
said it was a bad habit that he had developed (the technical name she 
gave was ???????? alopecia).

In addition, she mentioned that some cases could be treated with
tranquilizers, but that she did not recommend that course of action 
for Sully, since there did not seem to have been a change in his
lift to trigger the problem.

Since it sounds like your kitty *has* had a MAJOR change in her life, 
I'd listen to the vet.  Sometimes a brief course of mind/mood addressing 
(I hesitate to say 'altering') drugs can help them deal with the situation.


FWIW, Sully has a lovely pair of  racing stripes about 1 inch wide by 4 
inches long on either side of his backbone.  He's not pulled totally down 
to bare skin, but his orange tabby fur is _noticeably_ thinner/shorter 
in those spots.

    Did your vet do any tests for other things that might cause 
    hair loss??  Some things I can think of are flea allergies, tapeworm,
    thyroid problems.  I would rule out any allergies/medical problems
    before I treated for stress,....even though I do belive stress can
    cause this.
    
    Sandy

    We did all the normal tests. She has a few fleas but we give her
    a bath every other weekend (she loves that part :*)) I was 
    thinking about the Cat Nip Plants that I have started.  Maybe if I 
    let her indulge a few days a week her stress level will go down?
    I have also put a pillow ontop of the toy box by the window in the
    babys room (This used to be the office/rainy day cat room) I hope this 
    will help her feel more like normal. she has been sleeping in that room
    every night since we set the pillow up. What I am starting to worry about
    now is we will have house guests through the month of May and at that
    time we will break down the crib and put up the Futon and again the
    house will be in an uproar.  I hope she does not take to pulling 
    at her skin,  I have heard from a few people this will be her next
    step in (I am not impressed with the way you humans are running this
    place).
    
    Donna

    Since she does have fleas...has she been tested for Tapeworm???
    I know my sisters kitty lost alot of fur...and it was because
    of tapeworm!!  It might be worth the effort of bringing in a stool
    sample!!
    
    Sandy

>               <<< Note 153.13 by MAGEE::MERRITT "Kitty City" >>>
>
>    Since she does have fleas...has she been tested for Tapeworm???
>    I know my sisters kitty lost alot of fur...and it was because
>    of tapeworm!!  It might be worth the effort of bringing in a stool
>    sample!!
    
    Sandy,

This is an old note, but we're going through the same thing now.  All five 
have Tapeworm and Ronnie's fur is thinning on his lower belly and inner thighs.
We have the fleas under control now so we're hoping that an injection for 
Tapeworm for all on the same day will finally get rid of this problem.  We've 
been losing the battle because it takes so long for the borax method to really 
work on the fleas.  I also suspect that at least one of the little devils 
was able to subvert the pilling method the last time around.

My question though is that one of my clients overheard my call to the vets and 
she insists the problem isn't Tapeworm but something else they get from eating 
fleas.  Normally I'd be more inclined to believe what my vet is telling me but 
this client is a registered nurse.  So, is there something else that looks like
little rice bits that comes out of their butts?

Thanks,

			SQ

    Little rice things -- sure sounds like when mine have had
    tapeworm.
    

    Defintely Tapeworm...what you are actually seeing (little
    rice things) is segments of a tape worm that have dried up.
    
    If you compare a tapeworm and a roundworm...they look very
    similar, but if you take a closer look at the tapeworm you
    will see it is broken into segments.   The segments break
    apart...dry up...and look like rice.
    
    Sandy

    Sounds like tapeworms.  Could she have meant that the hairloss
    was related to something else?  There are a few things that
    hairloss in certain patterns may indicate.  Of course, it could
    be nothing more than hairloss caused by kitty chewing on his/her
    fleas too
    
    Jan

>    If you compare a tapeworm and a roundworm...they look very
>    similar, but if you take a closer look at the tapeworm you
>    will see it is broken into segments.   The segments break
>    apart...dry up...and look like rice.
    
    Sandy,

Just to be sure it isn't roundworm -- what I see are several small white 
bits hanging from the fur around the butt.  On the black fur, it's very 
obvious.  It looks like Tatoo and Ronnie sat in something damp and then 
sat in a plate of uncooked rice (so some would stick).  How does the round-
worm look?  They were all wormed (for roundworm) when I adopted them -- does 
it recur?

Thanks again,

			SQ

    Gross...what a topic!!!   I have never seen pieces of
    Roundworm on a butt...BUT if a cat is infested with
    roundworms you will find FULL worms in his stool or
    he will throw-up full worms.     The tapeworms are
    segmented so they break apart easier...but I have
    also seen a cat throw-up a full tapeworm too but 
    closer inspection showed it had segments!!!
    
    If you really want to be sure it is tapeworm..just
    bring a stool sample to your vet.
    
