Expert: Ali - 3/4/2009

Question
My kitten was born in September and I received her in November. When  I 1st got her I took her to the vet because she had an eye infection when she was given an antibiotic and some eye ointment. About 3 months ago the kitten began pulling her hair out in big clumps. She has been doing this everyday since. I took her to the vet on 3 different occasions for this and the 1st time he gave her a cortisone shot and said that it was allergies. The last time he gave her herbal anxiety meds. Now the kitten has the entire part of her bottom neck infected with sore that she had dug in. The vet has no clue what to do for my kitten but to put her on valium or put her to sleep. Please help!

Answer
Candice,

My oldest resident cat has made a hobby out of pulling her hair out of her tummy for some time. She's been tested for the medical issues which could potentially explain the hair loss, however there doesn't seem to be a medical reason behind the hair pulling. We've tried different homeopathic remedies which have done some good and my little girl has had some fur on  her tummy for awhile. I think that we most likely won't be able to stop this habit permanently without the use of powerful psychotropic drugs and I'm just not comfortable with the potential risks to my cat so I've opted out of these medications. I really think that you need a second opinion, there are other options for how to deal with this issue. My first recommendation would be that you seek the advice of a holistic veterinarian - this is a vet trained in conventional medicine as well as one or more alternative therapies like acupuncture, homeopathy or even massage, just to name a few. At this point in your kitten's life I suspect that there could be a few things happening - my oldest resident cat has had issues with pulling her hair out and there are a number of common causes for this issue. I think that it's very important to have the vet take blood for a pre-anesthetic profile, this is a blood test that will let your vet have an overall view of how everything in your kitten's body is working and whether or not there are problems with her blood counts or internal organs. I also think that it would be a smart idea to consider having this kitten's thyroid gland checked, there's a slight chance that her thyroid might be malfunctioning and causing the hair loss. The blood tests will help to rule out any malfunctions in your kitten's body related to her major organ systems which will help you to rest more easily. I think that it's important to reiterate that I'm not a vet and I can't make any diagnoses, the information I've provided in this answer is for the most part based on my experience with cats.

I have a number of theories as to what could potentially be happening here, my first instinct is that your kitten is experiencing a negative reaction to her vaccines. It's also possible that your kitten does have allergies to food, fleas, which haven't been properly addressed. Your kitten may also have seasonal or environmental allergies which can be harder to isolate and treat. Your kitten may also have a psychological issue that's causing her to pull her fur out, this is often referred to as psychogenic alopecia. I really don't think that using sedatives or psychotropic drugs is the best way to go about treating this cat, in fact I suspect that your kitten is quite sensitive and adding more stress on her body by pouring drugs into her system may make things more uncomfortable than they already are for her.

I've seen some interesting things happen with cats in my care when they've been treated using a non-pharmaceutical, holistic approach so I think it's probably a good idea to try these approaches first, they're less stressful for your kitten, in many cases they're very effective without causing harm and these options are often far more cost effective than a lifetime of prescription drugs. Rather than suppressing the problem symptoms as drug therapies tend to do a holistic approach tends to actually cure problems instead of burying them. If you find a vet trained in the use of homeopathic medicines and experienced when it comes to using them to treat symptoms s/he will likely explain that symptoms will be cured with the use of the appropriate remedy, the downfall is that you will probably see another symptom take its place because homeopathic cures are kind of like peeling an onion, there's generally another layer underneath the one that you're peeling off. I really don't think that euthanasia should be considered as a first or second choice in this case, there are other effective and humane options that can be tried and this baby hasn't really had much of a chance to live her life yet, she's still discovering the world around her. My recommendation with regards to the infected sore on this kitten's neck would be to have the vet look at it and determine how serious the infection is. If the infection isn't overly serious you can speak to the vet about treating the wound with an antibiotic ointment like polysporin which tends to speed healing up somewhat. You could also use a homeopathic ointment made of arnica which is good for healing wounds quickly. You can find arnica cream in your local health food store.

