cat hair falling out?

Question

my cat is about 7 years old and recently her hair has been just clumping up and falling out in big lots. I whiching her food over from regular stuff to food made for older cats after this started happening. anyone else know what to do?

Answer 1

Sudden hair loss can be a result of stress, though it’s usually disseminated to small areas all over the body, so it is not as noticeable. Not surprisingly, this type of hair loss is most commonly seen at the vet! If the shedding is enough to cause real bald spots, then it may be an indication of another health problem. Then its time to narrow down the possibilities. Stress can cause some cats to over groom and they end up removing far too much hair, even bruising their skin. When this happens, the stress needs to be eliminated and your vet can help with returning your cat to normal.

One of the first considerations is, has something changed within the cat’s environment, such as food, humidity levels, exposure to other animals, and so on. An allergy, especially to foods can cause a reaction in the skin or coat. An animal bite or scratch, or an insect sting can also cause bald spots and should be treated accordingly to prevent an abscess. Once those causes have been eliminated, the other causes have to be considered: parasite, bacteria, virus or fungi. Although viral and bacterial infections are rare, they can have an effect on a cat’s skin and coat. Your vet is the best person to determine what the problem is and how to deal with them specific to your cat.

Ringworm is actually the most common cause of spot baldness in many animals. Ringworm is a contagious fungal infection, not a worm. For more on ringworm and its treatment, check out the links below.

http://www.newss.ksu.edu/WEB/News/NewsReleases/listringworm.html http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/ceps/petcolumns/Ringworm.html http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Plains/3557/four.htm

If you have a cat with ringworm, be sure to wash your hands after each time you touch him. According to CatWatch magazine, longhaired cats and very young kittens are more susceptible.

One of the other most common sources of hair loss in cats is from parasites such as fleas, mites, and even ticks. One of the best ways of detecting and preventing this type of irritation is good grooming.

Answer 2

Definately talk to your vet or a local vet. Cats when they get older also get affected by stress easier. Is there some kind of a change around the house that could be causing your cat stress? Try some pampering and TLC and also, observe the times that your cat seems to shed. What is she around? What did she just finish doing? Just stuff like that! We have to shave my cat every month because he has a licking fetish and he almost kills himself by hairballs. But our other cat is a very emotional cat and it will start to lose hair when it gets depressed....weird huh?

Answer 3

My cat went through the same thing when she had a change of owners. She was my sister's cat and she became mine.

She became so stressed about being given away the fur in her big beautiful bushy tail just dwindled away. It took about a year of TLC before she settled in and regained her fur.

See if something is stressing your feline. Check her skin for mange and make sure she does not have an abcess hidden in her mouth to cause her grief or malnutrition.

Be sure to have a Vet look at her if this persists. Good luck!

Answer 4

As cats get older, they lose more hair. Also, when it is warmer, they lose more. I have three 16 year old cats and have noticed over the years they just lose more and more hair during the warmer times. As long as she isn't chewing her hair out, she is probably fine. I had a cat once, that would chew her hair from stress.

Answer 5

My cat has this same problem. Dont bathe the cat any more if you do. And when you feed her, mix in an egg. This is great for their coat health. if your cat's behavior has changed noticably I would take her to a vet. This could be a tie-in with a health issue.

Answer 6

theres a special food made just for cats loosing hair.its the hills science diet line of products.you should try that.another factor is that the cat is pretty old now, so there maybe nothing you can do.

Answer 7

my dad had a cat, that was doing the same thing.
he took it to the vet, and found out he had allergies.
some say this could be from nerves too.
check with your vet.

Answer 8

You might want to call the vet about this...with the warmer weather they will shed more any way. I would make sure it isn't some thing to do with her health

Answer 9

try a special shampoo.