another cat pulling hair out

Question
I have a 9 year old orange domestic long hair. He has started pulling hair from his back in large clumps.  He has never done this before, and I have had him since he was a kitten.  His back muscles twitch, and then he reaches back and pulls a clump.  The only skin discrepancies seem to be what I would think are teeth marks from the pulling.  These are only small red specs, and his skin seems not to be dry or flakey.  Also, his fur does not seem to be matted.  Can you help?

Answer
Angela,

Your cat is 52 years old in human years and should have an elderly cat checkup. There could be some nerve issues going on that could cause his behavior.

The back twitching sounds like fleas. The cat may have 'flea dermatitis' which is the allergic reaction to flea saliva. And that could cause the fur pulling.

Also fur pulling can be related to an emotional problem and/or boredom. The vet can prescribe 'kitty Prozac' which is excellent for emotionally related problems to calm the cat and reduce the hair pulling. I would speak to the vet about it.

Here is an article to read about 'psychogenic alopecia' (fur pulling/overgrooming): (copy and paste or type the whole link into your address bar)

http://www.cat-world.com.au/OvergroomingInCats.htm

I hope this helps.

Carol