Has your cat suddenly started to lose their fur and develop bald patches? There can be many causes of hair loss in your feline friend and this is actually quite a common problem. This article will discuss the more common causes and how to recognise them.
Table of contents
What is a bald spot?
A bald spot is an area of missing fur. Bald spots can sometimes be a singular patch of hair loss or they can be multiple patches over a larger area. Often the distribution of the bald spots can be important in helping your Vet to make a diagnosis. If you notice that your cat has bald spots, contact your Vet for advice.
What are the causes of bald spots?
There can be a broad range of conditions that can lead to your cat losing their fur! However, some of these conditions are more common than others. The following list will discuss some of these conditions and I attempted to list them in order of likeliness (this list is not exhaustive):
External parasites
The most common cause of bald spots in cats is flea infestation! These pesky critters are extremely common and cats can experience a condition called ‘flea allergic dermatitis’ or FAD for short. FAD is caused by a hypersensitivity or allergic reaction to flea saliva. Cats with FAD are usually extremely itchy and typically have bald patches along their back and tail base. Their skin may also appear red and scabby due to the inflammation. To eradicate a flea infestation, regular control with an effective product is essential. Seek advice from your Vet to discuss long term management. Your Vet may also need to administer treatment to your cat to stop their itchiness to allow their skin to heal. Once successfully treated, their fur should grow back.
Allergies
This is currently very relevant as we are now approaching the higher risk allergy seasons. Like dogs (and humans!), cats can suffer from allergies too! I suppose FAD falls into this category also. Often allergic conditions fall into two categories: food allergens vs environmental allergens. With allergic conditions, often your cat will scratch or itch their fur out (yes, even with food allergies). And the hair loss is mainly associated with self-traumatisation. Your Vet will likely prescribe treatment initially to alleviate your cat’s itchiness. They will then will discuss long-term management options and investigations.
Over grooming
Out of all the potential causes of bald spots in cats, in my personal opinion this one is the most difficult (and occasionally frustrating) to control! Cats are very good and take much pride in their appearance and coat quality. It is a perfectly natural behaviour for cats to groom themselves throughout the day. But occasionally this grooming can become excessive and consequently can lead to skin problems and hair loss. A common sign of over grooming is fur ‘thinning’. Owners may recognise that their cat’s hair is shorter or sparser in areas (more commonly along their tummies).
There are two main reasons that your cat may be over grooming: stress vs pain, with the majority of cases being stress related, particularly in multi-cat households. Contact your Vet if you suspect over grooming, they will check first rule out signs of pain and discomfort. If stress over grooming is suspected, your Vet will discuss with you stress management and potential trigger factors. In some cases that are proving difficult to manage, a feline Veterinary behaviour referral is advised.
Cat bite abscesses
Some cats can be frequent neighbourhood troublemakers and I often see cats with cat bite abscesses (CBA). Cat bite abscesses are as a result of a cat bite wound. Cats harbour lots of bacteria in their mouths and when a cat bites another, this bacteria can be transmitted, leading to the development of an abscess (a pus filled capsule), usually located on their head, limbs or tail. Sometimes cats can also go off their food, have a high temperature and be listless.
Often until the abscess bursts out with blood and pus material, they go undetected by their Owner. If you suspect your cat has a CBA, contact your Vet who will likely prescribe anti-inflammatories and antibiotic treatment. CBA are included in this article as often they experience hair loss over the abscess site, but once treated and resolved their fur usually grows back.
Other rarer causes of bald spots in cats include hormonal or endocrine diseases such as thyroid imbalances, neoplasia and fungal infections.
Conclusion
To conclude, there can be multiple conditions leading to bald spots in your feline friend and sometimes the cause may be multifactorial rather than one individual problem. Contact your Vet if you notice any coat or hair changes in your cat, often the earlier the intervention, the quicker and more successful outcome.
