This is a great board - glad I found it. I have 2 wonderful Maine Coons. One is a 6 1/2 year old male and I just noticed that he has a small bald patch on his back. What could this be? He has been in perfect health except for a few episodes of diarrhea a couple of years ago. I did not know that Maine Coons can have so many health problems, from what I see on this board.

-- Anonymous, December 15, 1999

Answers

I am afraid there is no such thing as a totally healthy type of cat, dog or human being, for that matter! You certainly will see health problems discussed on this site as we are concentrating on just the MC cats. However, if you look at other sites you will see PKD problems, breathing problems, eye problems, etc. in Persians, "back-end" problems with Manx and Cymric, skin problems in Sphynx and all sorts of other things with different breeds of cats! Wait until you look at the problems with dog breeds! Personally, as a human, I ain't feelin' that healthy either!! LOL. Anyway, regarding the bald spot, this could be a fungal problem.....suggest you take the cat into your vet who can quickly check this out and give you the correct treatment. The diarrhea is usually as a result of some dietary change or from a "treat" that someone gave him. Cats can also have or develop allergies to foods which can cause diarrhea. (Kinda like dogs and humans again!!).

-- Anonymous, December 16, 1999