Alright. Moved up to Chicagoland, with my aunt. She's got a cat that I seriously want to take to the vet tomorrow. She's away for the weekend, and if she doesn't want to take him Monday, I'm going to and I'll foot the bill. He's too great of a companion to just sit by and watch him die. Cause I think that's where he's slowly headed. She has the money, but nowhere near the time.

He's an older adult cat, about 10. He's always had breathing problems - his nose is very dry, and has cracked skin on it, walks around like Darth Vader. He's always been slightly skinny, but the past couple of days it's really noticeable - I think he's lost weight. The biggest thing from the past two days is the hair loss. Oh my god. He sits down somewhere, and when he gets up, there are just huge fur piles. He's not pulling it out, he's not itching, he's not licking it out. It's all falling out from around his stomach/loin area. No scabs on the end or anything, the fur doesn't look funny - just big hairballs. He definitely hasn't lost his appetite - he's the one begging and pleading to be fed in the morning and at night. Not an outside cat, and no new cats have been introduced. What the hell could be going on?

TLDR:
Blood analysis and a fecal float will be a good start for generic testing for a cat, right? What else is there?

6/13/2010 2:03:19 PM

a skin scrape might be a good idea too to rule out mites, parasites, etc (cheap test too). Other than that blood work is the best place to start and most likely the first thing they do.

6/13/2010 2:15:17 PM

Yes definitely bloodwork/CBC and a thyroid check
The hair loss and dry, cracked skin could be an allergy . . . but that much hair loss that fast is a bit concerning

6/13/2010 3:10:06 PM

this is not what you want to hear, but about 6 months before my 13 year old cat died, she lost a lot of weight and hair started coming out in huge clumps. some of it would mat up and some would just fall out. her kidneys were failing and they turned into these hard stones that you could feel (and eventually see) through the skin on her lower back.

the fact that the hair is falling out only on the stomach/groin area is interesting though. callie's fell out on her sides.

definitely take the cat in. the vet will know what tests to run.

[Edited on June 13, 2010 at 6:14 PM. Reason : ]

6/13/2010 6:14:31 PM

Ok, I was wrong - some of the time he is pulling the fur with his mouth. Augh, it's awful to watch.

I'm thinking that points more to skin problems or parasites... geez, still waiting for the aunt to arrive home so we can talk about this.

Parasites concerns me though, we've got three other cats in this house (you may say that's a lot, but there's a lot of room here) - one of them is mine. Haven't noticed any problems with any of them though. Mm.

6/13/2010 6:54:27 PM

old cat = top three = hyperthyroid, diabetes, renal disease.

a basic UA/cbc/chemistry profile can help diagnose renal/diabetes....a thyroid panel will be needed for the other.

[Edited on June 13, 2010 at 8:01 PM. Reason : .]

6/13/2010 8:01:15 PM

a cat pulling hair out isnt necessarily parasites, mites, or fleas. The weight loss part is the most worrisome. The vet will/should do a skin scrape to make sure...its an easy and quick test to perform

6/13/2010 8:12:15 PM

Given the respiratory history, dramatic weight loss, and hair loss, I would suspect something more sinister than parasites. Start with a good chemistry profile including a urinalysis. I'm sure your veterinarian will guide you in the right direction.

[Edited on June 14, 2010 at 12:56 AM. Reason : +]

6/14/2010 12:55:55 AM