Hair loss in cats

Top 28. Mar 4, 2001 9:05 PM

» pstrumolo - A Question about hair loss

Hi I have a 3 month kitten. He is in good health and has been to the vet 3 times. However, I am noticing that he is quite bald over his eyes and it extends towards his ears. He is an all black kitten so the pronounced bald spots of white are very noticable. It seems as he is growing they are becoming larger. Any suggestions as to the origin or if this is normal for kittens at this age to have bald spots......thanks

-- posted by pstrumolo

Top 29. Mar 5, 2001 1:16 PM

» Caroline - Re: A Question about hair loss

In response to message posted by pstrumolo:

Can you give us a little more information? Cats tend to have thin, sparse hair just above their eyes reaching to the opening of their ears. It is normal for skin to show through it. But if he's completely bald there - no hair at all, you may want to call your vet to ask about it.

As long as he seems to be healthy and has no other skin or coat problems, and it doesn't progress further than where it is now, you shouldn't worry about it. It sounds like his coloring is making it more pronounced than usual.

Why not tell us more about your kitten?

-- posted by Caroline

Top 30. Mar 5, 2001 4:08 PM

» pstrumolo - Re: Re: A Question about hair loss

In response to message posted by Caroline:

Sorry to be so brief. I guess as he is growing, which is to say "like a weed" the spots above his eyes are becoming more noticeable. However, there is hair there, just not as much and you can see his white skin under it. Like you said being that he is an all black cat, it is more pronounced. It is only from above the eye area to the opening of the ear on both sides. The cat is really healthy and shows no signs of being sick in any way. This cat has a long history that preceeds it's four months on this planet. I have been feeding two all black cats in front of my home for about 2 years now. They would never let me touch them, but they would practically eat out of my hand. I set traps to catch them and have them fixed but to no avail. I finally just gave up on catching them and bought them an outdoor house, which they use on occasion, and I leave food in it everyday. A few months back about 2 weeks after Christmas, I was getting home pretty late around 2am, and I noticed a small kitten all black shivering in my driveway. I live in New Jersey and this was a week after our terrible snow storm that produced almost 2 feet of snow. He could only be a few weeks old at the time, I had to feed him with a eye-dropper. I wondered why his mother would leave him, or if he followed them when they came to get food. I brought him in the house cleaned him up, fed him, and he has been mine since. He slept on my chest for 3 weeks, and now is the most loveable creature. I have brought him outside to visit his mom and dad, but he wants no part of it. He just darts back inside and hides. He does not want to go out, he has pretty much acclimated to the house. I keep waiting for the bad things to happen to my home, (like everyone tells me) but he is doing nothing wrong. He just plays with his toys, and leaves all of my things alone. I named him Maximus, because he prances around like a little warrior, but one pet under the chin and he's melted butter purring in your arms. Thanks for your input, I feel more at ease, I was going to bump up my vet appointment, but I will let it wait and just mention it next time i visit. Thanks Pete

-- posted by pstrumolo

Top 31. Mar 5, 2001 4:46 PM

» Caroline - Maximus!

In response to message posted by pstrumolo:

I love the name, Pete! I bet it will fit him great when he's all grown. He sounds like a real sweetie. It was very good of you to rescue him - he'll be bonded to you for life now.

If you haven't done so, do get him neutered. Those things you have heard about are common with 'intact' cats, especially males. He's getting to that age where you will start to see spraying and other wild behavior. But he sounds like he'll continue to be the wonderful friend once those hormones are under control!

Now that I think of it, my Belle, who has very dark markings near her eyes, seems to have very thin hair there, but on Van (my near-white Van boy), its almost not noticable. I'm pretty sure your maximum Maximus is just about perfect! :-)

Thanks for telling us about him. Do keep us updated on his antics too!

-- posted by Caroline

Top 32. Aug 12, 2002 1:47 AM

» Cyberbabe - Hair loss in my mature cat

Hi, i am hoping somebody can help me?

My mature male cat is losing his hair and i am unsure as to whether this is normal for older cats? He is over 16 years old and is noticibly declining in health. His legs are getting thinner, like apparent muscle wastage, he sleeps most of the day but can occasionally be encouraged to play, and he sometimes has a grumpy temperement.

He has a small lump on his side which has got a little bigger, my vet decided not to remove it as it doesn't seem to bother my cat, plus due to his age he may not awake from anasthetic, or cause him stress at any rate.

Does anyone have any ideas? I would appreciate any advice offered

-- posted by Cyberbabe

Top 33. Dec 10, 2002 8:39 PM

» Minime1974 - older cat losing hair...

Hi...

I was wondering if it is normal for my older cat(11) to be losing her hair...it has started on her belly and is working its way up her side. She (Abbie) has lost all the hair in the area, it feels as though she has had a crew cut. All of her other hair is normal, not thinning are anything. I have read about stress causing this problem and several things have happened. I can not say that the loss started after the following had happened. In April we lost our one of our dogs with whom Abbie had grown up with, they both came into our home within a week of each other. Recently I have adopted two kittens from the shelter, but again the hair loss had already begun. Is there anything that I can do. Do you feel that it is a serious problem? Any information you could give me would be great.

Thanks,
Joann & Abbie

-- posted by Minime1974

Top 34. Dec 31, 2002 1:08 PM

» cheer_freak_mas - Back hairloss in my cat

Yes, I have a two-year old male cat. For the past
couple of months he has been losing his hair on his back. There are very tiny little sores there, but not many. On another website I learned it might be stress because he is a neudered male cat. Is this what it is? What should I do?

-- posted by cheer_freak_mas

Top 35. Mar 10, 2003 9:28 PM

» bbws - Coping with 16 cats

This is a real life situation that I need to deal with. My girlfriend is a cat-lover, and have 16 cats! I have no problems with cats, but the cats hair is driving me up the wall. Cats hair everywhere. I would sit down, stand up, and I literally turn myself into a hair ball.
What do people do? I am somewhat of a clean/neat freak, and the amount of cats hair i have on me now is really bugging me. Any advice?

-- posted by bbws

Top 36. Mar 25, 2003 12:39 PM

» tschach - Hair loss in cats

I have a neutered male cat, about 5 years of age who is a formerly all black short-hair cat. I began to notice patches with less fur on his belly within the last year. It has spread to his entire belly, the backs of his hind legs, partially on his sides and a bit on his front legs. He is not completely without fur, but it is very sparse on his belly and not thick on his sides and appears to be white or very pale beige. He appears to be in good health. He had had an infection in his mouth, which he recovered from about a month ago. He does not appear to have any sores, wounds, or similar. He also does not over groom.

Tali

-- posted by tschach