Why would my cat pull his hair out? He's pulling it out in big patches, and enti

1. 69

   Etherealenigmaposted 12 years ago

   Why would my cat pull his hair out? He's pulling it out in big patches, and entire sections.
   
   I've been fighting with a flea problem, so I don't know if this might be related to him being sensitive to the flea bites, or if it might be an allergy to his food. Will his hair grow back in the same, once I can figure out how to stop this behavior?
   
   

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2. 75

   moonfairyposted 12 years ago

   It could be that he's stressed about something. I know it sounds silly but I have a friend who's cat pulled the fur off his tail until part of it was bald....and it was  because of their new puppy. The good news is that the fur does grow back

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3. 60

   tlmcgaa70posted 12 years ago

   stressed is one reason...allergies is another, and mites yet a third. i have one cat i found and adopted when he was between 5 and 8 yrs old. he was almost dead when i found him. he has a hole in the roof of his mouth. until i put him on purina cat chow, he was constantly pulling his hair out in gobs. now he no longer does this and his fur is soft. he still itches when it is dry out but not hair pulling any more.

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4. 83

   thoughtfulgirl2posted 12 years ago

   Hi there,
   
   It could be any number of reason, my first gut feeling would be stress.  Or, it could be a skin allergy.  Did you switch cleaners or start doing something different in your house? I had a cat that would do the very same thing, but it turned out he had a tumor of the spleen.  Call a veterinarian or search on-line for a veterinarian question/answer page, the American Veterinarian Society maybe?

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5. 69

   Etherealenigmaposted 12 years ago

   Thank you all for your answers. I'm still trying to figure it out. He wasn't doing this when we moved, and we are going on our second year in this place. He gets all the attention he wants. You see how gorgeous he is, but now, he has huge patches in his fur, and his lower back and tail is  almost all pulled out. Plus, he scratches around his neck to the point of big red spots and scabs. I haven't noticed a mite problem. A previous cat had those in his ears, and there is no sign of it in these guys. I can't think of a reason for him to be stressed so my only thought is either the fleas are bothering him too much (may skin sensitivity) or an allergy, and if it is allergy, it may be the food. I will have to take him to get checked if I can't figure out what he needs. Thanks.

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6. 60

   AhalitaMoonfireposted 11 years ago

   I agree with tlmcgaa70, but also fleas can cause it, I have had two cats, that had an allgery to fleas and chewed themselves raw and furless in a few area's on their body.

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