Elderly cat losing hair on her front legs

tiffanie · 04-02-2008, 09:03 PM

Hello,

I have a very elderly cat who has started to lose hair on her front legs. She is losing it where she uses her legs to try and groom herself. The hair is not growing back and comes out in small clumps when she is groomed. She has trouble doing this herself due to her age and lack of balance.

Here is a photo so you can hopefully see what i mean.

http://i226.photobucket.com/albums/d...0220081361.jpg

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks,

Tiffanie.

Fran · 04-02-2008, 09:07 PM

Hi, how old is she?? Have you had a check over with the vet at all? I know in dogs that hair loss can be a symptom of thyroid problems, not sure if this is the same in cats but I would recommend you get your vet to take a look at her. Do let us know how she gets on....

tiffanie · 04-02-2008, 09:21 PM

Thanks Fran,

I will take her to the vets on Saturday for a check up. I was wondering if anybody could give me any advise in the meantime, or if anyone had seen it before. She has got skinnier (sp?) in the last couple of weeks so you could be on the right track with the thyroid problem.

She is a rescue from the CPL. Her previous owner had to go into an old people's home and could not take her along. I had a visit from her daughter when i first got her as she wanted to see her new home.

I asked how old she was (Beauty, not the daughter

) and she said that she'd been a stray when her Mum adopted her. She couldnt remember quite how long ago that was but she said it was at least 20 years or so!!

I am starting to worry that she is just getting too old and her quality of life is deteriorating to be honest. She does fine as she is and potters about quite happily at the moment but in recent weeks we have seen a decline in her. She is deaf and has no teeth but still enjoys her food as much as the youngsters we have. She has regular vet check ups to make sure she is doing ok but there's always that niggling fear in the back of our heads that she is a very elderly cat and may not be with us forever.

The last thing i want to do though is make her suffer in any way by being selfish and keeping her here with us if she is no longer getting any enjoyment out of life.

Fingers crossed that everything will be fine at the vets and it's just a little health matter that can be resolved easily.

Sorry for going on! Although we've only had her a few months she means the world to us and i just want to make sure she's ok.

Thanks,

Tiffanie.

Fran · 04-02-2008, 09:42 PM

I see you are in Chesterfield, just out of curiosity, which vets do you use?

Do let us know how she goes on, she sounds such a lovely old lady. I do hope that it is something that can be easily treated or managed and that she will enjoy a little more time with you x

dandysmom · 04-02-2008, 10:10 PM

Awww poor Beauty; she sounds a lovely senior cat! I was wondering if stress might play a part in the fur loss, as being rehomed at her age must have been a bit difficult but it sounds as if she's settled in well....I hope the vet can help and that she'll enjoy much more time with you...do please le us know what they say.......

babycakes · 04-02-2008, 11:11 PM

Poor Beauty. She sounds a lovely old dear X Lucky to have you to look after her in her twilight years. I hope the vet can shed some light on her situation X

tiffanie · 04-02-2008, 11:15 PM

Hi Fran,

We use Spire vets in Newbold. I've been using them ever since i aquired my first cat 4 years ago....... I now have 4 cats and a dog! Once you start and all that.....

Hi Dandysmum,

Stress might be a factor in it all. We got our dog last July and he was a rescue and 4 months old at the time. He is a very boisterous dog and he does lack good manners a lot of the time. Perhaps seeing him bounding towards her when she knows she can't get away at any great speed is stressing her out a bit, and although he doesn't chase he does try and nudge her along with his nose if she isn't moving at what he considers a fast enough pace!

Tiffanie.

tiffanie · 04-02-2008, 11:24 PM

Thanks babycakes. She really is a lovely cat and i'm so glad we have her with us. She has one of those triangle hooded beds where she loves to snuggle up and go to sleep. She looks so peaceful in there.

She's an absolute pleasure to have and no trouble at all.

I was so proud of her the other day when she actually got all 4 legs in the litter tray to have a wee. Unfortunately she didn't quite get her back end in enough to actually make a difference!

She then turned around and looked at me as if to say 'look Mum, i made it!'

She usually just puts her 2 front paws in!

Fran · 04-02-2008, 11:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by tiffanie