File :-(, x, )
Disturbed cat? Anonymous
I took my cat to the vet today. My cat has been chewing his fur off his hind legs for almost a year now. He's missing fur but there's no scabs or scars.
I tried changing his food and cat litter. Hell he does it as often as he cleans his fur. He doesn't hide it but I stop him if I see him doing it. The vet says it's not fleas or anything else, he's convinced it's psycological. He says my cat must be disturbed.
But he sure as hell doesn't seem like it. I have another cat and he bullies her, but he's the dominant one. He's always getting lots of love an attention. He's not extremely clingy but he's very affectionate and mello. He's 12 years old.
Another strange thing he does is often at like 5am or so he'll start meowing a lot for no reason.
So what the hell could be disturbing him? I don't get it. A possibility is loneliness because he's used to having a playmate all his life but his playmate died years ago. Also, he used to be an outdoor cat until he was 2 years old, and he still loves to escape.
Pic related, it's him.
>> Anonymous
>>141160
get a second opinion then.
>> Anonymous
>>141153
Interesting. He's a very, very submissive cat at least to people, but to the other cat he isn't. He's *never ever* aggressive, but he chases her more in a playful manner than an aggressive one. Nonetheless, she hates it and it results in a fight but she usually runs away.
I do mean he's very submissive. Even when getting shots and such from the vet he doesn't try to run away or attack. He's very trusting.
He loves to groom himself but he'll often try to groom me too, and sometimes he grooms the other cat if she lets him (which is basically never.) With his other playmates in the past he always groomed them.
They gave me some stupid herbal medication and I'll give it to him, but they expect me to give it to him twice a day with a fresh bowl of water. I'd be suprised if it did anything.
>> Anonymous
>>141162
He would know if it was a pest, and the fact that I changed the food and such around. Plus he said that if it WAS an allergy or pest there would be scabs or scars or a rash.
Plus, it's on both legs, which to him said it's psychological because it would be in just one spot otherwise.
>> Anonymous
>>141165
get a second opinion for a cat behavior specialist then.
>> Anonymous
>>141166
I could barely afford to bring him to this guy. If I ever get money I'll do it.
>> Anonymous
my cat got a shot of Dexamethasone when we went. Same thing chewing out fur on hind legs. But he also gets redhead sometimes, ears and head skin gets red, so we knew it was something allergenic.
>> Anonymous
>>141176
Don't get that. His skin honestly looks perfectly fine.
>> Anonymous
Your cat is haunted. Yelling at the ghosts, and trying to chew them from his/her ass is normal.
>> Anonymous
I would look up Bach Flower Rescue Remedy. you get it for anxious people but they say it works on parrots that pull out all of their feathers. It does not cost much and it is worth a try. The yowling is definatly loneliness. I have heard several cats do this. When mine do it I call them and complement their "singing". If it is too early in the morning I grab them and put them on the bed.
>> ????
sdf
>> Anonymous
ROFL, I guess this is why they call is animals & nature! xD
>> Anonymous
>>141281
Yeah but I find he doesn't want to sleep with me, he wants to play and I'm trying to sleep.
They gave me some stupid flower essences thing. I don't see this working.
>>141287
???
>> Bitter Anon !!WJLRQ1cwCyZ
>>141290
tl;dr and all, but that post is gold.
>> Anonymous
OP here. My cat was sleeping and I just saw him wake up suddenly, lick his leg, and go back to sleep right away.
It's hard to believe it's psychological.
>> Anonymous
>>141334
was his stool tested for worms? perhaps he has some nematoads or whatever they're called
>> Anonymous
some vets have teh AIDS and won't scrape or can't identify all the sorts of mites that can infest a cat. However the fact that it's only his back legs (and both sides)is a little weird for mites and such. Is he an outside cat?
Has he been showing any other symptoms (diarrhea, excessive scratching, spraying, rubbing)?
He may have a localized allergy to something he sits on. Has he also licked/chewed his paws?
How exactly does he remove the hair?
>> Anonymous
>>141358
wow, excellent point... there may be some environmental factors at play in and outdoors...
>> Anonymous
>>141347
Yeah they did a stool exam or whatever. They said that the only disease that would cause this is heartworm and if he had that it would be a lot worse by now. Although it would explain his heart murmur.
>>141358
Like I said in OP, he was outdoors for 2 years of his life then indoors for the past 10 years. He still occasionally escapes but not recently. He does have the occasional diarrhea but I believe it's more of a result of eating the wrong kinds of treats (too much milk or something.) It's not regular. Otherwise, no scratching or spraying. He uses the litterbox fine. He licks his arms in a grooming way but rarely his paws.
I've seen him excessively lick and chew at the fur. I haven't seen him pull the full out but I assume it comes out as a result.
Thing is when I noticed it the very first time I don't think he licked it that much. Or at least I didn't notice. At first I thought he burned his fur (I had a candle on the counter) and itched when it grew back or something. Only when it didn't grow back right did I know it's something wrong. It definitely should have grown back by now.
>> Anonymous
hmm..well if he just licks and chews it, he'd have to be doing it constantly, for hours literally, to remove hair. I own a dog right now who licks and chews his paws and legs any time he lays down but they stay furred. He will pull out the hair (I have seen this) in between his toes, but everything else stays furred through his abuse. Unfortunately he has a grass allergy.

