Cat Losing Hair

Question
Dear KC,
          I am not sure if this is a skin disease but seems like it. I had her on science diet for hairballs but it didn't work very well and she was still throwing up.
          I changed to holostic select and she still had problems. Now she is on Natural choice (complete care), and she is no longet throwing up.
         her hair has been coming out in little tufts and her back knees are so thin i can see her skin when they are bent. She seems normal, eating, drinking, the skin is still healthy with no marks on it.
         She is about 5 years old, i got her from a co-worker two years ago and she has never had problems execpt for throwing up from hair. She is completely indoor cat never been outside in her life, and as far as i know she has never had shots, and is not spayed.
         I was wondering if it is a skin disorder or can changing food make there hair fall out for a short time, or is the food itself making her hair fall out?
Michelyn

Answer
Hi Michelyn - Diet most definitely had an effect on a cat's skin and coat.  However, the hair actually falling out indicates that it might be something more severe.  Pets can have food allergies which can lead to hair loss, but there are usually other symptoms that go along with it...such as dry itchy skin or a really oily coat, redness, and usually itching.  Do you have other cats that could possibly be playing rough and pulling out tufts of hair when you aren't home?  By your mentioning that her skin looks healthy, I'm assuming that it being caused by something other than diet alone.  I'm a major fan of the by-product free, high end premium food diets, such as Wellness and Nature's Variety...they have made a definite improvement in all of my cats (and dogs) skin and coats.  However, what you describe indicates to me that it may be something more...I would highly recommend letting a vet examine your cat and would definitely insist on lab work being done.  Many thing can cause hair loss.  In particular, it can be caused by hormones, skin infection (though her skin would be red and swollen), parasites (which it is probably not b/c she is an indoor cat), and allergies (which it does not sound like from what you describe).  What you describe though, almost signals a red flag that it could be hormone related...and only lab work could show that.  If this is what is going on, merely having her spayed might eliminate it.  Or, she might require a monthly (or less frequent) injection.  I hope this information helps and I am sorry that I can't offer more.  In addition, I do highly recommend the Furminator (in the medium size for cats rather than the small), which you may have seen advertised.  I'm totally NOT into being the first to try out some seemingly overpriced pet products.  However, after hearing some friends rave about them, I decided to give them a try.  They do work great for shedding and may help keep her from getting hairballs so badly.  Hopefully a vet can diagnose the problem soon and she will no longer be losing so much hair.