Is moving stress causing my cat's dandruff, hair loss, and dull coat?

Your kitty likely is stressed from the move. Cats often exhibit excessive grooming behavior when stressed. You can try to put Feliway dispensers in the areas where your cat spends most of his time. Feliway is a pheromone that calms down a cat and makes it happy. Not being able to go outside is another possible cause of stress.

Hello. Yes, stress can do this, as well as, external parasites ( fleas & mites ), endocrine problems ( hypothyroidism ), skin infections ( bacterial & yeast ) & allergies. You can try & relieve stress with calming products such as Zylkene or use a dog appeasing pheromone product in the home called Adaptil. Both of these are available at Petco. If there seems to be no relief from the hair loss, please see your veterinarian about additional diagnostics & treatments. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It could be stress-related overgrooming. Some cats are prone to get stressed and as a result they lick themselves excessively. Moving a house can be enough stress for Kai to show this behaviour. Please, try Feliway diffuser for 5-7 days as it often helps in this situations. However, if there is no improvement you should take Kai to your local vets for an appointment.

If he seems to be losing weight, I would make sure her thyroid level was tested. If so, the skin could be due to an allergy or other skin condition. Thyroid level being high can cause skin and hair changes so I would first get this level checked out. As for the skin, you can use Douxo PS calm shampoo and mousse, both of which can be found online quite easily. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

He may be overgrooming since being stuck in the house due to the weather. This is a stress reaction. If his ears are clean and there are no fleas or skin irritation then it’s nothing to be overly concerned about. If he has sores or an ear infection then I recommended a veterinary exam and treatment. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Smokey Bear.

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. From the photo there does not appear to be any bald spots, however, it is not a very close up view. Honestly, unless there are bald spots and/or she is scratching the area I would not be too concerned. If the problem persists though (like for a few months) then you should take her to your vet for an exam. Some reasons there could be changes in the hair coat: 1. Diet - the special diet she is eating may be causing some nutrient imbalance. You should talk to your vet about putting her on a supplement for her coat (like fish oils) as this may help. 2. Skin Allergies - even if she has never had any symptoms of allergies before, they can develop over time. If this was the case though, I would expect hair loss and/or scratching, redness of the skin, etc. If you are not seeing any of that then this is not as likely to be the problem. 3. Fleas - again, I would expect hair loss and scratching. If you are not noticing that, then this is also not very likely to be the problem. 4. Stress - even if you don't think your cat is stressed, she could be. Try to see if you could think of anything that could be causing stress like visiting family, stray cats hanging around outside, you got a new pet, new furniture, etc.... 5. Thyroid disease- either a low or high thyroid can cause problems with the hair coat. Your vet can do a blood test to check for this. Hope this helps. Best wishes.

Yes, over-grooming can be from stress but it could also be an allergy or any number of other underlying reasons. I suggest you refer to the link below for more information about this problem in cats. I would also recommend you get some Feliway Friends diffusers for your house if you think there is some animosity between the cats. https://www.mspca.org/angell_services/overgrooming-cats/ https://www.feliway.com/uk/Products/FELIWAY-FRIENDS-Diffuser