    Roundworms can come back if you never got rid of
    the problem to begin with.   Also if your kitties
    go outside and eat mice...they will most likely
    get roundworms again and again.
    
    Sandy
    

>    Sounds like tapeworms.  Could she have meant that the hairloss
>    was related to something else?  There are a few things that
>    hairloss in certain patterns may indicate.  Of course, it could
>    be nothing more than hairloss caused by kitty chewing on his/her
>    fleas too
    
    Jan,

Her cat wasn't experiencing hair loss.  That is something specific to my Ronnie,
but her cats are indoor/outdoor so they can't win with the fleas which means 
they aren't winning with the tapeworms.  At least "tapeworm" is what it 
seemed she was describing (rice bits).  She claims her vet called the rice bits
something else that cats could get from eating fleas.  I've done a lot of 
reading about fleas and haven't a clue what she could be talking about.  I 
suggested to her that maybe her vet was using the technical name for tapeworm 
but she didn't think so.

She also claims she can't use the Borax method for flea control since they 
have mostly hardwood floors.  I suggested that she call Fleabusters anyway 
just to be sure but I don't think she will.  I suspect there's a real mis-
communication between her and her vet but I just wanted to ask in here if 
anyone could see this worm thing from another angle that I'm missing.

			SQ

PS.  I think Ronnie's getting a bath this week just to be sure he doesn't 
still have fleas.  I don't think he does because I don't have any bites, but
you never know.  It's a gentle shampoo with conditioners so if his skin is 
just itchy it might help.  He isn't bald -- just thinning.  The others (all 
females) show no sign of hair thinning -- my husband jokes that he and Ronnie
both suffer from male-pattern baldness :-).  (The girls also have the rice 
bits so we definitely have a communal problem here).

>    Gross...what a topic!!!   I have never seen pieces of

I agree this is gross, but I'm trying to be as delicate as possible and still
learn something important about these cute little beasts who let me live with
them.  They never go outdoors (well, except for the accidental - and brief - 
escape last fall) and we don't have mice in the house so I would guess it 
isn't roundworm.  On the other hand, I'm going to take a stool sample in to 
the vet just to be sure we don't also have roundworm problems.  I sure wish 
the little beasties could talk sometimes -- it would make diagnosis so much 
easier.

			SQ

    If you want to find out if a cat has fleas, comb the kitty
    with a flea comb, paying esp. attention to the areas around the
    head and tail.  Even if you don't find a flea, you will find the
    black debris the fleas leave behind, I'm pretty certain.  Sweetie
    actually thinned out his fur noticeably due to over-grooming
    from fleas awhile ago, fortunately it's growing back.
    

>    If you want to find out if a cat has fleas, comb the kitty
>    with a flea comb, paying esp. attention to the areas around the
>    head and tail.  Even if you don't find a flea, you will find the
>    black debris the fleas leave behind, I'm pretty certain.  Sweetie
    
Yes, the debris is actually dried blood if I remember right.  I'm going to 
give Ronnie a good once-over with a flea comb tonight to check for signs of
fleas.  He's also my most fervent zoom-groom fan so I'm inclined to think 
that his problem is parasite related.

Thanks for all the responses in here.

			SQ

    Since your kitties seem to be having a lot of difficulties with 
    the fleas you may want to check into that new product (whose name
    just totally slipped my mind) that you give to cats once per month.
    It's basically birth control for the flea population.  It's a bit
    costly.  I think it runs around $35 for a six month suppply.  That'd
    be a 3 month supply for 2 cats or you could buy them each their own
    6 month supply.  You give it to them once per month in their food.
    
    Blast!  I can't remember what it's called.
    
    Jan    

    Don't feel bad about talking about this subject in the file...
    we even did a segment on the Pat Brody Kitty Corner TV show
    regarding worms and litterbox problems.  Of course...this
    was the ONLY TV show my boss watched and I have yet to
    live it down.   All he keeps saying is "couldn't you find
    a better topic...how can you talk about poop on TV".  Oh well..
    it's a topic people who love cats needs to know about.
    
    Sandy
    
    ps..   I do believe in the Borax method of getting rid of
    fleas, but one year I was infested with the little critters
    and I used Durotrol Spray which worked immediately and was
    really good.   One thing good about this spray is you
    can put it on rugs, furniture and hardwood floors and you
    only have to stay out of the room you spray for one hour
    after application.    You can get it at the vets and it
    is costly...but it worked!!  

    The product is called Program.  I've been giving it to my cats
    for several months, mixed with water-packed tuna (with the water
    drained).  Unfortunately 2 of the 4 only eat about half of
    it, so there are still fleas in the house.  I still flea bomb
    and comb and vacuum, sigh.
    