I'm guessing that this kitten was vaccinated around the time that you first noticed her pulling out her hair. In a cat this young that suggests that she may be having a vaccine reaction, this isn't really recognized the same way by vets that practice conventional medicine only as it is by holistic vets. It's possible to treat vaccine reactions with homeopathic remedies, I know because we were given a remedy to give to two of our cats that had vaccine reactions. Essentially recent research regarding vaccinating cats has shown that we over vaccinate them to the extreme and this can lead to a number of health concerns later on in life. There is good research that has suggested that over vaccinating a cat can create serious health problems later in her life, these issues can include cancerous tumors, renal failure or even auto-immune disorders where the cat's body attacks itself causing serious illness and potentially fatal complications.

If your kitten is being fed an inferior quality commercially produced pet food it's quite possible that she's simply suffering from allergies. Unfortunately just because a vet recommends a specific name brand or sells it in the clinic doesn't mean that it's necessarily the highest quality diet. Some pet food manufacturers provide vets with a portion of the profits made by the sale of the food in their clinic in the form of a commission type arrangement. Sadly the pet food industry has very little regulation with regards to the ingredients they can include in the food that we feed our fur babies and in some cases it's absolutely horrifying to read about it. I have an article that I can send you on the pet food industry if you wish, it will help to give you some insight into the industry and make decisions about the types of food that you want to feed your kitten.

I really don't recommend that pet parents feed the vast majority of commercially produced foods available in grocery, discount and pet supply stores, to be completely honest most of it is total junk - somewhat similar to a person eating nothing but McDonald's throughout their lifetime. Cats have a need for high quality meat based protein to make up the majority of their diet, most foods that are commercially produced use meat, poultry and fish by-product meals of varying descriptions and grains as fillers, unfortunately these types of ingredients just don't work to satisfy a cat's nutritional needs properly. In recent years the number of overweight and obese cats has risen steadily, the reason for this is because cats are eating larger amounts of food in an attempt to give their bodies what's missing and unfortunately this just doesn't work.

After the Menu Foods recall I became very disillusioned with the pet food industry because I realized that what I had considered to be a high quality food just wasn't and the tainted ingredients almost cost my oldest cat her life by plunging her into severe renal failure. I spoke with my veterinarian and she recommended that I consider checking out the following website: www.catinfo.org. This site is written by a veterinarian and it really explains a cat's nutritional needs quite clearly. If you aren't entirely comfortable with feeding the diet described on this website you could try feeding a high quality holistic cat food made from human grade ingredients such as Wellness or Spot's Stew from Halo. Wellness is a high quality food, however it is meant to be fed as a wet/dry combination and I don't believe that they manufacture a formula with cats who have sensitive skin or tummies in mind. I believe that Spot's Stew by Halo is a higher quality product than Wellness, you can feed this food as a wet/dry combination or you can simply feed a diet of dry food and supplement with the occasional homemade meal like I do. I find that Halo has taken it upon themselves to try and manufacture a high quality line of foods and to be honest my cats only eat Spot's Stew Sensitive Cat formula and homemade meals here and there. The ingredient list of Spot's Stew Sensitive Cat is as follows: Turkey, Pea Protein, Whole Dried Eggs, Oats, Pearled Barley, Pea Flour, Turkey Liver, Salmon, Flaxseed, Salmon Oil, Pea Fiber, Sweet Potatoes, Apples, Blueberries, Green Beans, Carrots, Cranberries, Zucchini, Alfalfa, Inulin, Calcium Sulfate, Potassium Chloride, Taurine, Salt, Folic Acid, Zinc Proteinate, Iron Proteinate, Cobalt Proteinate, Copper Proteinate, Manganese Proteinate, Vitamin A Supplement, Vitamin D3 Supplement, Vitamin E Supplement, Choline Bitartrate, Niacin, Pantothenic Acid, Ascorbic Acid, Ribflavin Supplement, Thiamine Mononitrate, Pyridoxine Hydrochloride, Biotin, Lactobacillus Acidophilus, Bifidobacterium Longum, Enterococcus Faecium, Lactobacillus Plantarum, Calcium Iodate, Sodium Selenite. In my opinion this company truly has the best interests of their four legged consumers at heart even making a point of including Omega fatty acids and probiotic beneficial bacteria to aid digestion. A 6 lb bag of Spot's Stew Sensitive Cat costs roughly $25 and lasts my three resident cats for around a month. As far as I know you can go online to Halo's site and if you sign up for their mailing list you will have a printable coupon sent to you for $5 off of your purchase. This company also makes some treats and supplements to help promote your cat's health. You may also want to try your hand at cooking for your cat, this will allow you to be in complete control about what your cat eats which makes things substantially easier when it comes to ruling out potential allergens. I've take the liberty of including the following list of cookbooks for pets: Natural Health for Dogs and Cats, The New Natural Cat, It’s for the Animals “Cook” Book, Cat Care, Naturally, The Ultimate diet, See Spot Live Longer, Reigning Cats and Dogs.

