Cat behavior-pulling out hair

Question
I have a male cat I took in as a stray 4 months ago. I took him to be nuetured 2 months ago and the vet found out that he had already been nuetured. He is approx 2 to 2 and a half years old and is very affectionate. in the past 2 weeks he has started to pull out his fur from his legs and tummy and has left great bald patches. I have checked for fleas or dry skin but it all seems ok. This seems to be getting worse day by day. Could this be trauma from having surgery again? or could it be that he is ill?
Thank you,

Kathrine Gildea

Answer
Hi Kathrine,

I'm sorry to hear about your troubles.  First things first, he should not be experiencing any 'trauma' because nothing was done.  If the vet discovered he had already been neutered, then nothing was done.  On a side note, any vet worth his salt should've been able to tell that the cat had already been neutered by conducting a physical exam, so I would be inclined to recommend doing some research and looking for another vet.

As for him pulling out his fur, the most common causes are flea infestation, allergies, infections, and anxiety.  If you have ruled out a flea infestation, that leaves the latter three.  Only a vet can rule out the possibility of infection, but to start, many cats develop allergies to commercial diets.  What food are you currently feeding him, how much, and how often?  If you are willing, I would highly recommend switching him to a holistic diet.  I personally recommend HALO, a wonderful holistic food made only of the finest, human-grade ingredients with no artificial additives, chemicals, or dyes of any kind.  You can visit their website here for more information (http://www.halopets.com) Furthermore, there is no gluten products which cats are commonly allergic and which have been the subject of many pet food recalls.  Please take a moment to read the following articles on why it is so important to feed our pets a holistic, natural diet.

What's Really in Pet Food?
http://www.bornfreeusa.org/facts.php?more=1&p=359

Gluten and Toxins in Pet Food
http://www.celiac.com/articles/1129/1/Gluten-and-Toxins-in-Pet-Foods-Are-they-Po...

As far as anxiety is concerned, have there been any changes in your household in the past month or so?  Any new pets, a child born, did you move, did you change his food or litter, etc. and so on.  Any information will help.  Please keep in mind that as you know your cat and the home environment, you are the best person to deduce whether or not this can possibly be environmentally related.  Please read the articles and give me any pertinent details regarding changes made in the past month.  It is safe to say that whatever is going on has nothing to do with when he went to the vet, for the reason I mentioned, as well as enough time has passed that you would've seen the symptoms show up sooner.  Please let me know.

Best regards,
Holly Martin