Cat's belly balding.

the beer revolu

Our 8 year old tortoise shell cat's belly is balding. It is down towards her back legs and there is also some hair loss on the backs of her legs. We've only just noticed this now.

She has no signs of redness, scaling or scabbing and doesn't appear to be sore there. She hasn't been scratching or licking the area either and is not off form.

My wife was away for two weeks. I wonder could that change in routine have stressed the cat? Although she is more attached to me than to my wife and my wife regularly goes away for a week at a time.

We also have a similar aged male ginger with no problem.

Before taking her to the vet, I wondered if anyone here might have some ideas?

Thanks

zanador

Demodectic mange? Rare in cats but they can get it. You'll need a vet visit though

Irish Stones

the beer revolu wrote: »

Our 8 year old tortoise shell cat's belly is balding. It is down towards her back legs and there is also some hair loss on the backs of her legs. We've only just noticed this now.

It happened to my cat several years ago. It started with a small patch in the lowest part of her belly.
She started licking her belly more often and for longer time.
I took her to the vet, the vet sent me to different specialists (two dermatologists, one allergist, one behaviouralist), I paid lots of money and at the end of the day, after 8 years, my cat still has a bald belly.
The result of all these visits is that the cat is stressed by the house environment, she lacks "amusement" and suffers from the cohabitation with the other cat.
The cat is very sensitive and emotional, so any change in the house is a source of stress for her, more she lives indoors but they would like to go out. We tried to cure her with some pills like Zylkene, but she's hard to convince to take pills and this caused more stress.
More stress, more licking, more baldness.
So we stopped stressing her and we have accepted to keep her as she is.
She doesn't suffer from her condition.
The bald patch has a variable area during the year, it depends on how stressed she is. It goes to a small naked area with short hair all around, to half belly completely naked down to the hind legs inside and outside. Her skin may show some redness, sometimes some scratching with tiny scabs, sometimes is perfectly smooth.

I might presume that your cat has started licking her belly lately and you haven't caught her in the act yet.

If you can, post an image of her belly, so that I can tell you if it's the same situation as mine.

Rancid

I'd go with stress being the cause of the baldness from experience with a loner cat having to tolerate sharing her space with another and over-grooming her belly area in reaction.

Irish Stones wrote: »

...
More stress, more licking, more baldness...

I agree... and then it becomes habit.

the beer revolu, your cat may have started to adjust to your wife being away, and then had to readjust to her being back, not to mention the new smells her travel bags brought home which she had to adjust to, also!

A trip to the vet to rule out any other possible factors is always recommended, and then reestablish daily routine as best you can to reduce stress.

the beer revolu

Thanks for the replies.
A bit of research threw up this very useful guide:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2141&aid=195

The only condition that fits the bill is:
Condition: Feline acquired symmetrical alopecia

Description: Rare; originally called 'feline endocrine alopecia'; cause unknown

Symptoms: Symmetrical hair loss on back of thighs, abdomen, and genital areas; hair easily pulls out; no itching

Diagnosis: Skin biopsy; tests to rule out other causes of hair loss

Treatement: None

Magenta

Bring her to a vet, nobody here can diagnose her for you.

the beer revolu

Magenta wrote: »

Bring her to a vet, nobody here can diagnose her for you.

Are you offering to pay?
I've been out of work for 4 months through injury and being self employed, I get no social welfare - none. Maybe I should sacrifice a physio therapy session to bring the cat to the vet?

I was looking for opinions here before resorting to the vet. Your posts is not helpful.

Irish Stones

the beer revolu wrote: »

Thanks for the replies.
A bit of research threw up this very useful guide:
http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=1+2141&aid=195

I have tried with two different computers on two different adsl connections (work and home) but I cannot access that link, it says I'm not authorized...
Anyway if the page says that there's no treatment for it, then there's very little you can do.
What is really important is that the cat is not suffering or that the disease won't lead to more problems. Also hopefully it doesn't pass on the other cat.

the beer revolu

Irish Stones wrote: »

I have tried with two different computers on two different adsl connections (work and home) but I cannot access that link, it says I'm not authorized...
Anyway if the page says that there's no treatment for it, then there's very little you can do.
What is really important is that the cat is not suffering or that the disease won't lead to more problems. Also hopefully it doesn't pass on the other cat.

She's in fine form. Eating, playing, noisy as per norm purring, not scratching or licking, not tender.

Magenta

the beer revolu wrote: »

Are you offering to pay?
I've been out of work for 4 months through injury and being self employed, I get no social welfare - none. Maybe I should sacrifice a physio therapy session to bring the cat to the vet?

I was looking for opinions here before resorting to the vet. Your posts is not helpful.

Not my problem and not something I can be expected to know without telepathy since you mentioned nothing about it in your first post so leave out the drama queenery.
And in case you're still wondering, no I am not offering to pay. I pay for my own animals to get medical treatment and I make sacrifices for it if I have to because it is part of owning an animal.

boomerang

Is she overweight OP? Have regularly seen this in obese cats. I agree though, really you'd need a vet to diagnose but often it's tricky to find the cause.

IrishStones, have you tried a Feliway diffuser? I've found it fantastic.

DBB

the beer revolu, you may not have liked the post, but magenta's right, as are all the other posters you for some reason didn't have a go at for suggesting you bring your cat to the vet... This thread has gone perilously towards online self-diagnosis, a dangerous road to go down, and the reason why it's not allowed here.
In light of this, I can say no more than magenta and others already have. Nobody here can diagnose what's wrong with your cat. If you want a diagnosis, your cat needs to see a vet.
Thread closed.
Thanks,
DBB