Fur loss

Question
My female cat is about 8 years old and last year started losing fur around the insides of her back legs.  We have kept one of her kittens he is about 6 years old and very big and boisterous and goes after her a lot.  The vets say she is losing fur due to stress and sold me an expensive plug in diffuser that is supposed to help. I have bought another one because she is now bald at her rear end and losing fur from the front now.  Should I insist on blood tests or something as some parts look a bit sore now?

Answer
Hi Suzanne.  You could insist on blood tests - that may tell you if you are dealing with an auto-immune disease or allergies that cause itchy skin.  However, the treatment for these two is generally a cortisone injection.  This is very inexpensive, so most vets just recommend giving one injection and seeing if the condition improves at all.  If so, cortisone injections or prednisone pills can be given until the condition is controlled and then as needed.

If the vets insist this is all behavioral, then I think you should consider an antianxiety medication, being that you've tried the pheromone diffusers to no avail and this behavior is resulting in self-mutilation.  You will likely start seeing skin infections soon if the behavior doesn't change.  There are lots of options - Valium, Buspar, Elavil, Prozac, Anafranil.  I've used Elavil and Prozac in my kitties with psychogenic alopecia (fur loss from overgrooming).  Prozac has no side effects.  Elavil may cause drowsiness and increased or decreased appetite, as well as excessive thirst.  In my cats, those have worn off in a couple weeks.  Prozac is highly favored, but it is also rather expensive.  Either way, most cats can be weaned off the drug once their mood has stabilized, and then the drug can be used as needed if the behavior ever comes back.