If your cat's ass is smooth like a baby he is probably rubbing or pulling hair out. Some cats and dogs do itch when their fur grows back and pull or rub it out after an injury. You could try a collar and see if it grows back. He should then be fine once it is done growing. Unless it is an obsessive habit of his, which it doesn't sound like, because then he wouldn't do much of anything else. Squirting them with a super soaker usually stops excessive behaviors, but that depends on the animal.

Heat murmurs are bad, though. Depending on how long ago that was diagnosed, and if it was coincidental or slightly before the hair thing, he could have a delayed case of heartworm (dunno how good your vet is), in which case he is doomed. :(
>> Anonymous
>>141395
It was at least 2 years ago they diagnosed it and they said that it's the same now as it was back then.
And I'm sure the hair thing hasn't been going on for more than a year.
This is interesting though. Is it possible he's preventing it from growing back, that once it's back he'll stop and it'll remain normal?
>> Anonymous
Yep, it's possible, but only if it is caused by his irritation at growing hair. If it isn't, when you remove the collar he will gnaw it off again. I'm a vet tech (BUT NOT A VET)and I've seen a couple pets that this happened to and they were fine after the hair grew ALL the way back in(usually its dogs because they have no common sense lol).

I hope you've looked into the heart murmur. It can be a sign of aging. You probably can't afford an echocardiogram to tell you what is going on though (3000$+). He should be monitored closely for signs of weakness, seizuring, and collapse, and actually taken in more often (every six months or so) to see if it increases. A 2-year steady murmur will probably be fine for a while. Oh and heartworm is a crazy, pain-in-the-ass thing, and adult worms (stated in literature but its different for every animal i've seen with it) to live for two years in cats but if he isn't coughing or anything else he should be fine. IF he has that. You also cannot test stool for it (at least that I know of) but you can test the blood.
>> Anonymous
>>141414
pet insurance perhaps will significantly defray the costs to look into the heart murmur?
>> Anonymous
there is one, very simple answer.. He's a cat. Cats are weird, and they do weird stuff. Don't ask questions or he'll scratch you.
>> Anonymous
#1 don't use the herbal medicine. fucking bullshit.
#2 There's a shot that calms the nerves and is relatively cheap. I forget the name but my cat had the same problem 2 years ago and the shot cleared it right up. 20 bucks I think.
#3 if that doesn't work or you can't afford it, just leave the cat be. Hair is cosmetic. My cat still grooms himself very often on his legs, but he hasn't changed his behavior at all. Still sleeps with me, fights with the other cat and is angry towards strangers.
>> Anonymous
My cat did the same years ago, after I started with a fulltime job.
So I got him a playmate and it did stop.