Bald patch on tail - any ideas?

[LifeInTheSlowLane]

We recently got two rescue cats, a mum of about 2 1/2 and her boy (about 1yr). The boy has a thin bald patch about 2inches long on his tail which he had when we got him three weeks ago. The man at the cattery said he thought he'd been overgrooming as a result of being in the small space for nearly 3 months.

I know three weeks isn't long, but when will it start to grow back? I haven't seen any improvement and I've never witnessed him excessively grooming anywhere - I'm at home during the day so I'm with both of the cats most of the time. They haven't been outside yet. He is very affectionate, full of energy, eats everything put in front of him and otherwise well.

If it's not overgrooming, any ideas what else it could be? It doesn't look sore or dry, just a bit bald! His tail is very thin, and one of the other members of staff at the rescue centre said she wondered if it was because he had been a bit malnourised when younger. (they were both rescued from a house that had become over-run with cats)His ears are quite baldy too if that means anything (he's had drops for earmites recently although it was his mum who was scratching but both were treated).

any advice much appreciated

It does take a long time to grow back. It is rather surprisingly long actually. Since I have a cat who over-grooms I happen to be quite experienced in dealing with cats that lick away their fur and can tell you 3 weeks is nothing!

After my little girl (eldest - Egyptian Mau, short hair) has been over-grooming it takes approximately 1 week for the inflammation she causes to settle down a bit. It then takes another 2 weeks for the damaged skin to start to heal itself. After about a month it starts to look like normal skin and not painful any more. After this the fur starts to grow back and this grows very slowly and can take a couple of months to start noticing a difference. Unfortunately with this cat I have yet to see it completely recover as 2 months is our record for her allergy to flair up again after her steroid injections - my vet would prefer to let it flair up again rather than overdosing her with meds as this could cause other problems.

My other cat though (a long hair - Maine Coon) was a complete mess when I got her - she smelt bad, never groomed herself and her fur was really badly matted. One day I took the abuse and hatred from the cat and cut off all the badly matted fur. In some areas this left her bald. She looked unloved and neglected and I even got a few looks from the neighbours and had to explain myself. It took about 6 months for it to look like it was growing back and a further 6 to look like a normal long haired cat should. Now she looks and smells lovely and even keeps herself clean :) I think she's scared I'll do it again!

So, as you see, cat fur takes ages to grow so I wouldn't worry too much yet as long as you don't notice it getting any worse or red, sore or broken. If you do notice this get him to the vets ASAP.

Thanks, that's really helpful! His skin looks fine, not broken or inflamed so I'm hoping it will grow back ok.

Am a bit confused though, you mentioned your cat's allergy - is that why she overgrooms? And what is she allergic to? Could it be that my cat has an allergy to something? I've read about flea allergy but both of mine have had the injection that is supposed to protect them for 6 months, and they've been inside since we got them so definitely no fleas at the moment!

It is unlikely your cat suffers with the same allergy that mine does. My vet was slightly bewildered when I moved to his vets and informed him she was allergic to cotton. He didn't believe it so chased up the test results from my previous vets himself. And yes, it is why she over-grooms, Cotton is near impossible to remove from the house even though I own about 7 fleece blankets that I have scattered all over everywhere.

Your cat could be allergic to something and the most common allergy is fleas (my cat is allergic to them too but is flea free) but you would know if it was an allergy because he would be grooming and even if you didn't catch him at it you would notice the redness of the skin. I think for now you should just be patient and see if it gets better in the next month or so.

Thanks again, wow I would never have imagined that it was possible to be allergic to cotton either!

I have s scruffy black part persian and when I got her (rescue cat) her tail was totally bald with a tuft on the end!

She had a flee allergy and turns out sarcoptic mange (bit like a scabies mite). Frontline is rubbish but stronghold is excellent. Expensive but it covers sarcoptic mange too as well as fleas. Used that and everything grew back but yes it does take a LONG time :)

Also stress can make a cat lose fur to and if it was shut in a small space it no doubt was stressed seeing as they like to roam.

My fluffy boy has a flea allergy and we used frontline so solve it. He started with baldness on the base of his tail which spread onto his tummy and back. Cats can become immune to frontline, my persian did. Stronghold is good but doesn't prevent ticks.