Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - Cassius is going bald! Any vets here? Quick, I need a medic!

mew · 02-13-2005, 09:28 PM

I’m not exactly a vet, but I'm a vet technician(like a nurse), but I hope I can help you as best as I can.

Its great your vet took some skinscrapes/tapetests for ringworm and mites, but what I think your vet should at least suggest to run some blood tests. I know it sounds drastic, and is expensive, but if you want to narrow down what your pets have, then I would do it. They might have to send out some blood to a lab who run specific tests-depends what your vet recommends.
Do they pull out their own hair? Or does it come out on its own? Do they scratch to make their skin red and itchy? If you dont know, watch them more closely. Their condition of flaky skin and reddish, irritated-looking patches could be due to a number of things..

1.Diet: Changing foods so drastically can affect animals-usually does, some owners have to gradually mix their current food with new food until they fully switched to the new foods. Its good you sticked to better foods. I suggest Nutro over Purina. Though MediCal , Hills are much higher quality, and specifies a pets special diet. You can get them only at the vets. Yes, I know theyre really expensive. So, just first find out what your pets have, and your vet will recommend a good diet. Stay away from generic foods, cause they have crappy stuff I dont want to get into, and lack nutrients your pets should get. I know its tempting to feed them people food, but scrap foods isn’t good to feed them. Especially fish. Ignore all the clichés of cats eating fish and whatnot, but the truth is they don’t need it-it can cause nutritional deficiencies (includes symptoms like making the fur dry and course). Read this article, its really good, and pay special attention to the end paragraph in the summary.

2. Allergies : Also, if you introduced something new into the house, like a carpet or something, it can cause allergic reactions. My sisters cat was allergic to Febreeze, she lost a bit of fur due to it. Your cats could even be allergic to the weather. We have some at work allergic to grass, oatmeal, dust, even people dander, you name it- pets can have it.

3. Stress: Like other people said, new changes freak pets out. Even the slightest, change of furniture can do it. Finicky? Yes, but it happens.

4. I did some research, and your pets if they are actual litter mates ( born to the same mother), they could have hypothyroidism[/COLOR].html]Hypothyroidism. Its not common, but its not uncommon for felines to get. You would have to send their blood out for testing though. It’s a thyroidal problem, and I’d definitely ask your Dr about it.

5. On another note, if your cats do go outside, or you have at least one pet (even a dog) that goes outside, and comes back with something everyone else will get it. Which means that they are basically going outside themselves. Pets are great at sharing. Advantage will not do the job alone. There are worms your pets can get, and Advantage only does fleas. You leave them to hook, roundworms, even ear mites..whathave-you. I’d definetly recommend Revolution, which does a lot more.

Sorry for the essay, but I wanted to cover as much as I could. Hope this really helps, and let me/us know how it goes, Ok?

Oh, and if your Dr. shows no real interest in helping you with your pets-Go somewhere else. You are only as good as the help your getting.
Good luck, hun!

02-13-2005, 09:28 PM	#13 (permalink)
mew Psycho Location: Canada	I’m not exactly a vet, but I'm a vet technician(like a nurse), but I hope I can help you as best as I can. Its great your vet took some skinscrapes/tapetests for ringworm and mites, but what I think your vet should at least suggest to run some blood tests. I know it sounds drastic, and is expensive, but if you want to narrow down what your pets have, then I would do it. They might have to send out some blood to a lab who run specific tests-depends what your vet recommends. Do they pull out their own hair? Or does it come out on its own? Do they scratch to make their skin red and itchy? If you dont know, watch them more closely. Their condition of flaky skin and reddish, irritated-looking patches could be due to a number of things.. 1.Diet: Changing foods so drastically can affect animals-usually does, some owners have to gradually mix their current food with new food until they fully switched to the new foods. Its good you sticked to better foods. I suggest Nutro over Purina. Though MediCal , Hills are much higher quality, and specifies a pets special diet. You can get them only at the vets. Yes, I know theyre really expensive. So, just first find out what your pets have, and your vet will recommend a good diet. Stay away from generic foods, cause they have crappy stuff I dont want to get into, and lack nutrients your pets should get. I know its tempting to feed them people food, but scrap foods isn’t good to feed them. Especially fish. Ignore all the clichés of cats eating fish and whatnot, but the truth is they don’t need it-it can cause nutritional deficiencies (includes symptoms like making the fur dry and course). Read this article, its really good, and pay special attention to the end paragraph in the summary. 2. Allergies : Also, if you introduced something new into the house, like a carpet or something, it can cause allergic reactions. My sisters cat was allergic to Febreeze, she lost a bit of fur due to it. Your cats could even be allergic to the weather. We have some at work allergic to grass, oatmeal, dust, even people dander, you name it- pets can have it. 3. Stress: Like other people said, new changes freak pets out. Even the slightest, change of furniture can do it. Finicky? Yes, but it happens. 4. I did some research, and your pets if they are actual litter mates ( born to the same mother), they could have hypothyroidism[/COLOR].html]Hypothyroidism. Its not common, but its not uncommon for felines to get. You would have to send their blood out for testing though. It’s a thyroidal problem, and I’d definitely ask your Dr about it. 5. On another note, if your cats do go outside, or you have at least one pet (even a dog) that goes outside, and comes back with something everyone else will get it. Which means that they are basically going outside themselves. Pets are great at sharing. Advantage will not do the job alone. There are worms your pets can get, and Advantage only does fleas. You leave them to hook, roundworms, even ear mites..whathave-you. I’d definetly recommend Revolution, which does a lot more. Sorry for the essay, but I wanted to cover as much as I could. Hope this really helps, and let me/us know how it goes, Ok? Oh, and if your Dr. shows no real interest in helping you with your pets-Go somewhere else. You are only as good as the help your getting. Good luck, hun! Last edited by mew; 02-13-2005 at 09:32 PM..