cat health

[georgie girl]

why does my 17 year old cat keep pulling her fur out?she's otherwise healthy,lives a peaceful quiet life,and is still very active (even hunting mice and birds!!!).she's fully innoculated,speyed,wormed and flead....this fur pulling has started recently.

[Ouisch]

Where is kitty pulling the fur from?  Is it from her back, or her hind legs?  In which case, sometimes older cats, feeling the symptoms of arthritis, might pull their fur from the area that aches.

[Ray the DJ]

You should really be asking your vet this question.

[FP]

Sometimes very elderly cats develop strange habits.  They are prone to dementia.  There could be several reasons for what she is doing.  Please take her to the vets asap.

[Eastender]

Hi my cat who is 7 has started to do this as well. On taking her to the vet I was told its either her Hormones or Stress (dont ask)! On one of her sides she is down to the skin.  I have 3 other cats who seem fine, and she gets as much attention as the others do. If you do get a cure please let me know, I would be interested.

[Pythoness]

This could be a reaction to stress, a food allergy she's developed late in life, or a symptom of a malabsorption disease. (Sometimes animals, not just cats, when they are not recieving the proper nutrients from their food, will begin to exhibit strange behaviors such as self-mutilation. Older cats are very prone to developing malabsorption problems which means that their intestines don't absorb the nutrients from their food well anymore.) Whichever the case, she should be seen by a vet. If it IS stress, the vet can prescribe something to help calm her down (not necessarily something invasive), if it's an allergy you can talk about what could be causing it and food switches, and if it's a malabsorption problem you'd want to address that RIGHT AWAY because if you let it go too long, she will be too far gone to save. My mother's cat recently passed away at 17 from complications stemming from a malabsorption problem she left go too long, so I know whereof I speak.