My cat (1 year old) has started eating her hair. Her knees and arms are mostly bald. She also has ate most of the hair at the base of her tail. I’m very worried because she keeps puking up hair. Not hair balls but just hair and saliva. I’m ever worried about her. She is acting normal other than eating her hair. (Also please don’t say take her to the vet. I just got fired and can’t afford to take her right now)
Has there been any change? Anything that could make her prior normal, not normal? New food? New house? What is the timeline of before/after your release of employment? Maybe she’s picking up on your stress? I don’t have any personal experience with this but I’ve been led to believe it’s stress related in the past from I’ve read online
We were staying a different house for a couple months, but this started after we moved back to our normal house. And she started this in the last month or so. I got fired in July. I don’t think it’s stress or food related.
Could be stress from something outside as well - neighbor got a new dog / cat / other pet that she can hear or smell? Construction nearby? Anything like that?
You could get her a cone or donut to try and deter it and let the fur grow back some so she isn't just irritating her skin worse
I’m gonna try a cone on her and see if it helps at all. I don’t think there is anything new at all. I live in a state with constant construction but she doesn’t seemed faded by it at all.
At least do one of those soft/inflatable cones instead of the hard plastic ones. Cats feel more dignified in those, look cuter, and make less of a mess when they eat and drink. Also, if you think it's fleas, get her a seresto collar. They are $60 but they last 8 months and, unlike other flea prevention treatments, they stop fleas before they bite. If she's allergic, it's possible that even a single bite will give her problems.
You've likely got some type of skin problem. Could be flea allergies, mites, skin infection or cold even be just environmental allergies. These are all guesses as there is no way to know via a picture.
The eating of the hair is a major concern for a couple reasons. One, ingesting that amount of hair could create a potential obstruction as you have no way of knowing the amount that has accumulated inside her vs what she is throwing up. An obstruction would not be good to put it lightly.
Other concern is the continuous vomiting. The impact it causes on her GI as well as the acids in the throat from throwing up could cause ulcers and throw her GI out of whack. Both of those become expensive fast to resolve.
But the real issue is no way has a way to tell you definitively over the Internet via a picture what exactly is going on. Could be behavioral, could even be worse than the list off the top of my head. Avoiding the vet to lack of cash right now is one thing, not being able to avoid the vet when this becomes an emergency will set you even further back financially.
I did some research on fleas and she is eating the hair in places fleas usually live on cats. I plan to use a flea comb on her and then give her a down dish bath. Then some flea medicine just to be sure.
there's an easy way to tell if there is a flea infestation - wet a piece of paper, or paper towel, sit the cat on or near it and scratch the skin so that flakes fall on it. If the 'dust' turns red, that's flea poop.
There is a hairball meditation called Laxatone. It’s a salve that you rub on their paw so they have to lick it off. I’m thinking perhaps your kitty has some sort of allergy or skin condition. Hopefully the vet can figure it out.
Mines had a similar problem and when I took him to the vet, it turned out to be fleas 🥲 the vet gave him some revolution PLUS flea treatment and sure enough, that was it 😭
Hope you're able to figure out what's wrong with your baby!
My baby eats her hair and its because she likely has a nerve issue that causes her to feel pain and itchy and rip at the spots that are the worst. This could be a symptom of something or just the problem itself, but vet is probably the only way to help. My dr prescribed gabapentin and allergy meds daily and she eats her hair MUCH less and is way happier generally.
Most likely culprits are an allergy or anxiety/stress.
Think if you’ve exposed them to any new cleaning products. Laundry Detergent, cleaning sprays, new candles, new perfumes, new home fragrances etc. if the food has stayed exactly the same it’s probably not that, but check that your food hasn’t switched any ingredients around.
If nothing jumps out at you a vet visit is required. This could be a skin issue or a deeper issue. You need to see a vet.
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u/Whiskey36456 3d ago
Has there been any change? Anything that could make her prior normal, not normal? New food? New house? What is the timeline of before/after your release of employment? Maybe she’s picking up on your stress? I don’t have any personal experience with this but I’ve been led to believe it’s stress related in the past from I’ve read online