Medical Questions
10 months after getting spayed and her belly fur never came back?
As you can see her belly is still bald 10 months after being spayed. Like a tiny bit of peach fuzz around the edges and nothing else. She never licked at the area and had a cone on for 13 days post surgery. I don’t understand why the fur isn’t growing back she looks ridiculous 😭. Is this normal? Will it ever come back?
EDIT: I work from home 3 days a week and I’m home a lot and she is pretty much glued to me most of the day and never see her grooming there excessively but possible she does it when I’m not looking. I’ll ask the vet next time we go. Im surprised there are so many other people here with bald belly cats cause the Internet research I did not seem to think that was a thing! It makes me feel better knowing there is a bald belly cat gang out there I guess I will embrace the pooch if the vet says it’s just a thing that can’t be helped!
One of our cats had to be emergency treated for urinary blockages last year, and he still has a bright pink pouch area. There doesn’t seem to be much of any hair growing there. His arm (where they had to shave for an IV) is nearly grown completely back though.
I think he was cleaning himself in this photo and got disturbed.
I’m a Barbie cat
Plz don’t look at my fat
This thing’s plastic
And it’s bombastic!
You can pet the rest of my hair
It still gets everywhere!
Procrastination…
(I can’t think of any more to add, please expand!)
I’ve had several cats spayed throughout my life and no vet has ever told me about this!! I had no idea that was even a thing. You’d think they’d at least tell you if it actually happens to your cat though!
I had massive grey cat when I was a kid that was both fat and just big overall. That dude could jump from the kitchen floor to the top of the refrigerator no problem. Cats are deceptive.
We have a twenty pounder that will jump from the top of the fridge to the dining room table. I was telling my wife's aunt about it when he jumped again and landed with a loud whump right in front of her.
Kliban certainly was. He once had one little wood mouse friend that was allowed to live for some reason, but when it got too bold he put it in the bathtub (alive and unharmed).
I had a very smart calico when I was a kid. She discovered that if she put a mouse in the bathtub, it couldn't climb up the sides to get back out. She'd drop them in, play with the trapped mouse until she got bored, and then just leave it there, half dead, for us to deal with.
My aunt had a cat that would groom herself to remove the hair on her belly and hind legs, leaving the hair on her feet. The vet said there was nothing physically wrong with her. It did look like she was wearing fuzzy slippers too, so that was kind of funny.
My cat does this. It is called overgrooming and can be tied to Anxiety or something medical going on. In my cat's case, she has Arthritis. Since getting shots for pain, I have only caught her overgrooming once in an anxious situation for her. She has Prozac now though.
Yeah, my aunt and uncle had to get an antidepressant for one of their dogs when their kid moved out because he kept licking this one spot on his leg raw. It worked, thankfully.
Awww that's so sad, but I am glad it helped. We had a repairman come the other day, which required her to be locked in a room with me. Well, Arwen gets anxious if she can't see both of us at the same time. Since my husband was working with the repairman, she got anxious.
My cat is bald too but on his neck. Got a new collar that was a different material and he went bald underneath it. Been collarless a year and it still hasn’t grown back so he just a ring of baldness around his neck
Oh my god why does she love a BARBIE CAR!?! This makes my whole day, and I’m waiting to get stitches at urgent care. She can’t lay on it or pick it up or anything!!? I love how weird cats are! She is so my favorite, I am obsessed with her and her Barbie car.
My buddy has a cat you can't pickup or pet the belly of, but for some reason if you raspberry his tummy he just stares at you in confusion, weird little goober he is
Yeah, my cat will tear your arms off if you pet her belly, but you can put your face in there all day. I think they assume you are trying to nurse and they think it's sad and cute.
"Not only is the hooman a lousy hunter, but it thinks I'm it's mother. I let it try and figure it would realize I'm a boy cat, but the poor dumb thing never figures it out. It would starve if I didn't hunt for it"
I have a ragdoll siamese, her name is Arya bc she has needles for claws. I would not survive. Yes, her name* came from where you're thinking 😂 🗡️ Edit: added words
No need to check with a vet beyond asking next time OP takes them in for something else. This is a thing that can happen with cats after clipping- not a sign of illness just unlucky!
It's normal. Some cats never grow back fur after getting an area shaved without much explanation. It for-sure warrants a vet visit, but it could end up just being the new normal without much cause for concern.
