# Cat has bald spots on belly and hind legs. Advice?



## sophia2 (May 9, 2013)

Hi,

Three months ago we got our Russian Blue and a few weeks later I noticed he has (near) bald spots on the lower half of his belly and the inside of one of his hind legs. It looks like its unevenly shaved off, I think he gnaws it off or something. 

Of course I searched the internet and the forum for possible causes and solutions and because the skin is whole, no scabs or anything, and he doesn't seem itchy, I thought it might be either allergies or stress (new home, etc.).

As for allergies, I started to keep the house as dust free as possible and switched litters. He is still on the same food his breeder gave him so I guess its not the food. 
So that left the stress option. I chose to wait a little and see if it would get better on its own, him getting more used to us. 

But now the baldness has spread to his other hind leg and the other spots don't really seem to improve. 
I want to take him to the vet soon but was hoping I might get some advice here, since I don't want him to have more stress because of a vet visit. 

Do you have any suggestions as to what it might be? Thanks very much!


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## Zilla (Oct 29, 2012)

Poor kitty! I had a cat who did this about 5 or so years ago... Gnawed himself bald... :| we fixed it with a food change. Vet literally had no idea what it was... What kind of food is he on now? Doesn't mean the breeders choice of food was necessarily right... Also does he have fleas at all?


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## sophia2 (May 9, 2013)

Well, I'm not sure if he gnaws it off himself. But it looks a bit patchy, it just doesn't look like it just fell out. One of the reasons I'm hesitant to go to the vet is because I understand there are dozens of reasons for hair loss, and they often don't find the exact cause, and I don't want to put him through a lot of tests and medicines.

I don't think he has fleas. Not totally sure though. Shouldn't he be scratching if he had them? He gets Revolution every month. 

Right now he gets wet and dry Evo, well, dry Orijen because of the recall. 

What kind of food did you switch to?


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## Zilla (Oct 29, 2012)

That's odd your feeding such a good food and he has this problem.... My issue I think was because my cat was getting such a cheap food that he was gnawing himself.... We changed foods and gave him biotin supplements to help and it cleared in a month... If he gets revolution every month I don't imagine it being flea dermatitis... 

Gosh I don't know maybe you could try a "limited ingredient diet" and see if anything improves. Natures Variety Instinct makes two of them. Limited ingredient turkey and I think the other one is duck. Maybe try the duck one since you know there's turkey in the Evo?? I'm not sure. Maybe someone else has some suggestions. 


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

What he's doing is over-grooming himself, and there can be a lot of causes.

Stress is a common one, and since he's still fairly new to you that's my bet. You could look into getting a feliway plug in, which could help him settle down a bit and reduce his stress. Hopefully that would reduce his over grooming.

My parent's cat does this when he's bored, stressed, and especailly when they go on vacation.

You could also try giving him some more toys, setting up a bird feeder outside one of your windows so he can watch birds, or even just moving around furniture (his post, or your livingroom if you're feeling adventurous). Sometimes just having things look different is enough to jolt them out of little bad habits like this.

Jitzu groomed a naked stripe onto her bum when we went on vacation last year. As soon as we came home she stopped and it grew back in. Clearly stress.

Muffin has naked patches on the backs of both of his hind feet because he overgroomed them (two little quarter-sized spots) so often that the fur doesn't grow there anymore. Silly boy. I have no idea why he did it...but I started interrupting him with a play time whenever I caught him doing it. Now he grooms the fur off any toys he can get his little paws on. *shrugs* I'll take that.


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## Zilla (Oct 29, 2012)

Never thought of stress... Defiantly could be that too.... He is a new cat... I know my issue was clearly the food though. Your case I'd like to say its not because your feeding an excellent food but then again people do have cats that are allergic to chicken... It's up in the air... Does he seemed real stressed at all?? Like do you think he's adjusted well or no? 


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## elykoj (Feb 28, 2013)

*stress*

my cat was diagnosed a few years ago with anxiety. he was gnawing his hind legs bald and he looked like a jackal, poor guy. vet put him on Amitriptylene for a few months to mellow him out and it grew back. we weened him off of it and since my divorce 6 months ago, it has started again. my ex has him now, and I imagine its cuz I left the house and only see him maybe 2-3 times a month.


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## catloverami (Jul 5, 2010)

Over-grooming in my experience is usually caused by stress rather than diet, and then it becomes a soothing habit. I have had cats that did exactly what yours is doing, tho belly was bald too as well as the inside of the back legs. Is she getting lots of play time? Does she have another cat to play with? If not, it could be she misses the interactive play with her litter mates and her over-grooming is because of boredom and she doesn't know what to do with herself. Every time you see her start to over-groom her legs or belly, I would toss her a toy or something to get her mind off doing it. Give her a couple of busy play sessions a day with an interactive wand type of toy,such as "Da Bird", or one of those toys that she can interact with herself.
Here are some: 




Change up her toys and playthings often....some days put out a empty paper bag or box. She may get out of the habit if she is busier. Of course, another kitten would take her mind off herself, so it's something you might consider?


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## 3gatos (Nov 28, 2012)

My female has started doing that. I think its from stress. Both of my males try to mount her multiple times a day. I haven't figured out a good solution for the problem.


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## librarychick (May 25, 2008)

...Is she fixed? If not they would try to mount her even if they were neutered. If that's the case spaying her is the solution.

If she IS already spayed then I would start by separating the males from her when you're not home, and monitoring their behavior otherwise. Don't let them do it while you're home. Being chased by horny obnoxious males would certainly cause ME stress...poor kitty,


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## sophia2 (May 9, 2013)

Thanks for all your input! 

Librarychick is right that three months with us is not a long time. He might miss the other cats he used to live with. He lived with his litter mate and mother for nine months before we got him. 
I try to distract him with play sessions and carrying him around. He loves to look out the window and we're going through a twelve pack of his favorite mouse toy. 

Catloverami suggests that I distract him when I see him grooming those spots. But every time I see him do that, is when he is winding down and getting ready to relax or sleep. So I kinda let him. I will try to distract him with a toy or something.

I also thought about the option of it being hormonal. He is neutered and has some loose skin at that part of his belly.


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## sophia2 (May 9, 2013)

I wonder though. Could he have stress because of his feeding pattern? 
He doesn't have unlimited food access because he overeats but especially in the afternoon and evening he keeps trying to show us he is hungry. I feel bad about it but I don't want him to become overweight. Might that be a cause of him overgrooming himself? Or is that too far fetched? I'm obviously not an experienced cat owner...


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## Venusworld21 (Oct 23, 2012)

One of our boys does this to himself as well and has for years now. Besides the other suggestions that were made (which are very good ones!), our vet has given him steroid injections when it gets really bad for him. He used to get cortisol, but they switched to depomedrol a few months ago and besides being $10 more, it seems to work pretty well....he just gets one shot every 3-6 months, as needed. He had his last shot about a month ago and the hair is already growing back in on his belly again.


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## Cat Lover Lennie (Jan 7, 2013)

It's called "mowing" and everyone who mentioned stress is probably right. My son's cat started mowing when they moved into a new house AND brought in a new kitten. Her belly is pink as can be....no scabs, etc. I think I read somewhere that rabbits do it when the are about to have a litter and use the fur to line their nests. Anyway, the cat is healthy otherwise. I suggested Feliway to my son and he got her a collar so the scent is with her all the time. He said she became like a new cat....much more relaxed and mellow......but she still mows. Think she just likes doing it now! I'm wondering if they eat the hair?...'cause that brings up another issue of hairballs.


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