 Thanks guys -- this really is like new mothers talking about diaper contents 
-- disgusting but a necessary fact of life.  I am very glad my boss isn't 
seeing this though :-).

 Ronnie had no sign of fleas last night so I think we really have beaten that 
half of the equation.  His skin also shows no sign of irritation -- just 
thinning hair on his lower belly and inner thighs.  He does sit funny because 
he has a very long body and knock knees -- maybe he is rubbing the fur off if
he scoots to try to get rid of the tapeworm?  I don't see him scoot and I 
don't see him excessively licking the fur so who knows.

 The problem with the tapeworm seems to be that we had the medication before 
we actually got rid of the blasted fleas so we just started all over again.
I still suspect that my wiggle-worm Trudy managed to hide and spit one or both
of the pills, which is why we're going for the much more expensive injection --
and all five on the same day.  Unfortunately it's also why the flea pill 
wouldn't work in our house either.

 They are all going in next Tuesday.  I wouldn't wait so long but Tatoo is 
scheduled for her dental that day and I don't want to traumatize her more 
than once.  She's my basket case, previously abused kitty so just being 
picked up causes her to panic.  Going into the carrier and leaving the house 
really sends her over the edge.  After a year and a half she still won't sit
on our laps but she is getting more friendly -- off the subject but she now 
jumps up on the counter and comes over to me every time I turn on the garbage
disposal.  You'd think the noise would have the opposite effect but she 
want's to see what's up and get petted.  These beasties never fail to amaze 
me.

			SQ

    
    
    	Well Audrey is going to the vet this afternoon.  I noticed
    	(actually my SO noticed) that she had a bare spot on her
    	belly.  Upon further inspection, I also found a spot on her
    	"knee" of one of her back legs and she was starting another
    	spot on her chest.  She also appears to have a "rash" under
    	her front legs on her chest.  Going by what was mentioned in
    	this note, my guess is either eczema or a hormonal imbalance.
    	She is constantly licking at it.  I've tried putting calamine
    	lotion, hydrocortisone and an anti-itch spray on it but she
    	just licks it off.  So I stopped with that figuring it's 
    	probably not good for her to be ingesting all that stuff.
    	Nothing has been changed.  Same food, same litter, same 
    	apartment.  The only thing I can think of is that she loves
    	to sleep on top of the heater in the kitchen (she's my
    	heat-seeking, sun-bathing kitty) and that it might be drying
    	out her skin.  I've since put a towel on top of the heater
    	so her skin is no longer in direct contact with it.
    
    	We'll see what Dr. Eric or his associates have to say about
    	this one!
    
    	JJ
    

    Judy,
    
    how old is Audrey? If she also seems nervous and ravenous, it could be
    an overactive thyroid. Zoe licked her belly bald prior to being 
    diagnosed.
    
    Deb

    
    
    	I haven't noticed anything else out of the ordinary.  She's
    	definitely not ravenous.  She yells at me in the morning
    	(as only a Siamese can) and when I put the food down she
    	"buries" it and comes back to it later.  =)
    
    	She's around 5 years old.
    

    still, that bald belly is a sign of it. If you being her to the vet for
    a blood test, you must specifically ask for a thyroid profile since
    what comes back in a complete blood chemestry doesn't do the proper
    breakdown (T3, T4 TSH) to tell if anything is wrong.
    
    good luck,
    Deb

    My cat, Buttonwood, is having the same thing happen to her. I also have
    a vet appointment.  A friend of mine told me her cat had hair loss a
    few years ago and per her vet it was caused by stress...
    
    Good luck,
    jc

    My cat gets the bald belly and other bald spots when her allergies kick
    in. If it's severe, we usually end up giving prednisone (sp). Severe is
    when the licking gets to be constant and is driving *me* nuts.
    
    Nancy

    
    
    	Well he looked her over, listened to her heart and lungs
    	etc......  gave her a shot of something which the name
    	escapes me at the moment..... begins with a 'D'.  He said
    	if I don't notice a change in a couple days to let him know.
    	Seems Audrey is the perfect candidate to be one of those 
    	kitties that just keeps licking the area out of habit or
    	whatever, after whatever flared it up in the first place
    	has been rectified.  If she continues, he'll put her on 
    	Anafranil to try and break her of the licking.
    
    	She positively won everyone over in the office.  =)  I
    	walked in and one of the women at the desk, Carol, says
    	"We're not seeing Chloe today?!"  It's been a while since
    	Audrey's been in and there were some new people working
    	there.  The big blue eyes sucked 'em all in.  =)
    
    	JJ
    

    Help
    
    Has anyone had this problem with a cat?  I have a male approximately
    4 years old and he is losing his fur on his legs from the bend at 
    the joint to his paws and on his tummy. This started about 4 months
    agp.  
    
