Why is my 10-year-old cat pulling out his hair and getting bald spots?

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Cookie and for providing pictures, they are very helpful. She is beautiful. Yes, this is quite concerning. This can be a sign of a medical issue like hyperthyroidism, fleas, allergies, or severe stress. You should have her seen by a vet for this, and I recommend getting a geriatric blood panel and urinalysis done. Not only will that check for hyperthyroidism, but it will also check as to how her organs are functioning. I would see if you can take her into a vet tomorrow. I hope this helps!

This behavior of pulling hair out not only could be behavioral but could very well be due to discomfort. Being an older cat, it is likely that tig has a degree of arthritis. He may be exhibiting this behavior due to arthritic pain. I would have him examined by your vet in order to receive the most appropriate treatment such as pain medications. If that does not help, it may just be behavioral or even an allergy. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns. I am also available via consultation if needed.

Risia could be overgrooming, and that can occur due to stress, fleas, mites, allergies, or a medical illness like hyperthyroidism. I'd have her seen by a vet on Monday for a health check and a geriatric blood panel and urinalysis. Once a cause is found, the vet can discuss treatment options. I hope this helps!

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Moochie. This hair loss could be due to over-grooming. This could be caused by stress but in a cat her age it could be caused by a medical condition such as hyperthyroidism. I'd have her seen by a vet to get this checked out, and I recommend getting a geriatric blood panel and urinalysis done. I hope this helps!

Hello. Decreased hair quality in cats, especially of her age, could be due to hyperthyroidism, kidney disease, diabetes, liver disease, parasites, and overall poor health and grooming habits due to arthritis or obesity. I would suggest getting her checked by a vet, and having bloodwork done to test for these conditions as some have easy fixes. Good luck with her!

If there is no medical reason such as fleas or food allergy and it is behavioral there is medication to help. She may notice another animal or cat outside that is new that is stressing her out and causing her to do this more, There may be a new neighbor with a dog that she smells passing by the door increasing her anxiety. You can start with feliway diffusers and sprays to help in side the apartment. You can also talk to your vet about anxiety medication to start her on to decrease this behavior.

From the photos, it looks like the skin has some red lesions. Hair loss can indicate many things including over grooming, ringworm (which humans can get), scabies (which can also effect humans) or other skin mites, hyperthyroidism or allergies (fleas, food or environmental). Unfortunately, all these lesions look similar. A physical exam and some basic diagnostics are needed to determine the underlying cause. Over grooming is more difficult to determine and is generally determined based upon ruling out other causes, a physical exam and a thorough medical history. I think your best option is to have Puds examined by the veterinarian. At home you can try giving him an omega 3 fatty acid supplement for pets but it may not correct the underlying cause. This can however improve over all skin health. There are two brands of food, Royal Canin and Nutro, which are aimed at skin health and they may help as well but again, they may not affect the underlying problem. I hope this helps and please feel free to post any additional questions.