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Post by crazycatladytam on May 13, 2013 11:12:07 GMT
Hi all!
I was hoping someone may be able to help.
Our cat Perdita has developed Alopecia on her ears only, she doesnt seem to be in any pain from it but it seemed to occure quite quickly. She only seems to have a very thin layer of hair left with little patches of complete hairloss. We took her to the vets last weds and he admitted to being baffled by it. Hes given us a cream to put on twice a day for a week. If there is no change (there isnt so far and were on monday) we have to take her back but to the vet hospital this time for tests.
Perdita is our most timid rescue cat and lived under the bed for the first few years we had her. It has taken us soo long to get her to a place where she feels safe and trusts us. Going to the vets always makes her retreat back under the bed and she doesnt take kindly to any kind of stress. (this has been discussd with the vet and he doesnt think its caused by stress, mites or any of the usual suspects.)
So i was wondering whether anyone has any experiance of this and can steer us in the right direction before we submit her to a battery of tests? Or knows of ways to reduce "vet stress" for our precious furbaby (we already use feliway spray)
Any suggestions gratefully accepted!
Thank you x
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Post by lotsofcats on May 13, 2013 11:27:05 GMT
Is Perdita scratching at all? I have 2 Maine Coons and they have both suffered with fur loss and it was from being allergic to flea bites. They would scratch and scratch and end up with bald patches. Kiba-Khan, the oldest had bald ears last year and it happened very quickly - luckily it grew back very quickly too. Kai Ruki the youngest has also suffered with over grooming from being a very highly strung cat and this made his fur fall out and become very thin. When they get fleas I have to take them to the vet for a cortisone injection to stop them scrathing.
I would keep trying the cream for a few weeks before taking Perdita for tests as she gets so stressed out and this could make the condition worse. I hope she improves soon. Keep us updated.
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Post by petitsfilous on May 13, 2013 11:54:31 GMT
Where exactly on the ears? My cats had hair loss and it turned out they had ear mites.
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Post by tonib on May 13, 2013 13:06:02 GMT
Our Penny had something similar a couple of years ago. She had a cream (Fusiderm) as the vet said it was a skin infection (you could just see a bit of very small scabs) - this cleared it up. Recently she's got patches again but no scabbing this time. Shes' not been scratching any more than normal so although she does have a flea allergy the vet doesn't think its that or ear mites. The vet has suggested using Yumega www.lintbells.com/products/yumega-cat and has also said this may well help her hairballs. We started it just under 2 weeks ago (2nd May) so far no noticeable improvement but its not got worse. We've had to gradually introduce it to her food as the vet has said that some cats don't seem to like the taste. We make sure she gets it in a bit of fishy food to mask any strong taste. Like you we've got to give it 2/3 weeks & if there is no improvement we're to go back. I suppose one question is how old is Perdita (Penny is 14)? As to vet visits, Penny doesn't travel well (not just to the vets) and we've tried the spray Feliway on her carrier. We've also tried the Pet Remedy spray as well. We've had some success with both of them but it's not consistent. There is a degree of stress within our multi-cat household so we also have the Feliway * Pet Remedy diffusers plugged in at home. They might help her recover after the visits. Click here for Info on Feliway linkClick her for Info on Pet RemedyIf you do decide to try either or both then shop around on the internet for the best prices  I hope you & the vet can resolve the problems with your Perdita's ears. |
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Post by SarahHound on May 13, 2013 16:03:31 GMT
Rigsy, my 12 year old female, has had this problem for around 8-10 years now. We took her to the vet who said remove all areas of stress, and it will grow back. Well she's one of those cats that everything is stressy and scary. I can't remove everything that may cause stress, like the dogs, other cats, because they are as much my family as she is. She certainly doesn't seem to find them stressful. We found it has improved slightly in the last 4.5 years, which is when we moved to our new house. She gets to go outside here, and she's far happier and her fur has grown back in some places. However I don't feel it will ever grow back. As it doesn't give her any bother, or harm, I refused to put her through tests, creams etc. We simple just accept she's a bit of a baldy in places |
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Post by crazycatladytam on May 14, 2013 10:54:23 GMT
Thank you all for your kind and swift replies! Perdys ears are much the same again today bless her! When we took her to the vets the first time he dismissed - ear mites, allergy, over grooming or being over stressed as he seems to think that she doesnt fit the symptoms. There is no scratching, sores or signs of irritation. He gave us Fusiderm to see if it made any differance but admitted it was a long shot. Perdy really does not seem to be in any pain ( think shes more annoyed at having cream put on her ears  We have been with the surgery for 5 years now and they have always been fantastic. However this perticular vet is new and we havent seen him before. Im not saying the vet is wrong but I keep coming back to the fact that people show stress in different and sometimes freaky ways, so why shouldnt it be the same in the animal kingdom. We already use feliway but I have ordered some pet remedy and will check out the yumega oils this afternoon, thank you. Perdy is still only a young cat at 4 but its only in the last year and a half that she has been confidant enough to live life to the full and it would break our hearts if she were to regress. I will have a chat with my husband tonight to decide what to do and will let you know what the vet says tomorrow.Thanks again for all your kindness. I have included 2 pics of her. The first one was all we used to see of her. The second was taken a few weeks after she ventured into the "real world" and shes about 2 1/2 x   |
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Post by lotsofcats on May 14, 2013 12:01:15 GMT
Perdy is so cute.
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Post by tonib on May 14, 2013 17:28:33 GMT
Perdy is a beautiful black cat. Hope the vet visit is more successful this time.
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Post by camorris on May 14, 2013 18:16:04 GMT
What a beautiful girl Perdy is, those eyes
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Post by SarahHound on May 14, 2013 19:07:03 GMT
Oh she's beautiful |
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Post by crazycatladytam on May 16, 2013 11:05:19 GMT
Hi all, Just to let you know what was decided about Perdy's ears. We called the vets yesterday morning and spoke directly with the same vet. Although there is no improvement in hair growth she appears to be in no pain what so ever so it was agreed to monitor the situation and bring her straight in if there are any changes. We didn’t want to put her through all that trauma unless it’s absolutely necessary and the vet agreed. We are working on getting her stress levels as low as possible just in case this is the cause. Thank you for your compliments x She is our little princess, we adore her and nothing will change that!  |
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Post by lotsofcats on May 16, 2013 11:58:26 GMT
I think that's a wise decision. Keep us updated about her condition.
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Post by ceejay67 on May 16, 2013 14:41:11 GMT
Hi I'm sorry to hear you fur baby is under the weather. As to stress a god send in our house for our two loveable ragdoll cats is a fantastic product called Calma from a company called cdVet uk (which you can find online) and the best thing is it is completely natural. It is also easy to use and not expensive especially to stop our little ones being unnecessarily unhappy.
We haven't had any alopecia problems with our boys but their ear care is also great and smells fab (must be the lavender and geranium oil I think) and maybe a better solution to your problem, hope this helps!
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Post by tonib on May 16, 2013 18:10:35 GMT
Thanks for updating us on Perdita. It seems a sensible way forward. Lets us know how it goes.
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Post by gladys on May 16, 2013 21:28:53 GMT
She is a beautiful girl with gorgeous eyes. If you want to try calming her down for a few weeks I found this stopped one of my cats getting stressed out. www.animeddirect.co.uk/kalmaid-gel-for-cats-50ml.htmlIt kind of broke the cycle and I only bought one bottle and added a little to her evening treat of a little wet food. After the bottle finished we didn't get the stressed out cat back. |
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