losing hair
 

Hi,

My cat Jake has small patches of his fur missing on both of his sides.
Missing may be a bad description, I would say the fur looks thin, if
that makes sense to anyone...

I am bringing him in tomorrow morning to have the vet take a look, as
I cannot tell if this is serious or not.

Any ideas what this could be?

I was thinking maybe he was shedding, but there seems to be too much
fur missing for that. e gets upset if I try to pet him there, and
tries to bite me. Does this sound serious enough to rush him in
somewhere? He acts pretty normal otherwise, very playful, good
appetite, etc.


Justin - worried :(

in article , Justin L at
wrote on 4/29/05 7:11 PM:

Hi,

My cat Jake has small patches of his fur missing on both of his sides.
Missing may be a bad description, I would say the fur looks thin, if
that makes sense to anyone...

I am bringing him in tomorrow morning to have the vet take a look, as
I cannot tell if this is serious or not.

Any ideas what this could be?

I was thinking maybe he was shedding, but there seems to be too much
fur missing for that. e gets upset if I try to pet him there, and
tries to bite me. Does this sound serious enough to rush him in
somewhere? He acts pretty normal otherwise, very playful, good
appetite, etc.


Justin - worried :(

No idea. Allergies of course may be a problem, but is it irritated? Or does
he not like his sides touched (some cats don't). Vet is the best answer.
Please keep us posted. I hope it is nothing.

"Justin L" wrote in message
...
Hi,

My cat Jake has small patches of his fur missing on both of his sides.
Missing may be a bad description, I would say the fur looks thin, if
that makes sense to anyone...

I am bringing him in tomorrow morning to have the vet take a look, as
I cannot tell if this is serious or not.

Any ideas what this could be?

I was thinking maybe he was shedding, but there seems to be too much
fur missing for that. e gets upset if I try to pet him there, and
tries to bite me. Does this sound serious enough to rush him in
somewhere? He acts pretty normal otherwise, very playful, good
appetite, etc.


Justin - worried :(

When Cheeks had this it was because she was overgrooming due to
anxiety issues arising when Buddha began invading her turf. She stopped
when Buddha stopped. Since Jake and Elwood are still getting used to each
other having been recently introduced, it seems likely that this is the
problem,
but the vet is a good idea to rule out other things.

Does Jake have a safe spot that is all his to retire to?

On Sat, 30 Apr 2005 00:11:35 GMT, Justin L
wrote:

Hi,

My cat Jake has small patches of his fur missing on both of his sides.
Missing may be a bad description, I would say the fur looks thin, if
that makes sense to anyone...

I am bringing him in tomorrow morning to have the vet take a look, as
I cannot tell if this is serious or not.

Any ideas what this could be?

I was thinking maybe he was shedding, but there seems to be too much
fur missing for that. e gets upset if I try to pet him there, and
tries to bite me. Does this sound serious enough to rush him in
somewhere? He acts pretty normal otherwise, very playful, good
appetite, etc.


Justin - worried :(

It sounds like mange, which is caused by mites. He will need a
topical pesticide and cortisone and possibly antibiotics for secondary
infection. It's not an emergency but it needs prompt treatment.

Here's a link:
http://users.dslextreme.com/~wolfsto...geGeneral.html

Charlie

On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 19:47:52 -0500, Karen wrote:

in article , Justin L at
wrote on 4/29/05 7:11 PM:

Hi,

My cat Jake has small patches of his fur missing on both of his sides.
Missing may be a bad description, I would say the fur looks thin, if
that makes sense to anyone...

I am bringing him in tomorrow morning to have the vet take a look, as
I cannot tell if this is serious or not.

Any ideas what this could be?

I was thinking maybe he was shedding, but there seems to be too much
fur missing for that. e gets upset if I try to pet him there, and
tries to bite me. Does this sound serious enough to rush him in
somewhere? He acts pretty normal otherwise, very playful, good
appetite, etc.


Justin - worried :(

No idea. Allergies of course may be a problem, but is it irritated? Or does
he not like his sides touched (some cats don't). Vet is the best answer.
Please keep us posted. I hope it is nothing.

It doesn't seem to be irritated, and he really doesn't seem to like
being petted too much.

I guess I'll find out tomorrow.


Justin

On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 20:57:43 -0400, "Mary" wrote:


"Justin L" wrote in message
.. .
Hi,

My cat Jake has small patches of his fur missing on both of his sides.
Missing may be a bad description, I would say the fur looks thin, if
that makes sense to anyone...

I am bringing him in tomorrow morning to have the vet take a look, as
I cannot tell if this is serious or not.

Any ideas what this could be?

I was thinking maybe he was shedding, but there seems to be too much
fur missing for that. e gets upset if I try to pet him there, and
tries to bite me. Does this sound serious enough to rush him in
somewhere? He acts pretty normal otherwise, very playful, good
appetite, etc.


