Hey Everyone,

Been ages since i visited but need some advice.

Jasper my boy who will be 6 next month has not been himself crying most of the time and pulling his fur out at the base of his tail and back, he has done this before but this time was much worse so I took him to the vets. She originally thought it was fleas, but he doesn't have them. She thinks it could be mites or something so £120 later she had given him a steroid injection and put some advocate on him. He has still been pulling at his fur not as bad as before, but its the crying that i want to address.

He is quite vocal anyway but recently he is unbearable, last night the only time he was quiet was when he sits in his carrier or when he was under the cover i was using. I am beginning to think maybe he is stressed out and feels comfortable/safe whilst he is in an enclosed space. He was bred in a small cattery and was confined to a cage for most of his young life I got him when he was a year old and hes always been an indoor cat. I used to take him outside on the lead he has not been outside on the lead for 3/4 years but where i live now there are so many other cats on the street (my neighbour has 8 cats) i don't think its its not fair on him to be put into that situation.

Another thought maybe he is bored, he has a sister Keeta who is a little older than him they get on ok scrap, play and sleep together. There is a large cat tree, a tunnel, a tent and various dangle toys hanging about. I play with them, give treats in a treat ball, there is a large bowl of water in the bath tub for drinking and playing.

I am thinking of getting some drops to put on his food to just see if it calms him down, Have tried Feliway in the past on various occasions and i dont think it makes any difference. Has anyone used M&C Serene Um Calm Drops? I have read good reviews online but wanted to know if anyone here has used it.

Does anyone have any suggestions?

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Tara, Jasper and Keeta

Sorry to hear Jasper is distressed... this must be upsetting for you :(

The root cause of him pulling at his fur doesn't seem to have been discovered?
(or addressed with specifically targeted treatment in that case)
Licking/picking at an area can be kitty's effort to ''lick away'' pain or discomfort.

Has he had softer than usual stools recently (not meaning smelly or poorly - just not hard) and has he ever had his anal glands checked and/or drained?

Have you observed any twitching or rolling in the fur along his back?

Have you considered anything environmental that he could be allergic to? ... it would be a product introduced to your home more recently and not long before his symptoms began.


For stress relief you could ask your vet about Zylkene... when you have some professional advice about this medicine you can get it prescribed (tablets I think) or you can buy it infused into a dry food http://www.zooplus.co.uk/shop/cats/dry_ ... iet/356888

thank you for your reply, it is distressing when you cant do anything for them.

No I dont think the vet diagnosed the right condition, as they are indoor cats the risk of fleas mites etc must be fairly low. I am thinking about getting a second opinion with the view of changing vets I am not overly impressed with this one and haven't been for a while.

His stools are not soft quite the opposite and he had them checked a few years ago but not recently.

I notice his fur kind of rippling/twitching when i stroke down his back but this is not unusual and did this before he started pulling his fur.

I have not changed anything in the house, food, litter.

He does not excessively clean/lick himself just pulls the fur out. He also seems to be quite jumpy when i walk pass or try to give him his food.

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Tara, Jasper and Keeta

Excessive meowing as a new behaviour, which this is, can be a sign of your cat not feeling well, or is in pain, so instead of assuming it is stress then perhaps he needs a full MOT at the vet. If for instance he is in pain it may account for why he is pulling out fur on his back, in an attempt to get rid of the pain, or if he is just not feeling well or is irritated, then that could lead to feelings of stress which means he ends up over grooming.

I would always exclude physical illness, before I would assume any cat is just "stressed".

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The little monsters 3

As previously mentioned, I would get his anal glands checked out. They may need emptying and could be infected so may need antis.

Just because he does solid poops doesn't mean it's not possible for them to not empty correctly on their own.

i have heard of bengals doing this to a food allergy??? have you recently switched him on or off something?

Consistent loose stools (while not poorly, just soft) can apparently cause anal glands to stop draining naturally.. something new to me. Jasper's poo's have been good but as Lacemoat says that does not mean he doesnt have blocked glands.
His picking and licking back there did sound to me like it could be his anal glands being blocked.
Any crying when he goes number 2?
Has he jumped into his tray and jumped right back out again without doing his business?

I agree you need to rule out medical (physical) issues and find the root cause of his fur picking... stress is on a list of things it could be but closer to the bottom (forgive the pun).

Perhaps you should change vets... if you feel unsure you are getting good advice from your current vet then for sure go get a 2nd opinion.. if you like the new vets enough after you visit them with jasper that might make your mind up to switch vets entirely.

I hope you can get some answers soon... try to hide your obvious distress from Jasper... it may seem mean but pretending you havent noticed his stress is better for him than him realising his problem is obvious (cats want to hide illness by nature).

... act soon Lilherbz.
Jasper needs help asap.

wishing you best of luck and let us know how you are getting on.

In reading through this, I agree with Bengal Daddy -- find another vet. Each vet is different and a new one might find out what is going on here. If they find that nothing physically is wrong with Jasper, then you may want to reach out to a cat behaviorist and have them look at Jasper. Cats suffer from emotional problems as well as physical problems ..... something is not write with Jasper and it's so important that you find out what is causing his excessive meowing as well as pulling at his fur. Cats have a way of saying "something is wrong" because their behavior changes. I know you'll see this through to the end and get it figured out. Jasper will thank you for this. Good luck, and keep us informed.

Thank you for all your replies, I will sort out getting a new vet and see what they have to say. :-)

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Tara, Jasper and Keeta