Cat losing clumps of fur

Dr. Marie replied:

I love your cat's name. :) Sorry to hear that he is losing his fur though!

While I won't be able to tell you for certain what is happening I can definitely give you a few ideas.

While it can be very normal for a cat to shed, it shouldn't be causing him to have bald patches. There likely is some sort of medical issue going on.

First of all, is he on some type of prescription flea prevention? Even if you don't see fleas, this is the first thing that I look at when I have a cat who is having a skin condition. With that being said, though, usually cats with fleas will be most itchy over the top of their back by their tail...so this is probably not his problem (but still a possibility).

If you are seeing some type of mild lesions (the yellow tint and bumpy skin) it's definitely possible that there is some type of infection present. It could be a bacterial skin infection.

It's also very possible that this is ringworm. Ringworm isn't actually a worm, but is a fungal infection. It can be difficult to treat sometimes.

Does he have matts in his fur? If a cat has matts, often they will work and work at the matts until they manage to rip them out. Then, you will see bald spots left behind.

Some cats can overgroom like this because of "stress". It's often hard to know what the source of stress is. Given that he is 9 and just starting to do this, I don't think this is the cause.

An allergy can cause these symptoms, but the locations that you mentioned being affected are not typical for allergy.

And finally, sometimes cats can lose a lot of fur if there is an underlying medical issue. If the body is stressed by dealing with a medical problem then the coat will suffer.

I would definitely recommend having your boy see a veterinarian. They may be able to tell what is going on just by looking at him, or they may have to do some tests such as a fungal culture for ringworm.

I hope he feels better soon!

Dr. Marie.


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Dr. Marie replied:

If it is ringworm, then yes, it can be contagious to humans for sure.

Hope everything works out ok.