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My cat has "bald-belly syndrome"
One of my three DSH's, a black 9yo neutered male named Ted, recently started
licking the hair on his tummy excessively, leaving a large, downy area of near-baldness. He also "scrubbed" a couple spots bald on his right foreleg. I took Ted to the vet yesterday, and was told he doesn't have any sign of any dermatitis or allergy or skin problem -- it's "bald-belly syndrome." The vet prescribed 2mgs of Valium for one week, 1 mg for an additional week, then recheck. An Internet research reveals that bald-belly syndrome is basically the feline equivalent of obsessive-compulsive disorder. I read that Valium and Prozac are sometimes use to treat it. I've been under a lot of stress in recent months-- personal and family tragedy, illness, and loss, etc. And stress is contagious. Poor Ted caught it from me. I feel guilty, I guess. This particular cat and I are very close. F'rinstance, he sleeps on the pillow by my head at night. His "baseline" personality is that he is very vocal, skittish, and goofy -- and he only lets me and sometimes my SO touch him. Now, with a snootful Valium, he's more whiney, less skittish, clumsy, and totally glued to me -- on my lap or underfoot at all times, crying when not. I would be glad to hear from anybody who has been through this with a cat. It's just breaking my heart. ep |
#2
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My cat has "bald-belly syndrome"
"Edna Pearl" wrote[...] I would be glad to hear from anybody who has been through this with a cat. It's just breaking my heart. Edna, When I got my little 7-lb tabby, her belly was bald--just her "bikini" area. I stupidly thought, "oh, that must be from her spay." And when it never "grew back" I thought it sort of odd, but did not imagine she was licking the fur off. Then our other cat began coming into what Gracie thinks of as her very own "territory" to sleep and hang out. Suddenly Gracie's left side was going bald! And she was vomiting hairballs from the fur she ingested. I did take her to the vet, and thought, as you thought, that it was an allergy. (She has EGC and asthma.) The vet found no skin condition. I read here and saw the same sort of info you saw, that it might be psychological. As soon as I stopped our other cat from coming up into Gracie's safe zone, not only did the hair on her side grow back but Gracie now has this gorgeous, creamy, spotted fur on her belly! Your cat needs soothing and reassuring. There is nothing you can do about the sources of stress in your life (I mean the specific ones you mentioned, which are just a hard part of everyone's life at one time or another) but if you can somehow comfort your kitty, keep her from feeling the tension, this would help. I would NOT give her valium or anything else until you try to alleviate stress in her life. Be sure one of your other cats is not bothering her, hanging out in her area or ambushing her at the litter box, spending too much time with you, etc. Good luck. The happier you can make your kitty, and the more secure, the more fur she will grow back! |
#3
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My cat has "bald-belly syndrome"
"Edna Pearl" wrote:
One of my three DSH's, a black 9yo neutered male named Ted, recently started licking the hair on his tummy excessively, leaving a large, downy area of near-baldness. He also "scrubbed" a couple spots bald on his right foreleg. I took Ted to the vet yesterday, and was told he doesn't have any sign of any dermatitis or allergy or skin problem -- it's "bald-belly syndrome." The vet prescribed 2mgs of Valium for one week, 1 mg for an additional week, then recheck. An Internet research reveals that bald-belly syndrome is basically the feline equivalent of obsessive-compulsive disorder. I read that Valium and Prozac are sometimes use to treat it. I've been under a lot of stress in recent months-- personal and family tragedy, illness, and loss, etc. And stress is contagious. Poor Ted caught it from me. I feel guilty, I guess. This particular cat and I are very close. F'rinstance, he sleeps on the pillow by my head at night. His "baseline" personality is that he is very vocal, skittish, and goofy -- and he only lets me and sometimes my SO touch him. Now, with a snootful Valium, he's more whiney, less skittish, clumsy, and totally glued to me -- on my lap or underfoot at all times, crying when not. I would be glad to hear from anybody who has been through this with a cat. It's just breaking my heart. ep We have had the same problem with one of our cats for the past four years. The vet has checked her out and could not find anything physically wrong with her. He said it is probably due to stress. A cortizone shot helps but does not last long. I took her again last week and he gave us some drops to give her. They are an herbal based solution simply called "tension" (I don't recall the manufacturer). We will see if that helps her. I can check the mfg name and post if you are interested. Randy http://picasaweb.google.com/crmartin1 http://kittenwar.com/kittens/74045/ |
#4
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My cat has "bald-belly syndrome"
"Edna Pearl" wrote in
