# Excessive shedding - Cushing's?



## kyparamedic (Mar 30, 2008)

I know there are a lot of posts about excessive shedding but none really seem to address my problem. I have a 16-17 year-old male tabby that has always had a shedding problem. The groomers always hated when we brought him in. Lately though it seems to have gotten worse. I can brush him and brush him and it's like the hair regrows as fast as I can get it out.

As a little bit of a background, he was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism about 6 months ago and was treated with radioactive iodine in Novemeber. His T4 levels have normalized and his BUN was 31 - 3 months after the treatment, which is only 1 point above the upper limit.

Wherever he lays or sits he leaves little clumps of fur and "hairs" everything. The vet is thinking that he might have Cushing's disease. He said that he still has his winter coat from a year ago. It is warming up though so he should probably be shedding more than usual I'm assuming.

Over the last 2-3 months it seems like he is drinking more and when I clean out the litter box there are big chunks of urine. Renal failure is always a concern after treating hyperthyroidism as it can mask it but his levels were satisfactory given his age following the treatment. The excessive shedding, drinking and urination are all symptoms of Cushing's disease, along with other things. It's possible he is developing kidney problems which would explain the the drinking and urination. Cushing's is fairly rare from what i understand, which is why the vet wants his partner to examine him as he is more of a cat expert. They'll also recheck his labs.

He is a very high-strung and neurotic fellow. He gets spooked very easily and it seems to have gotten worse over the last 6 months or so, maybe just since the thyroid treatment. Not sure if there's a correlation. At night if I reach over and pet him and he doesn't see me coming he lets out a big "MEOW" and sometimes jumps up. I've read nervousness can cause excessive shedding. He doesn't excessively groom himself so that's not it. In fact, I rarely see him grooming himself at all!

Any ideas or similar experiences?

Thanks for reading!


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## Mom of 4 (Jul 29, 2006)

Honestly, my first thought is recheck the thyroid levels.
Excessive thirst and hair loss are signs of too much thyroid. Perhaps the current dosage is just a bit too high.


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## kyparamedic (Mar 30, 2008)

He's not on any medication right now. It was a one-time treatment. At first his T4 level dropped to a little below normal. 1 month later it was just .1 below normal. At 3 months it was right in the middle, like 2.2. The veterinary center that did the procedure said that the T4 level normally drops before it normalizes. If it's normal at the 3 month mark, there's no need for further testing. I'll probably have it checked again though, just in case. He's gained all his weight back though. He was down to 8 lbs and now is a little over 10.

He's not actually losing hair though. There are no bald spots or patches. Around his sides and hindquarters I can pull hair out freely.


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## CataholicsAnonymous (Dec 4, 2006)

I don't have experience with Cushing's in felines, but I have had horses with Cushing's (I have two now with differing stages.) Animals with Cushing's usually develop hirsute (pronounced "hair suit", interestingly), meaning they have more hair growth and they fail to shed when they should. I've had to shave hair from old horses with Cushing's because they didn't even shed by the hot summer months. In addition, Cushing's is normally associated with hypothyroidism, not hyperthyroidism. The animals get sluggish, gain weight, and usually develop insulin resistance problems.

The fact that your boy is "keeping" his hair does sound suspiciously Cushinoid. Increased water consumption and urination are things I've noticed with Cushinoid horses, too. 

With the horses, I must be vigilant about their nutrition. Carbohydrates, especially sugars, are evil. They are fed a feed with a low glycemic index and they wear grazing muzzles when on pasture, especially during times when the grasses are higher in sugar.


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## kyparamedic (Mar 30, 2008)

Yes, he did mention hypothyroidism as another symptom too. I think that's why he wants to check a T4 level again. Ocassionally that is seen with the radioactive iodine. However, one would think that if he had Cushing's that he never would have had hyperthyroidism to begin with, but maybe it was a separate disease process. He is definitely failing to shed his old coat. I am going to see if it would be safe to possibly get something to sedate him with in order to brush him. He won't tolerate more than about 5 mins, which is not enough time to even make a dent in all that fur.


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## drjean (Jan 6, 2004)

Cushing's in horses is totally different from Cushing's in small animals. 

Small animal Cushing's is rare in cats. It is unrelated to thyroid disease and it's entirely possible to have both going on simultaneously. Endocrine hair loss tends to be symmetrical along the sides. If it is overall shedding, something else is probably going on.

Definitely have the labs checked, including a urinalysis for diabetes and kidney disease...but also consider the food. What's he eating? If it's dry, switch to wet. That will make huge improvements in skin and coat, usually within 2-3 weeks.

Also, look into the Furminator. Mine don't like for it more than a few minutes, but a few minutes here and a few there adds up to a LOT of dead fur out of the cat!


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## kyparamedic (Mar 30, 2008)

I've got him scheduled to go in. The other thing the vet said which made him think Cushing's was a pendulous abdomen. His belly has always kind of hung down. It seems like a lot of it is just skin. I think that he might think that because before he was treated for the hyperthyroidism, he had lost a lot of weight so it didn't look as big. This cat was 16 lbs at one time. Now he's at 12, up from a low of 9. The fur is coming off everywhere, including his head. There's plenty underneath so he's definitely not balding anywhere. 

The Furminator is amazing. It gets all that hair a regular brush doesn't. You're right though, he only tolerates it for a few minutes. Would bathing him help at all? I know he's not a big fan of that either.

I will try the soft food. Right now they just eat dry food and get soft food as a treat. I feed them an indoor, senior cat formulation. They're used to having access to food 24/7. Should I transition them to soft food? Any suggestions on brand and type? Should he be on a special kidney formulation just due to age?

Thanks!


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## drjean (Jan 6, 2004)

Well you've come to the right place for education about nutrition...and I'm sure you'll get lots more feedback from people who *can* sleep at 4 AM!

I've written a lot about it; why don't you start with these:
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?a ... cannedfood
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?a ... w&item=004
http://www.littlebigcat.com/index.php?a ... chingfoods


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## drjean (Jan 6, 2004)

BTW, the main signs of Cushings are: Polyuria (peeing a lot), polydipsia (drinking a lot) polyphagia (eating ravenously), pendulous abdomen (the excess cortisol in the blood breaks down the collagen and muscle--this is not just the excess belly fat but the whole thing sags starting at the chest), overall muscle wasting, and pattern alopecia ("racing stripe" baldness along the sides). It is usually associated with diabetes in cats. It is extremely rare in cats. Among the 15,000 cats (an estimate) I saw in my years of practice, I've seen more cases of Addison's disease than Cushing's in cats (2 as opposed to zero!) The vast majority of vets never see s single one.

Cushing's is difficult to diagnose; a regular blood test may provide a hint but not a diagnosis, and it's worse in cats. For instance, in dogs, one strong indicator is high cholesterol, but in cats the cholesterol value is meaningless. Nor does the regular test tell you whether the tumor is in the adrenals or the pituitary, which affects treatment.

Horses usually get furrier (they don't shed), and laminitis is common.


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## kyparamedic (Mar 30, 2008)

Ok, the other vet saw him yesterday and did some bloodwork. His T4 level came back fine. (It's been 6 months since the radioactive iodine treatment). All his kidney values came back a little elevated though. In January his BUN was 36. Yesterday it was 41. Creatinine was 2.2 I believe. There was one other that was elevated slightly but I can't remember what it was right now. So we're putting him on a kidney diet and will recheck in 6-8 weeks. He's not at all concerned about Cushing's and said that the excess shedding is probably related to old age and hormones. Frequent brushing is probably the only real solution in his opinion.


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