Psychogenic alopecia in five cats

Abstract

Psychogenic alopecia in cats is an obsessive-compulsive disorder, leading to displacement behavior. In this paper, observation of the role of behavior disorders in the pathogenesis is targeted. Five indoor cats, with regional alopecia, referred to our clinics. Fluoxetine was used in four cats for 4 weeks in two different doses. One cat had not given any treatments. However, while clinical symptoms were resolved in two cats which used high dosed fluoxetine; no changes had been observed in the others. It was observed that, there had been a definite withdrawal in clinical appearance with the elimination of the potential stressors by the time, in the untreated cat. It was concluded that antidepressants may not be always efficient in the psychogenic alopecia of cats.