I cannot catch her to take her to the vet. She runs underneath the bed. I have a cat carrier that is really nice. She only used it once, when she was a baby cat and I had her nails clips….

Can I give her some kind of medication for her coat. It is getting worse every day.

Hi Donna. I’m sure you’ll find a way to get her to the vet if she lives inside, and that’s by far the best approach.

Ok, thanks a lot!

Hi Adrian. He definitely needs a checkup and a blood test, so I would grit your teeth and do it despite the stress it may cause. The results may be life-saving. Talk to your Vets about a pre-examination dose of gabapentin too.

I’m Adrian. First of all thanks for the article and helping everyone out! You truly are wonderful and an enrichment for us all!

My cat has developed a staring coat for some time now, maybe 1-2 years. But it was always just near the tail and went better after time. I also tried to help him out with cleaning it.

He was always with my mother and me, but maybe he had a slightly better connection with me. I decided to travel Asia for 6 month, since it was always my dream. After I came back I almost didn’t recognized him anymore. The staring coat was over his whole body and he looked like his time was about to come. I’m sure my mother cared for him as best as she could, but since my Grandpa was hospitalized and she had to care for him and my Grandma, next to her work, our cat may have not gotten the amaount of attention he might had needed, I don’t know. He also seemed very distant to me, when I came back, although he seems to slowly open up again. I have to mention he is almost 20 years old now. I want him to get better or at least have him to be as happy as possible in his remaining time. He really hates going to the vet and attacks the vets. Last time they even had to give him something to sleep just for a simple check up.

I’m not sure what to do. I don’t want to stress him anymore, but I want to do everything I can to get him better.

What do you think?

Thank you for helping!

Hi Joanna. I wonder if the cause is stress from her son. Generally relationships between cats and their offspring aren’t always harmonious.

Hi Francesca. It sounds like you’ve done everything right so far. My guess based on all of this is that the problem is primarily one of anxiety, but to what I’m unsure. A common, unseen reason is cats prowling around outside the house, which your cat knows about, but you do not. You could talk to your vets about an anxiety medication trial if you suspect this.