Yeah im sure this post has been done before but I’ve tried some of the stuff suggested in old threads and still my cat keeps pulling hair.
For backstory I got this cat at ten years old. He was an outside cat that my grandma had but she didn’t want to take him with her when she moved recently. I knew he wouldn’t get adopted if he went to a shelter so I told her I’d take him. Initially I kept him outside since that’s what he was used to but we’ve been having coyote problems and it’s been getting colder so I started bringing him inside at night. Then it got to where it was cold during the day too so I let him stay inside permanently.
Maybe a few weeks into his permanent inside residence he began pulling out hair. Or maybe he had been pulling out and I didn’t notice it until then. He’s targeting exclusively his legs and his underside and hasn’t touched his topside fur or tail at all. He seems to scratch himself as if itchy a lot too but I’ve never owned a cat so maybe that’s normal. Only other thing to mention is that I do see some white flakes on his coat almost daily. I’m not sure if he’s getting under the bed and collecting dust or if it’s dandruff or if those things could even cause him to rip his hair out. Anyway, I tried the below but no luck yet.
I’ve switched his food back to what he ate before I got him thinking maybe my food swap was something he was allergic too. Grandma said he would sometimes pull his fur out in the spring when he would get too hot but that otherwise he would leave his coat alone so I thought maybe it was something I changed like the food.
Then I thought maybe it was fleas but Its been a month or two of this hair pulling and I feel like I’d have a flea infestation by now if it was that. He also sleeps cuddled up to me every night and I feel like I’d have some flea bites or something by now if that’s the case. Haven’t seen any fleas and put flea medicine on him monthly just in case.
Then I thought it might be stress of being inside all the time but like I said earlier, he seems to scratch himself as if itchy a fair amount. I bought a calming pheromone diffuser just in case but doesn’t seem to have helped after a few days use. I’ve also tried anti itch wipes and liquid allergy medicine which is a whole other fight in itself and doesn’t seem to work.
Finally, his now exposed skin doesn’t seem red or inflamed in any way so I don’t think it’s a rash...
I’m at my wits end reddit. Could it be a parasite? The laundry soap I use? depression? A symptom of some disease? dandruff? I’ve grown really attached to this pile of fur and while he seems relatively happy still, I can’t imagine it’s fun for him to pull his hair out. What else can I do? When I talk to the vet on the phone they’ve recommended the things I’ve tried above and don’t seem intent on making an appointment for him or anything.
Tldr: cat keeps ripping hair out. Tried to cure all the common causes but no dice, any lesser known fixes?
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from Pets https://www.reddit.com/r/Pets/comments/anmoej/cat_keeps_pulling_out_hair_no_idea_what_to_do/
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