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What's wrong with my pet?

3 years ago

A few months ago my cat started over grooming, and as you can see, he lost a lot of hair already. We took him to the vet, he got vaccinated and a cortisone shot. A month later, and he hasn't improved much :(
What could be wrong?!

Featured Answer

cat_mom

3 years ago

Overgrooming could be a sign of a food allergy, or something environmental (e.g. overreaction to a flea bite).

When both of our most recent previous cats were overgrooming, we switched them to a limited ingredient diet (LID) containing a “novel protein” (in our case, we fed them Royal Canin Rx LID Duck and Pea food, both wet and dry—it also comes in venison, lamb, and rabbit), and eventually both stopped overgrooming (don’t recall how long it took, or if the behavior continued to wax and wane, but it did finally stop). There is also a Hydrolyzed Protein food called Z/D, I believe from Science Diet, but I’m not sure if cats really like it or not.

Good luck!

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Comments (10)

tozmo1
3 years ago
My cat started doing that and the vet put him on a chewable anxiety med for a while. He was eventually able to go off it. Good luck with your baby
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annztoo
3 years ago
I agree with cat_mom. I would start with a change of diet and also make sure he's not stressed at home. Any dogs, cats, or people that are harassing him?

If he doesn't improve with a change of diet, I would seek out a vet that specializes in cats and have more tests run. Pain in the abdominal area can also cause overgrooming.

IMO, a cortisone shot doesn't solve the problem and is a short term fix.
adel
Original Author
2 years ago
Thank you everyone for your passion and care. We switched to a regular digestive and sensitive skin formula since we have multiple cats, and we cannot afford the suggested brands. Luckily, our cat is improving, and his hair is growing slowly; yet it's hard to tell if this is due to the food switch or other factors might be involved. A year ago he lost his twin brother, or in other words, his soul mate, and we always thought that this incident must have had its powerful and negative impact on him, even though we may never know; therefore, if things don't continue improving, we might consider discussing the "chewable anxiety med" option mentioned above with our veterinarian.
Stax
2 years ago
adel,

Thanks for returning and reporting on progress!
HU-352782811
2 years ago
Hi my cat has that's also it started about a year ago thought it was from the move then recently the itching and scratching it was thought to be from hypothyroidism which now not even sure he has but I am taking him to a dermatologist allergist if he gets medicine you don't know what's really causing it you have to find the source
adel
Original Author
2 years ago
HU, I wish your cat a speedy recovery! My cat is about 80% recovered now. I know how stressful this experience can be, but it takes a lot of patience. For those who are curious about his diet, we dropped all fish or salmon dried food, including treats, and switched to Iams sensitive digestion & skin formula. There's no way really to tell if this helped him with his recovery though. However, we tried other brands but this one remains his favorite, so at least we were happy to see him happy :)
elizabeth longfield
2 years ago
sorry, spoke into phone it should be hyper-NOT HYPO thyroidism.
elizabeth longfield
2 years ago
you're welcome and thank you for caring.

hope your kitty and you are both doing well!

take care
HU-352782811
last year
hi adel, did you find out why your cat was scratching, etc.?

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