Discussion
Hi everybody 🤗 I need some help. I have two cats, Luna my boy and Nisa my girl. For a few years now Nisa has some skin problems. I’ve taken her to 5 different vets and to the best dermatologist in the country where I live. She’s been given some antibiotics from which she was better for only a month. After a 14 day therapy with antibiotics she started vomiting which was telling me they hurt her stomach. I gave her vitamins but she just got fat. The dermatologist gave her corticosteroids and again she was good for a month or two until the sores and scratching came back again. Why I think it’s not allergies is because my other cat Luna showed the same symptoms only twice during these years. The vet says he’s immune system is stronger so it doesn’t show but he has the same thing in his organism. They are two different cats from different litters. They can’t be both allergic to the same thing. I keep a clean apartment with no drapes or carpets. They are indoor cats btw. Nisa has lost hair and has sores above her eyes and she scratches there. Another area is her left armpit. She’s lost hair there. Quite a big patch. She sometimes develops little bumps at different places of her upper body. On the top of her left foot there is a sore which is irritated and bloody 😔 Even when it does go away for a very short time it comes back on the same exact places. Nobody knows what that is and how to fix it. If any of you know please let me know 🙏 I’m giving her vitamin E for a few days now. It’s still early to say but I’m afraid it will not help. Please help if you can 🙏
This does sound very much like allergic dermatitis, and I wouldn’t expect vitamins to make any difference whatever is wrong with her if she has a properly balanced diet.
2 cats can indeed be allergic to the same thing (the most common culprit is parasitic allergies, especially flea allergy dermatitis, to which many, many cats are allergic) – in general, if itching responds to corticosteroids, then allergic disease is the most likely cause.
To move this forward, perhaps talk to your vet about a skin biopsy of the affected area(s), which might allow your vets to rule out more exotic diseases such as autoimmune disease, leprosy, or skin cancer?
My one and half month old male cat has a baled spot on his back neck I didn’t see him over grooming but there is some fleas enter in my house due to rain . He has itching and has redness may be its due to flea bites i just want to know what should i do for him at home?
If you think flea bites are likely, I’d suggest getting a flea treatment, ideally from your vet given how young he is. It would be worth getting a vet check anyway, at that age, to make sure there isn’t anything else more serious going onm especialyl as many of the flea products shouldn’t be given if there is broken skin.
My 8 yr male black indoor cat has a furless spot of about size of half dollar on front middle paw..he doesn’t t lick the spot and does not scratch it..I m at a
Loss what it could be…he doesn’t t seem nervous either
There are lots of possibilities, including infection or a scar after previous injury; however, other issues like certain parasites or tumours can also cause these signs. At his age, I’d recommend a vet check just to make sure it’s nothing serious.
My tuxedo just recently started with a bald spot on his “armpit” I haven’t noticed excessive licking, no redness, no lumps, but he does have what seems to be a nervous jump lately when petted or noises. What can I do to help him?
It does sound like it might be stress-related; however, I’d recommend a vet check to rule out medical issues as well.
My kittens have dandruff buildup on the tip of their tails, edge of their pinna, around their claws, and on their head. They have also patches of hair loss on their ears, head, and feet. I live in a tropical country and summer out here.
I’d be thinking about ectoparasites or fungal infections, so I think time for a vet check and possibly skin scrapes to see what’s going on!
My kitten is 7-8 months old and he has a lump on his fornt leg it feel fluid inside it and there is a bald spot over that bump and a scratch mark red spot on middle of it what should I do at home so he will be fine
Without examining it, it’s impossible to say what this is. However, from your description, it does sound like a cat bite abscess, and if so, it will probably need lancing by your vet.
I’m not sure what to rule out as my cats new missing fur patch cause she received flea treatment and dewormer not even last weekend, she had a worm problem the month before which she got wormer for and I readministered this month just to be safe. There also seems to be a lot of dandruff in her hair and she seems to be itching a lot could it be from a spare flea that bit her? She is very sensitive to their bites or could it be the weather, financially I’m just not able to go to a vet at the moment, care credit didn’t approve me and none of the vets will do monthly payment plans
Parasites are by far the most likely cause; if you used a pet-shop or over-the-counter flea treatment rather than a prescription-strength one, it’s probable that there’s an established flea infestation in the house. You need to decontaminate, treat the cats with a prescription-strength product, vacuum everywhere, and consider using a household flea treatment.
Ideally, get her seen by a vet as soon as you can, in case there’s something else going on, but that’s the most likely cause.
What was the cause of the bald spot in the image used for this blog? My cat has the exact same bald spot
Unfortunately, the photographer didn’t say! It looks like overgrooming (typically due to stress) rather than an inflammatory condition, although ringworm can also look like this. Occasionally, though, cats don’t read the textbook and present with bald spots like this for any number of other reasons!