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Old November 6th 06, 08:51 PM posted to rec.pets.cats.health+behav
Edna Pearl
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Posts: 22
Default Update on "bald belly syndrome"

It's been a month since I posted that my 9yo dsh Ted was diagnosed with bald
belly syndrome, which is basically feline OCD -- licking the hair off his
hind legs and belly. He was on Valium for two weeks, then had a follow-up
visit with the vet. The vet said the hair on his tummy was all the same
length, indicating that he had stopped licking it off. The vet reduced his
Valium dosage to two times a week, so I give Ted a pill whenever he gets
into into one of his skittish moods, about two times a week. He seems to
have adjusted quite well to being stoned occasionally :-)

I still catch Ted licking the affected area -- when I do I just distract him
with a gentle "no" and some petting. (He knows what "no" means, unlike his
sister Betty :-) His tummy still shows a lot of skin through the fur, but I
can't tell whether it's all the same length -- my eyesight is not very
acute. Would you expect his hair to have grown back? I'm trying to
remember my experiences with spaying surgeries -- it takes more than a month
for the tummy hair to grow back all the way, doesn't it?

I thought I'd post about this again, in any event, to see if there's anybody
here who has any experiences to share about having a cat with bald belly
syndrome.

Thanks,
ep