Question:
Hi everyone, I have a bit of a concern that I am wondering if any of you have come across with your kitties. I have a 7 yr old male indoor cat that has been losing hair on his belly and down the side of his inner leg, can't seem to figure out why this is happening. I don't have the money to visit the vet unless it is important. It isn't causing him any pain, his appetite isn't affected, his behaviour is normal and there are no other animals that he is exposed to. It happened about 3 yrs ago when he was outside on the grass in my yard. It sort of came back for a bit, but then his soft little belly seems to be more apparent now.

Anyone have any suggestions as to why that may be happening or what can help it.



Answer:
skin problems should really be evaluated by a vet. They can be caused by many things, some of which include allergies, irritants, bugs (mites, fleas, other insect bites), etc. Since we're not vets, we can't know what it is, or how to treat it.

We all know vet visits can be expensive, but when we open our homes to animals, it's an expense we all deal with. Perhaps your vet will let you arrange a payment plan (some do, some don't). if you've been using the same vet for a while, it may be worth asking about.

Answer:
I agree. Also, thyroid disease can cause hair loss, so that may be a possibility.

Answer:
thank you for the insight, but I am not asking anyone to be a vet, just suggestions if this ever happened to one of their animals.....yes, i opened my home to my cats and would give up everything to help them, thank you, but I thought a forum meant to ask questions and get suggestions. Thanks for some of the suggestions you listed.

Answer:
I suggest you get blood tests to check the thyroid first, and then... What food are you feeding? It might help to switch to another food that has completely different ingredients in it (to eliminate the possibility of a food allergy).

We aren't vets, but we do suggest things to ask at the vet.
(I don't think Jessi meant anything- today just seems like a day where people are asking questions to avoid the vet- not you, just in general ).

Answer:
Originally Posted by lovemycats
I don't have the money to visit the vet unless it is important.

Prin is right - and I'm sincerely sorry if I seemed snippy. It's just we get alot of posts that state the above. IMO, anything out of the norm warrants a vet visit. since skin problems are caused by a myriad of things (as we've suggested) only a vet can determine what the cause is. Once you have a direction to go in (from the vet) I'm SURE we'd be of more help to you.

again, sorry if I seemed snippy. and I look forward to hearing how your kitty is doing!

Answer:
I agree, it sounds like a good idea to get it checked out in case there is an underlying problem. A long long time ago I had a kitty that was loosing hair on his inner legs and back, it turned out to be ring worm if I remember correctly. Hopefully whatever is causing this is not serious

Recently there has been a fair amount of "my dog/cat is seriously ill possibly dying at this very moment, is there anything you can suggest that might help with this?" So I think it might be making some of us a little edgy

Answer:
My Chico was eating away at the hair on his belly and hind-legs,it was stressrelated after we brought a kitten(Vinnie) in to the house.
The vet gave me a salve to put on the area and the hair grew back..but only a vet can tell you what the problem is.
It might not even cost you more than the price of a check-up..

Answer:
Hi guys, not a problem, i understand.......i was just so excited when i came across this website cause i an ask normal questions to normal people that may have more experience than myself with animals and their woes.....I am taking my baby to the vet soon........my first thought was stress related too....awhile back, i spoke to a vet at the Guelph Pet Hospital who suggested dry skin and stress......it seemed to go away for awhile, but has since come back.......although he is not hurting he needs to visit the vet.......By the way, what is ringworm like? how does it manifest itself inside my cat? i suppose i need to do some research......thanks again for your input.

Answer:
Sorry I don't remember to much detail, it was around 15 years ago:P The main thing I recall was hair loss and dry skin. Interestingly I did a quick search and the first link I looked at has a picture of a kitty that looks a lot like mine did. Not that scaly though, poor kitty Anyway, hope you can get to the bottom of it

http://www.fabcats.org/ringworm.html

Answer:
Thank you Maya. Does it actually hurt the cat though? This is scaring me now cause I neglected it. I am going to take him to the Vets next week for sure. Because his personality hasn't changed or anything else, I didn't think anything of it. Is it possible that he gave it to my other cat, his brother?

Answer:
Well, I am happy to say that my boy, Domi doesn't have ringworm. The vet said it is just from stress and he has just kept licking the area. There isn't really any harm in this except for having a cold belly. He is so cute cause he rolls on his back to show me his belly and i kiss it is blow on it to make funny sounds and he loves it. The vet said there is nothing that can be done.

Thanks alot to you all for your suggestions. Yeah!!!

Answer:
There is something that can be done,the vet gave me a cream called Variton and after a few treatments and less stress,Chicos hair grew back.
But I guess it will grow back even without the creme,it did stop Chico from licking though.

Answer:
Well, Chico, thank you for the suggestion, i will look into that. I am surprised and I little disappointed that my Vet didn't recommend anything.

Thanks again.

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