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bluebear3 · Sep 30, 2007, 05:46 AM

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 it's 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 · Sep 30, 2007, 07:05 AM

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 · Oct 1, 2007, 01:58 PM

Originally Posted by bluebear3

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 ?

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

bluebear3 · Oct 10, 2007, 08:07 AM

Thanks for all your advise- I didn't 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 · Oct 10, 2007, 03:46 PM

Let us know the results. Thanks for the update.

samonmars · Oct 10, 2007, 09:46 PM

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 · Oct 12, 2007, 12:50 PM

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

bluebear3 · Oct 17, 2007, 07:23 AM

Thanks for all the your advice. The results came back inconclusive!! Don't 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 doesn't 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 minutes she licking herself. I know cats love to clean themselves but this can't 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 · Oct 17, 2007, 12:10 PM

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

froggy7 · Oct 17, 2007, 06:45 PM

If both cats are starting to show signs, I'd be thinking ringworm, myself. Which is transmissible 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.

grammadidi · Oct 17, 2007, 07:17 PM

Although all the symptoms are a little atypical, it's really beginning to sound like mites to me. If the next set of tests don't point to the cause I would definitely seek a second opinion. I am very concerned as to why the second cat has the same symptoms. It leads me even more to suspect the scabies mite (mange). There are three different kinds of mange that can affect cats. Some can be highly contagious to humans, so it is important to rule this out. It can sometimes be difficult to pin down if they have had it awhile, but if your second cat seems to be starting the same symptoms I would ask the vet to do a scraping on him.

Has the vet done any blood tests? If the second cat wasn't exhibiting the same symptoms my immediate thoughts would be either a flea allergy or kidney problem.

The only other thing that immediately comes to mind would be if the cat may have found an outdoor hiding place where he was exposed to fibreglass. I have seen that in a cat once, and the way my boss at the time (a vet) figured it out was because the woman was getting a rash on her arms whenever she held the cat. Sure enough, he had found a little hiding place in the roof of a little shed in the backyard that had fibreglass insulation.

Please keep us posted!

Hugs, Didi

bushg · Oct 17, 2007, 07:26 PM

I wonder if cats get ringworm, my child had it and went bald in a circle.

grammadidi · Oct 17, 2007, 09:56 PM

Yes, cats can get ringworm, but it's not usually that itchy and should be able to be fairly easily diagnosed because of it's USUAL distinct ring pattern (not to say it has to be that way). I think there is more crusting with ringworm, as well.

Hugs, Didi