Justin - worried :(

When Cheeks had this it was because she was overgrooming due to
anxiety issues arising when Buddha began invading her turf. She stopped
when Buddha stopped. Since Jake and Elwood are still getting used to each
other having been recently introduced, it seems likely that this is the
problem,
but the vet is a good idea to rule out other things.

Interesting, he does seem to be grooming the area a lot. Maybe Elwood
is stressing him out...

Does Jake have a safe spot that is all his to retire to?


He likes to go under my bed, so I guess that is his safe spot.

Thanks,

Justin

On Sat, 30 Apr 2005 01:47:28 GMT, Charlie Wilkes
wrote:

On Sat, 30 Apr 2005 00:11:35 GMT, Justin L
wrote:

Hi,

My cat Jake has small patches of his fur missing on both of his sides.
Missing may be a bad description, I would say the fur looks thin, if
that makes sense to anyone...

I am bringing him in tomorrow morning to have the vet take a look, as
I cannot tell if this is serious or not.

Any ideas what this could be?

I was thinking maybe he was shedding, but there seems to be too much
fur missing for that. e gets upset if I try to pet him there, and
tries to bite me. Does this sound serious enough to rush him in
somewhere? He acts pretty normal otherwise, very playful, good
appetite, etc.


Justin - worried :(

It sounds like mange, which is caused by mites. He will need a
topical pesticide and cortisone and possibly antibiotics for secondary
infection. It's not an emergency but it needs prompt treatment.

Here's a link:
http://users.dslextreme.com/~wolfsto...geGeneral.html

Charlie

Oh wow, I sure hope it isn't that! He doesn't look that anywhere near
that serious.

Thanks though

Justin

"Justin L" wrote in message
...
On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 19:47:52 -0500, Karen wrote:

in article , Justin L at
wrote on 4/29/05 7:11 PM:

Hi,

My cat Jake has small patches of his fur missing on both of his sides.
Missing may be a bad description, I would say the fur looks thin, if
that makes sense to anyone...

I am bringing him in tomorrow morning to have the vet take a look, as
I cannot tell if this is serious or not.

Any ideas what this could be?

I was thinking maybe he was shedding, but there seems to be too much
fur missing for that. e gets upset if I try to pet him there, and
tries to bite me. Does this sound serious enough to rush him in
somewhere? He acts pretty normal otherwise, very playful, good
appetite, etc.


Justin - worried :(

No idea. Allergies of course may be a problem, but is it irritated? Or
does
he not like his sides touched (some cats don't). Vet is the best answer.
Please keep us posted. I hope it is nothing.

It doesn't seem to be irritated, and he really doesn't seem to like
being petted too much.

I guess I'll find out tomorrow.


Bet you five bucks it is overgrooming as a result of stress.

Justin L wrote:
Hi,

My cat Jake has small patches of his fur missing on both of his
sides.
Missing may be a bad description, I would say the fur looks thin, if
that makes sense to anyone...

I am bringing him in tomorrow morning to have the vet take a look, as
I cannot tell if this is serious or not.

Any ideas what this could be?

Allergies, thyroid, excessive grooming, nervous behavior, a number of
things. Not urgent, but I'd have him checked out soon.

-L.

On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 22:16:12 -0400, "Mary" wrote:


"Justin L" wrote in message
.. .
On Fri, 29 Apr 2005 19:47:52 -0500, Karen wrote:

in article , Justin L at
wrote on 4/29/05 7:11 PM:

Hi,

My cat Jake has small patches of his fur missing on both of his sides.
Missing may be a bad description, I would say the fur looks thin, if
that makes sense to anyone...

I am bringing him in tomorrow morning to have the vet take a look, as
I cannot tell if this is serious or not.

Any ideas what this could be?

I was thinking maybe he was shedding, but there seems to be too much
fur missing for that. e gets upset if I try to pet him there, and
tries to bite me. Does this sound serious enough to rush him in
somewhere? He acts pretty normal otherwise, very playful, good
appetite, etc.


Justin - worried :(

No idea. Allergies of course may be a problem, but is it irritated? Or
does
he not like his sides touched (some cats don't). Vet is the best answer.
Please keep us posted. I hope it is nothing.

It doesn't seem to be irritated, and he really doesn't seem to like
being petted too much.

I guess I'll find out tomorrow.


Bet you five bucks it is overgrooming as a result of stress.


Heh, good thing I didn't bet! (I had a feeling this was the prob too)

The vet says something may be stressing him out. He gave him a steroid
shot, and said to keep an eye on him.

He said it could be any number of things stressing him - a female in
heat outside he can smell, just wanting to go outside, or something
with him and Elwood.


Justin