As above ^ 
FantasticCat is about 7, a neutered male DSH from the RSPCA so no full history available but probably given up when the vets bills got too high To say the cat is a disaster is something of an understatement, at one point the vets had joked about getting a small brass plaque in his name attached to "our" chair in the waiting room.
He has gone through phases of losing the hair on the backs of his legs and at the base of his tail. He is allergic to flea bites he couldn't not be really! but is regularly treated with Advocate and has no evidence of fleas. He eats Meowing Heads and nothing else at all as cheaper food gives him bladder stones or the squits.
Apart from the baldness he is fit and healthy There are no scabs or visible bites, he just seems to be grooming himself to the point where the hair comes out.
Is there anything we can try before resorting to the vets? He is insured so I'm not overly concerned about the cost, but our vets has lately become a "modern" practise. The appearance of an insured animal has started to trigger wide smiles and discussions of ever more complex treatments which frankly I am a bit about. If I could try something myself beforehand I would definitely give it a go :)