Hey all, hoped someone may help here, since we have so many animal lovers.
I have a female cat who is in her early teens. She has two offspring (adults, now) who live in the home with us. She was fixed a few years ago, but they said scar tissue caused an ovary to be fused to a kidney. So, while she is fixed, she still has an ovary and goes into heat.
In the passed six months or so, her hair has been thinning. She has no hair on her belly (it's fuzzy stubble) and around her leg haunches it's starting to thin as well. The skin isn't red or irritated, there are no scabs or discolorations. Her skin is the same light pink it always is. This hair loss doesn't seem to bother her.
She doesn't obsessively lick, doesn't gnaw, doesn't scratch. She doesn't have fleas (she gets Advantage every month). I felt her over and she has no lumps, no tender spots. Her bathroom habits are the same, she isn't 'acting' sick, her appetite is consistent, and she plays and romps around the same.
What may be causing the hair loss? She sleeps on towels we got for her, could our detergent be irritating her skin, since the hair loss is just on her belly and legs? Could old age simply be causing her to shed? Maybe the fact that she still has an ovary that sends her into heat, could that make her shed the hair away on her belly?
Cat advice?
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teggacat
- Senpai - Elder
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you havent changed her food lately?
years ago I had a husky, when she got older she started having hair loss problems, changed her diet and it got noticably better, never went away but got better, sounds screwy but their food can react to alot of things, my rotties had ear issues forever, no meds seemed to help at all, they had been on the same diet for several years, changed it and their ears all cleared up...maybe its similar for cats??
years ago I had a husky, when she got older she started having hair loss problems, changed her diet and it got noticably better, never went away but got better, sounds screwy but their food can react to alot of things, my rotties had ear issues forever, no meds seemed to help at all, they had been on the same diet for several years, changed it and their ears all cleared up...maybe its similar for cats??
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toonybabe
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I have a lot of experience with cats - growing up my family has never had less than 5 at any given time. When they start to get old they can loose their hair and sometimes develop allergies. Also, I have heard of cats reacting to flame repellent/chemicals that the manufacturer sprays on furniture before you buy it. Has she been laying on anything new? Or maybe her old age is just causing her to react to it? If you are really worried you could ask your vet.
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Drac of the Sharp Smiles
- Kishin - Fierce God
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I'm not a vet myself, but I've been working for one for almost 15years. My initial guess is that, while the leftover ovary could be part of the problem, you might possibly looking at a thyroid issue.
There are two things in play here, first is that hormones in overabundance can cause hair loss. You already know that the remaining ovary is abnormal in one way, although it's apparently still functional enough to produce hormones. This should make one of your questions be: "Is there anything else abnormal in it's functioning?" Hair loss from overabundance of hormones rarely makes the animal in question act differently, until the hormones themselves start to take other tolls on the body. In this same line, things like adrenal gland tumors are something you want to possibly consider.
The next thing to keep in mind are thyroid problems, which are VERY, VERY common in older cats. (Yes, especially cats.) A signs there might be a problem with the thyroid would be increased appetite without weight gain, or even possibly with weight loss. You say that her appetite is consistant, which is good, but I would carefully monitor her weight as well. Depending on her body type/fur weight loss can go unnoticed on a cat until a good bit has been lost. (For example, 3-5 pounds may not seem like much to a 150 pound human, but it's a LOT to a 12-14 pound cat.) Monitoring her weight can definitely help a vet diagnose her.
Honestly, a sudden development of allergies is probably the LAST thing I would consider suspect. Allergies aren't impossible, but dogs are much more likely to have allergies. Allergies in NON-purebred cats are pretty rare, and what people often consider to be signs of allergies are usually something else in disguise. That said, if you have changed anything in the way of laundry detergents, household cleaners, etc, you might want to consider changing back to see if that helps anything..... On the other hand, if your pet was going to have a reaction to a change in detergent like that, it would most likely have been a reaction that came on IMMEDIATELY and fast, not slowly and over months, as you're describing here.
(Edit!) I did want to underline what was written up above, in that quality food will take you MILES in keeping your pet looking good. Skin and coat are very heavily effected by diet. You might want to take a look and see if her food you're giving her contain sufficent amounts of fatty acids. If it doesn't, there are fairly inexpensive supplements you can buy to increse her fatty acid intake, and they rarely fail to produce a beautiful coat in an animal that otherwise doesn't have a medical problem.
Bottom line is, I would take her in to your vet sooner, rather than later. ^_^
There are two things in play here, first is that hormones in overabundance can cause hair loss. You already know that the remaining ovary is abnormal in one way, although it's apparently still functional enough to produce hormones. This should make one of your questions be: "Is there anything else abnormal in it's functioning?" Hair loss from overabundance of hormones rarely makes the animal in question act differently, until the hormones themselves start to take other tolls on the body. In this same line, things like adrenal gland tumors are something you want to possibly consider.
The next thing to keep in mind are thyroid problems, which are VERY, VERY common in older cats. (Yes, especially cats.) A signs there might be a problem with the thyroid would be increased appetite without weight gain, or even possibly with weight loss. You say that her appetite is consistant, which is good, but I would carefully monitor her weight as well. Depending on her body type/fur weight loss can go unnoticed on a cat until a good bit has been lost. (For example, 3-5 pounds may not seem like much to a 150 pound human, but it's a LOT to a 12-14 pound cat.) Monitoring her weight can definitely help a vet diagnose her.
Honestly, a sudden development of allergies is probably the LAST thing I would consider suspect. Allergies aren't impossible, but dogs are much more likely to have allergies. Allergies in NON-purebred cats are pretty rare, and what people often consider to be signs of allergies are usually something else in disguise. That said, if you have changed anything in the way of laundry detergents, household cleaners, etc, you might want to consider changing back to see if that helps anything..... On the other hand, if your pet was going to have a reaction to a change in detergent like that, it would most likely have been a reaction that came on IMMEDIATELY and fast, not slowly and over months, as you're describing here.
(Edit!) I did want to underline what was written up above, in that quality food will take you MILES in keeping your pet looking good. Skin and coat are very heavily effected by diet. You might want to take a look and see if her food you're giving her contain sufficent amounts of fatty acids. If it doesn't, there are fairly inexpensive supplements you can buy to increse her fatty acid intake, and they rarely fail to produce a beautiful coat in an animal that otherwise doesn't have a medical problem.
Bottom line is, I would take her in to your vet sooner, rather than later. ^_^