As far as I know it's possible to have your cat tested by a veterinarian for different environmental allergies such as dust, pollen, mold, etc. These allergies may require that your cat takes an antihistamine daily to prevent her from reacting to allergens in her environment. If your kitten goes outdoors she may also have a flea allergy, this is quite common and the way to resolve it is quite simple, treat the fleas and stop her from getting them again with the appropriate medication. I do think that it's important to work with a vet that you feel completely comfortable with and it doesn't sound to me like this vet is willing to investigate what's really going on here. If a vet is that busy it's probably a good idea to find another practitioner because it seems senseless to me for a kitten to be euthanized when treatments of varying kinds haven't been given enough time to work properly. Cats are notoriously slow at settling down when they've had a nasty reaction to an allergen, this can sometimes take several months whether the allergy is about food, fleas or things in their environment.

I think that it would be well worth trying a safe homeopathic remedy called Rescue Remedy that just might work if the cause of your kitten's hobby creating baldness is a result of something psychological. Unfortunately this kitten came into your life a few weeks earlier than I normally recommend and it sounds to me like her fur pulling started fairly early on. I normally recommend that kittens stay with mom and siblings for a minimum of 10-12 weeks as this allows them to be more balanced in the long run, they learn the basics of what being a cat is all about, they also learn how to interact with the world, where they stand on the household hierarchy and how to cope with limits imposed by their mother, siblings or human caregivers. Some cats develop neurotic tendencies like pulling their fur out, excessive licking or even sucking on people, other pets, clothing, bedding and other household items when removed from their mom and siblings too early. Rescue Remedy helps to calm and reassure cats in a variety of situations from abuse, cat vs car accidents, fear or trauma and it's used by some vets worldwide just for patients that require a bit of extra TLC and reassurance before settling down. I'd recommend that you consider starting to add 7-9 drops of Rescue Remedy into your kitten's fresh bowl of water each morning and I also think that it would be a good idea to rub one drop onto the fairly hairless portion of skin in front of your kitten's ears 3 times a day. You may find that your kitten becomes a bit more relaxed which may mean that she isn't as inclined to pull her hair out. You can usually find Rescue Remedy in some mainstream pharmacies where the nutritional supplements are kept, health food stores, naturopathic pharmacies and I believe that you can also purchase this remedy online.

I can't promise that your kitten will immediately stop pulling her fur out, this remedy may only be able to help her in combination with one or more remedies prescribed by a holistic vet. It's also a distinct possibility that your kitten no longer wants to pull her fur out, it may be a habit that she's developed out of boredom, anxiety or frustration. I can't promise that a holistic vet will be able to provide a drug free cure, however most skilled holistic vets will try to use the minimum amount of anti-anxiety/depressant medications or tranquilizers. I do recommend that you consider reading up on the use of anti-anxiety or anti-depressant medications in cats, do your research, find out the risks and benefits of these treatment options and above all don't be afraid to ask about risks or potential side effects, if you aren't comfortable doing so with a vet you aren't in the right place. You should have a good enough working relationship with any vet that's caring for your pet to be able to ask questions until you're completely satisfied with the answers.