hi
i have two, cats one is a house cat, who never goes outside, she is afraid of the wind!! poor little mite! the other is a tom cat who loves going out, but lately i have notice on his back that his fur has tinned out and he starting to go bald. When a rub that area he licks his front paws like mad,. Would you think its a sensitive area, or something was splash on him >? The vet said it was nothing. half tempted to rub some teatree oil on him what do you think ?

bushg

My old male cat that I have had for 11 years, every spring licks and rubs himself like mad. He ha done this for the last 2 springs. He does this to the point of balding in some areas. But as soon as the winter coat comes off he is fine again and stops the excessive grooming. Vet said he was ok, phyiscally.
Now concerning the tea tree oil as long as it is not toxic to animals, It may be ok to use. The cat will probably lick it at least once, depending on its taste he may or may not lick it all away.
Have you used any flea products on him? I have found on my older cat when I use them he gets thining of hair in the areas that I use it.

olenatichenor

tea tree oil can't be used on cats, do not do it again. See another vet, there should be a reason.

bluebear3

thanks for all your advise- I didnt use the tea tree oil on our cat. We started to use flea products that we got from the vet - the vet also did a skin test - to rule out for ever he is allegic to . the licking has stop but the fur has disappeared at his his back so he is bald in a few patches .Vet believes once they get the results of the test - action can be taken!

bushg

Let us know the results. Thanks for the update.

samonmars

He's probably fine, my fattest cat(name dJunior! Hah, irony!) doe sthat. Not sure what it is, but he is not sick or anything. Maybe just desperate to cool down?

olenatichenor

How about a fungal culture test? it is expensive, but an option.

bluebear3

Thanks for all the your advice. the results came back inconclusive !!! dont understand, but they are going to re do the test in a week so. I am sure they think i am mad fussing over my cat.. - but his poor back is cover in bald patches it doesnt look right- all other cats in the neighbour must be laughing at him- no wonder he is keeping close to the back garden.
My other cat now has started to lick herself to death nearly every 5 mins she licking herself. I know cats love to clean themselves but this cant be all the time. Her under carriage is all pink where she has lick her fur off! hope it re grows before the winter rolls in are i will have to buy her a small dogs coat to add insult to her!

samonmars

That's starting to sound like something contagious. Get both checke dout immediatly, and those vets beeter do a real job!

froggy7

If both cats are starting to show signs, I'd be thinking ringworm, myself. Which is transmissable to humans, by the way. It's a fungal infection (despite the "worm" in the name", that causes hair loss in patches. In about half the cases, you can tell by looking at the skin under a certain light (it flouresces). Unfortunately, for the other half, you need to do cultures, and those take some time.

But I'd be talking to the vet, and tell them that the other cat is starting to show similar signs. You also might want to think about whether you have changed any cleaning or deoderizing chemicals, air-freshners, done any lawn treatments? There may be a new allergen around that they are reacting to.