Help with Kitty Fur Loss

[handels]

I have an 8 year old neutered male and I just noticed that he seems to be losing fur on his lower stomach.

It kind of looks like someone shaved him and at first I thought maybe it had always looked like that and I just never noticed, then I saw that the hair loss is more on one side than the other.

The area is not irritated and it doesn't seem to be sensitive to touch.

I brush him gently with a cat brush every night to cut back on the tumbleweeds of fur in the house. Do you think I could be causing the hair loss by brushing and it just happens to be in one spot?

Has anyone had this happen?

 

[lrusso]

Are you sure he is not licking or chewing it off due to stress or allergies?? My cat is allergic to everything it seems, and she has chewed off all her stomach fur and is working on her tail and legs now!

 

[handels]

Well, I work from home so I am with him most of the time. I haven't noticed him paying any particular attention to the area.

One of my cats growing up had skin allergies and used to bit the area around his tail so the fur fell out. In that case, it sometimes bled and you could tell the skin was irritated.

My guy's skin there looks healthy and pink. That's why I'm kind of confused about what is going on, since it doesn't look like there are bites or any inflammation there which I think would happen if he had some kind of infection or he was scratching.

Has anyone had a cat who actually displayed ringworm? I was thinking maybe its that?

 

[RapidBreath]

My kitty had this, she had these bald patches under her chin, the vet didn't really offer any thing for it. She was not in pain and she couldn't have been eating it. She didn't seem to scratch the area either. idk. . .

 

[LastTango]

One of my cats has this same exact thing. Her vet, a cat specialist, says that this pattern of hair loss is due to allergies..usually to fleas. However, it can also be due to inhalation allergies (like we get : hay fever, etc). She said when the hair loss is around the neck and head or ears, it is usually food related. I have tried using flea meds for my girl, and she does not go outside, nor is she around other animals. It has not helped. I don't believe it is flea related. I notice hers is worse in the fall and spring, when things are blooming. Last October was really bad, and she almost made herself raw in a few areas. I get a special gel medicine made up for her (antihistamine) at a local compound pharmacy to help when symptoms are really bad. You rub the gel on the inside of the ear. She hasn't been too bad this summer so far, but she still licks on the backs of her back legs most often. I would take your kitty to a vet to see what they say.

 

[handels]

Thanks, everyone. I just wanted to see if there was anything to try before going to the vet. I live in Mexico, so I'm a little more reluctant to take him in. Not that we don't have good vets here, they are just a little less into the animals as family thing (and I'm one of those crazy pet people).

I'll take him in and see what they say. Thanks again!

 

[buckeyegirl]

Sounds like a trip to the vet is in order. They can test for ringworm as well as mange to rule out parasites. As others have stated, it could be a sign of allergies - not all cats are outwardly itchy like dogs. Some are "closet lickers"

Cats can also get what is called psychogenic alopecia which is more of a nervous condition and can occur when there are environmental stressors on the home front that will make them become a bit OCD with excessive grooming - the belly area is usually big for this. It typically causes a symmetrical hair loss with very little skin irritation/scabs.

Your vet should hopefully be able to ferret things out for you.
Good luck!