    I have taken him to the vet. He said it is an allergy and the
    only way to cure it is to get rid of the cause which is often
    environmental and where do you start. The vet put him on cortisone
    which has not really done anything and really hate to continue
    that type of treatment. 
    
    My question is has anyone had this problem and been able to resolve
    it.  I had one thought that maybe when spring came and he was 
    out in the fresh air more often it might help with the cure. 
    
    Thanks for any help...
    
    Lee
    

    don't know if this will help, but you could try feeding the cat 
    one of those lamb and rice diets for a while and see if it
    helps (that would rule out a food or food-dye allergy)
    
    Deb

    I don't know if this will help, but about 2 1/2 years ago I noticed
    that one of my cats had lost a great deal of fur around her hind end
    and tail.  You could actually see pink skin.  I took her to my vet who
    immediately found that she had an enlarged thyroid.  Not only was her
    fur falling out, but she had gotten quite thin (you didn't mention your
    cat's weight).  She now has blood work done twice a year and I've been
    giving her Tapazole every day.  She's now doing great.  My cat was
    around 13 yrs. old when we found the thyroid problem,  I don't know how
    prominent this condition is in younger cats, but it's worth looking
    into.
    
    Donna
    

    Sweetie has lost a lot of fur under his collar.  (It's not too tight.) 
    The vet and  Ijust noticed it after Sweetie had worn an Eliz. collar
    for a few weeks awhile back.  It does not seem to be regrowing. 
    Fortunately, it is not inflamed or anything, the skin looks very
    healthy.  He's always had a tendency to have sparce fur on his ears,
    which the vet says is a hormonal thing and best not treated.  I sure
    would like to know of anything that migth help this, and I'm concerned
    that it might get inflamed eventually.  I keep a close eye on it.
    
    I'll ask the vet about food today.  I don't mess with food changes
    noramlly because of his diabetes.
    

  Ronnie still is fairly bald on his lower belly and back thighs a month 
after his tape worm injection so I'm suspicious that something else is the 
cause.  My husband thought that it could be an allergy but we haven't made 
any changes in food or anything else.  It DOES seem kind of strange that so 
many are going through this at the same time doesn't it?

				SQ

    You should probably take your cat back to the vet.  That pattern of
    hairloss could be a sign of hyperthyroidism or other types of
    endocrine disorders.  Have you noticed any other changes?  Eating &
    drinking the same?  Behaving the same?  Weight changes?  Peeing &
    pooping the same volume & consistency?  It could be the allergies, but
    cortisone should have helped at least some by now.
    
    Best of luck,
    regards,
    liz

    My coon-apparent "Harry" has been overgrooming. His belly is almost
    bald, right up to his front arms. He has also balded the inside of his
    legs. I brought him to the vet last night and the vet thot he could
    feel the thyroid was enlarged, but we are waiting for the tests to be
    sure. It also could be allergic or behavioral, too (Niky has been
    giving him a hard time) Anyhow, blood was drawn, and they sent out a CBC
    and Thyroid test (I should heave the results this afternoon).
    
    They did a quick blood chemestry on the vet's new lab equiptment, and
    everything was normal except his toal biliribun was just over the high
    normal. Now, this machine, along with printing out the lab results
    suggests possible problems. The suggested diagnosis was that Harry was
    pregnant! It kind of surprized me since, (biologically impossibilities
    asside) *HE* has been fixed! (of course if he really is pregnant, *we*
    are going to be famous! :-)
    
    Deb

    Well, I just heard from my vet. Harry's thyroid was fine. And while he
    wasn't concerned about the Total Billiribun before, he is now because
    the amylase came back sky high. Given Harry's age, it might be the
    start of a cancer, possibly liver or pancreatic; it might also be an
    inflamed gallbladder or pancreatitis,  but none of these has anything
    to do with the hair loss.

    We are going to start him on tapering doses of prednozone tonight for
    three weeks and see if in there is any improvement. We will also retest
    the blood in a couple of months to see if this was a fluke or if
    something is truly the matter.

    Deb

    well, it has only been a few days but there has been a remarkable
    improvement. For starters, he is NOT "overgrooming" anymore, and his
    belly-skin doesn't look as pink.
    
    Deb 

    Deb,
    
    I wonder (don't know for sure) if he could be exhibiting
    signs of amyloidosis.  This is actually a liver/kidney 
    thing.  Found many times in Aby's.
    
    Karen
    Moonsta

    Karen,
    
    Is it treatable? How serious is it?
    
    I've got to pick something up at the vet this evening. I'll mention it.
    
    thanks,
    Deb

    Karen,
    
    Harry is a Maine Coon (Apparent), but I'm interested in this. I can't
    find anything about this in Merck's. Could you tell me more?
    
    thanks,
    Deb