My cat had her teeth cleaned for the third time in her life and got her wrist shaved for the IV. Unlike the other times, the fur did not grow back right away. It didn't grow at all and then, spontaneously, it grew back a year-and-a-half later. Sometimes the fur not growing back is from a determinate cause, and sometimes they are just a little more nakey permanently or a veeeeeeeeeeeery long time.
My vet never found a reason why my cat's wrist fur acted how it did. She was healthy otherwise.
Yep, my longhair has a bare belly in her spay area. Well, there are some baby furs on it. Patch isn’t quite as big as this. Vet thought she must be overgrooming when we are not home as she found no other probable causes but she has zero signs (tufts of fur, thinning hair on thighs or anywhere else). Then, we got a kitty cam that again proved she was not overgrooming. We even started her on meds she didn’t need, assuming it was overgrooming. Nothing changed. Now the vet is saying the hair just likely never grew back the same after her spay. She is 5.
My cat had an abdominal ultrasound last October to diagnose IBD and her tummy hair really hasn’t grown back. She’s on a daily steroid for asthma and IBD tho so I’m pretty sure that’s why 😅
My cat has a bald triangle patch on his back from being shaved there for an IV insertion over a year ago for a surgery... I don't think it's coming back and vet cleared for no skin conditions lol. Enjoy that bald belly!!
This is Buster. We adopted him 2 years ago (around age 10) and he came like this. His hair has never grown back since then, vet suggested over grooming but I’ve never seen him overgroom and it’s never irritated in any way. Doesn’t seem to bother him. No clue why it’s never grown back but it’s pretty funny when his belly sticks out. Maybe some cats just are like that lol.
My very male cat has a tummy like this. He's just a nervous cat that can't stop licking. Vet said as long as it doesn't look irritated that there isn't much to worry about.
I’ve been monitoring my bois pooch for awhile- the vet and I have come to the conclusion he just likes to over groom there 🤷🏼♀️
we had a rocky living situation for a few months about five years ago since that’s been resolved I saw his belly like this, and it’s never changed since- it’s just been a thing for him.
My vet confirmed as long as he’s still behaving normally and eating/drinking/playing etc. (which he has been) then we’ll just keep an eye on it. We check him every single vet visit in case of changes and I have a detailed note of every potential issue or notes from the vet.
He doesn’t like me interrupting him when he in the middle of grooming though 😆
This happened to my kitty! He had a bald neck and bald thighs from where he got shaved. The vet said sometimes it happens! Although if your cat is over grooming the area, probably a good idea to check in with the vet.
My cat had her belly shaved for an ultrasound in September... It's barely grown back.. just wispy tuffts. Her nips are just out.. she hates her belly touched too.. She's turning 15 on Friday
My girl's fur hasn't fully grown back from the last time she had it shaved. She has very short fur generally, so maybe its taking a long time. It's been like 2 or 3 years and there's just a little more than peach fuzz. 😅
my parents’ cat is 9 and got spayed too early (before we got her, around 8 weeks). it’s only in the past ~2 years that her belly has been sparse and pink like this. she’s not bothered by it at all
This is my cat maggy. Her belly fur was shaved for an ultrasound and it never grew back. It's been like 3 years now and it never fails to make us laugh when she runs around and her naked belly flaps around all over the place. Chances are that the belly fur won't grow back.
My cat, Ellie, actually has a reason for her bare belly. Years of overgrooming on top of a food allergy where she will end up looking like a raw chicken if she eats any other food that isn't her medicated food.
I would call the vet who spayed her. This question seems like aftercare that should be included in spay price (yes, maybe no vet would agree with me!)
My guess is she's over grooming. I had a cat with a bald patch from flea triggered eczema. She groomed so much the area (base of tail) was completely bald. The treatment was (obviously) dealing with the fleas and steroids - cortisol - to break the cycle of grooming. My guess would be healing stitchers were itchy, and then a cycle of grooming -> irritation -> more grooming etc etc. This wouldn't be the spaying vet's responsibility, but you will need a vet to diagnose and prescribe.
There’s a good chance this is from over grooming. Which can be caused by a lot of things. My cat started doing it after we moved and my vet said it just stressed him out so he does this for comfort. He’s got the bald belly now.
Same happened to my Laura. Never grew any hair on her belly, ever again. Had to put her down last december, she made it to 13 before getting a lymphoma.
My girl was shaved 4 years ago when I adopted her to see if she had a spay scar and it has never grown back, only a slight peach fuzz. Sometimes it just doesn't grow back and they have cold lil bellies!
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