: One of my three DSH's, a black 9yo neutered male named Ted, recently started licking the hair on his tummy excessively, leaving a large, downy area of near-baldness. He also "scrubbed" a couple spots bald on his right foreleg. I took Ted to the vet yesterday, and was told he doesn't have any sign of any dermatitis or allergy or skin problem -- it's "bald-belly syndrome." The vet prescribed 2mgs of Valium for one week, 1 mg for an additional week, then recheck. An Internet research reveals that bald-belly syndrome is basically the feline equivalent of obsessive-compulsive disorder. I read that Valium and Prozac are sometimes use to treat it. I've been under a lot of stress in recent months-- personal and family tragedy, illness, and loss, etc. And stress is contagious. Poor Ted caught it from me. I feel guilty, I guess. This particular cat and I are very close. F'rinstance, he sleeps on the pillow by my head at night. His "baseline" personality is that he is very vocal, skittish, and goofy -- and he only lets me and sometimes my SO touch him. Now, with a snootful Valium, he's more whiney, less skittish, clumsy, and totally glued to me -- on my lap or underfoot at all times, crying when not. I would be glad to hear from anybody who has been through this with a cat. It's just breaking my heart. ep It is not like you did this on purpose. Give yourself a break. Your cat will notice the difference. Stay calm and good luck. Andy |
#5
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My cat has "bald-belly syndrome"
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#6
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My cat has "bald-belly syndrome"
I've read in this group about several cats, particularly black cats, with
this bald belly business. My own black cat, Sapphire, developed this in 1996. I was under no stress at the time and neither was she. There was no physical problem. The vet had me rub her belly with lemon juice. She licked it off. He tried a few medications but nothing worked. He then said he didn't want to keep medicating an otherwise healthy cat. For the next 10 years her belly and insides of her back legs were bald. It didn't show unless she lay on her back. Bottom line, it seemed to have no effect on her life. -- Barb Of course I don't look busy, I did it right the first time. |
#7
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My cat has "bald-belly syndrome"
That's really interesting, that it didn't seem to have any real effect on
your cat's life. I do seem to notice that Ted gets worse when I'm out of town for a couple of days or having nightmares or something. It seems like he licks his belly to comfort himself, calm himself -- and it seems like when he's really stressed he starts on his front legs. But I'm notorious for anthropomorphizing Ted :-) I'm going to do as I'm told for now. Ted is obviously bombed on the Valium, but is also obviously less nervous, skittish, etc. It will probably do him good to have a little Valium Vacation, and a lot of time in my lap. I'm trying to stay calm myself, too, as Andy says. It obviously doesn't do the poor cat any good for me to stress about him :-) Thanks, everybody. ep "barb" wrote in message ... I've read in this group about several cats, particularly black cats, with this bald belly business. My own black cat, Sapphire, developed this in 1996. I was under no stress at the time and neither was she. There was no physical problem. The vet had me rub her belly with lemon juice. She licked it off. He tried a few medications but nothing worked. He then said he didn't want to keep medicating an otherwise healthy cat. For the next 10 years her belly and insides of her back legs were bald. It didn't show unless she lay on her back. Bottom line, it seemed to have no effect on her life. -- Barb Of course I don't look busy, I did it right the first time. |
#8
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My cat has "bald-belly syndrome"
An Internet research reveals that bald-belly syndrome is basically the feline equivalent of obsessive-compulsive disorder. I read that Valium and Prozac are sometimes use to treat it. I've been under a lot of stress in recent months-- personal and family tragedy, illness, and loss, etc. And stress is contagious. Poor Ted caught it from me. I feel guilty, I guess. This particular cat and I are very close. F'rinstance, he sleeps on the pillow by my head at night. His "baseline" personality is that he is very vocal, skittish, and goofy -- and he only lets me and sometimes my SO touch him. Now, with a snootful Valium, he's more whiney, less skittish, clumsy, and totally glued to me -- on my lap or underfoot at all times, crying when not. I would be glad to hear from anybody who has been through this with a cat. It's just breaking my heart. My DH and I have a DSH named Benny, who sounds similar in personality to your Ted. After he and the other cat, Tucker, got into a tiff (after a stressful vet visit), Benny started pulling out his fur on his right side. I took him into the vet, who could also find nothing medically wrong. We were not thrilled about medicating Benny, so I looked into more natural options. After experimentation, I found a combination of using a Feliway diffuser, Rescue Remedy in their water, and Calms Forte (homeopathic remedy), along with lots of praise and attention, helped. He slowly regained his confidence, and now I only use Rescue Remedy in the water. He still has a few "thin" patches of fur along his back, but overall he seems happy and healthy, so we don't worry about it. Rene |
#9
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My cat has "bald-belly syndrome"
My cat, Willie, started licking until he has a bald belly also. I took him
in for blood work and found that he has hyperthyroidism and vet says this is probably related due to stress. Now, I'm here to see if I can find more info on this condition. Good luck to your kitty. Jean |
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