Jigsaw is a young adult cat who has been having a problem. He is literally tearing his hair out. Okay, technically cats have fur, not hair, but it just sounds more dramatic using that familiar phrase. Are fur and hair different, you ask? That’s not really pertinent to today’s topic, but the answer is yes … and no. Both are made of protein and keratin. Many folks use the terms interchangeably. But there are differences. Fur is typically shorter and denser than hair, and covers more of the body, depending on the species of animal. Hair basically grows continuously, going through three different stages called anagen, catagen, and telogen. Fur grows in cycles, with periods of seasonal shedding and regrowth usually related to environmental temperatures and day length. All this is very interesting, but not particularly helpful to our balding feline friend, Jigsaw. Let’s talk about overgooming.
As any cat owner knows, kitties spend a lot of their time grooming. It’s how they stay clean. But when Jigsaw licks and bites himself to the point that he has areas of noticeably thin coat, or even bald spots, that’s not normal. Also called “fur-mowing,” overgrooming commonly manifests with hair loss on the underside of the belly, groin area, along the back, especially toward the tail base, and sometimes on the legs. In other words, areas Jigsaw can reach easily with his raspy little tongue. Owners sometimes assume the fur is falling out spontaneously, because they don’t actually see Jigsaw overgrooming, but baldness due to abnormal shedding is rare in cats. Look closely at the affected areas. See the broken stubble? That proves Jigsaw is chewing or licking off the fur. He’s just very private about it.
Why is Jigsaw doing this? The current thinking is that the majority of fur-mowing cases are the result of something making the cat itchy. The first thing to rule out is simple. Fleas. Just because you don’t see them doesn’t mean they aren’t there. They’re fast little critters. Using a flea comb all over Jigsaw’s body is a good way to check. See those black specks on the comb that look like pepper? That’s probably flea dirt — the polite term for flea poop. If you don’t believe me, put the black specs on a damp paper towel, blot it, and wait a minute. See that rusty red halo surrounding the black dot? Fleas bite in order to take a meal of blood, so their feces contains a little red pigment. For cats who are allergic, one or two flea bites can set off a storm of itchiness, so even if you don’t find definitive evidence, it’s worth doing a trial of a total-body flea-control product to see if it helps. Other parasites, such as a variety of types of mites, are occasionally the underlying cause of overgrooming. Your veterinarian can test for these as well as for ringworm, which is a fungal infection, not a worm.
Next we come to food allergies. In cats, the classic signs of food allergies are scabbing and itchiness around the head, neck, and ears, but they can also present with overgrooming on the body. Concurrent gastrointestinal signs such as vomiting and/or diarrhea increase the suspicion that food is the culprit, though these do not always occur. Although many food-allergic cats develop signs within the first few years of life, it can happen at any age. Yes, even if he has been eating the same food for a long time. It’s not like a kid with a peanut allergy. In cats, food allergies tend to develop gradually over time. The only way to diagnose if Jigsaw has a food allergy is to feed him a very specific (and expensive) hypoallergenic elimination diet for at least two to three months, and see if he stops pulling out his fur. Cats can also have environmental inhalant allergies to such things as house dust mites or pollen. Ideally, these should be diagnosed by a veterinary dermatologist, as they are more complicated in cats than in dogs, but you can discuss this with your regular veterinarian.
Even if a cause has not been identified, a trial course of corticosteroids can help us know if Jigsaw is pulling out his fur due to pruritus — the fancy term for being itchy. If we have ruled out everything else, and if Jigsaw continues to overgroom even when given corticosteroids, then we have to consider that he’s having a psychological problem, not a physical one. It’s called “psychogenic alopecia.” Humans have similar conditions. Trichotillomania is a syndrome where people pull out their hair or eyelashes. Dermatillomania folks can’t stop picking at their skin. Apparently, Jigsaw can develop the same kind of compulsive behavior — a mental illness where he just can’t stop pulling his fur out. It is often a response to stress, anxiety, even boredom. I suspect there may be a genetic component as well, as there may be in people.
Treatment for psychogenic alopecia involves a lot of trial and error. Environmental enrichment is important. Keep Jigsaw entertained and busy with activities, games, places to explore. Helping him feel safe may alleviate anxiety. This may require providing places to hide away from other pets, children, and loud noises. Try calming products like Feliway pheromones in a room diffuser, and/or oral supplements derived from milk protein that are thought to help kitties relax. Multiple-cat households may need to examine cat-to-cat dynamics, and figure out if something needs tweaking. Cats with severe psychogenic alopecia may require antianxiety medications such as fluoxetine or clomipramine to break their compulsions.
So if you have a cat who is literally tearing his hair out, first rule out medical causes of pruritus with your veterinarian’s help. Next, remember that overgrooming may be a sign that Jigsaw is feeling stressed, anxious, bored, or unhappy. Listen to what he is trying to tell you. Google “environmental enrichment for cats,” talk with your veterinarian about medication, and implement any changes needed to improve his life.
