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See if you can reduce this for them, like keeping a new pet away for a while, or better yet, try to avoid any stress from the beginning as much as possible. Try to introduce new pets slowly and calmly to reduce anxiety. Keep the noise and any changes in their routine to a minimum, and ensure they have a safe and peaceful area to rest where they will not be disturbed. But also, be mindful that there are many medical reasons that may present. Getting your cat checked by a vet is the best thing to do before assuming their overgrooming is related to stress.
Cat Alopecia
A type of cancer known as neoplasia can cause hair loss in cats. It’s rare, but if you suspect your cat has this type of cancer, call your vet immediately. If your kitten is diagnosed with this disease and they’re losing hair, you can use anti-scalding shampoos to remove the crusty wounds around the follicles on your cat’s skin. The sebaceous glands can catch a skin disease known as sebaceous adenitis. Sometimes, vets administer antihistamines to help relieve the unbearable itchiness, allergy shorts, or immunosuppressive medications.
Insect Bite Dermatitis (Skin Inflammation Caused by Mosquitoes, Fleas, and Flies)in Cats
Hyperthyroidism is the result of thyroid glands overproducing the thyroid hormone. This hormonal imbalance especially affects the heart and causes an increased metabolic rate. Your cat might be dealing with a disease that is not due to some organism living in or on the cat’s skin, such as a tick or the ringworm fungus. Your cat might pick up a tick in your garden and you will feel a small bump on your cat’s skin. Blastomyces, Malassezia, and Candida are yeast species that are known to cause cat hair loss.
When Should I Go to the Vet for a Cat Losing Hair on Their Ears?
Most of the time, your cat’s hair loss is a sign of an underlying issue, skin parasites, allergic skin disease, pain, medical condition, stress, and more. Once that issue is identified, it can be treated, and you can have a healthy, fluffy cat in no time. Consult with your vet as soon as you notice any skin changes or hair loss in your feline and before the signs get worse so your cat can receive adequate treatment. Allergies are a common reason for hair loss and skin irritation in cats, and it may be the next thing to investigate in some cats, depending on their age and distribution of skin changes.
Fungus is a group of microorganisms that includes yeasts, molds and mushrooms. Fungal infections can cause intense itching and this can lead to scabs, sores, lesions and, in turn, loss of hair. Bacteria can be the cause of your pet losing hair on its ears.
Food allergies are far less common in cats than in dogs, and they usually do not cause the same severe skin issues often seen in dogs. Not all cats with food allergies will have gastrointestinal symptoms. If they have gastrointestinal and skin symptoms, this should increase the suspicion of a food allergy. There are also calming food options on the market by brands such as Royal Canin or Science Diet that might help.
Allergies
But, genetics are also a very important part of your cat’s overall health. Well, the truth is that there are several medical causes for this skin change in felines. Cats will usually be contagious for around 3 weeks, and people with a suppressed immune system or children may also develop skin lesions.
Additionally, felines with lighter fur and pink skin experience sunburn more than cats with dark-colored hair and darker skin. Another possible cause of hair loss is atopy, a set of allergies caused by dust mites, molds, and pollens, among other environmental irritants. Surprisingly, chronic stress can also cause hair loss in cats. Your vet can diagnose which type of mange your feline has by scraping the affected skin and observing the contents under magnification for mites.
The condition typically affects the area around the ears, eyelids, and nose because they have the least hair. You can control your cat’s stress by determining the cause of the stress and making your cat feel pleasant and comfortable in your household. Once your cat’s system removes the unwanted substances, the hairs will grow back, and the sores will eventually heal. To diagnose these mites, your vet will need to do a skin scrape. A scrape is performed with a needle or scalpel blade to remove cells from the top layers of skin where the mites live. Secondary bacterial and yeast infections often complicate atopy since the skin’s defenses are weakened.
Proliferative and necrotizing otitis externa is a rare disease in cats, and the cause is unknown. It can affect cats from 2 mo to 12 yr of age, with most cases occurring at 4 yr of age. No breed predilection has been reported, but it may be more common in males.
There can be something going on inside your cat’s system, seemingly unrelated to hair loss on the ears. When grooming, cats often eat the fleas that they discover, which can make it difficult to find adult fleas in the fur. An itchy cat, or insect bites on human ankles, may be the only sign of an infestation.
Deafness in Dogs: Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment - American Kennel Club
Deafness in Dogs: Signs, Symptoms, and Treatment.
Posted: Wed, 24 Apr 2024 16:22:31 GMT [source]
Some of these reasons may be hereditary, and some may be acquired through the environment. Hereditary hair loss is not uncommon, although it is usually not ideal in most breeds. Hereditary loss is caused by a cats genetics and usually can not be easily prevented.
We’re committed to providing you with trusted recommendations for your pets’ health and wellness. Your vet will recommend stopping the food your cat is usually eating and for her to go on a diet for at least 12 weeks. If this is the deal with your cat, you have nothing to worry about.
While also not necessarily abnormal, Acquired hair loss may have some causes that may be potentially concerning. Usually acquired loss comes from irritants in the environment leading to a cat itching, scratching, biting, and doing anything they can to scratch that bothersome itch! Still, it’s a possible cause of hair loss around the ears, head, and face. What causes this inflammatory disease is still unknown, and there’s no cure, but you and your vet can help manage the symptoms by providing anti-inflammatory medications. Since it’s normal, there’s no treatment unless you catch other signs of a serious skin condition that can cause hair loss. Your vet can quickly diagnose ear mites with their otoscope and provide treatments accordingly.
The first signs are a reddening of the skin and scaling on the sparsely-haired tips of the ears. Crusting, discharge, and slow-healing sores may develop as the skin undergoes transformation into a form of cancer called squamous cell carcinoma. Squamous cell carcinoma of the outer ears is treated with surgical removal followed by radiation treatment, or a topical medication. Atopy refers to allergies caused by inhaling environmental irritants, such as molds, pollens, dust mites, etc. The allergic reaction produces intense itching that causes a cat to scratch a lot, especially around the head and ears. Treatment includes removing as much of the allergen as possible from the cat's environment or limiting the cat's exposure to the allergen.
A yeast infection is very rare in house cats, but it still can happen. A cat might be allergic to the venom delivered by an insect or the saliva from an insect bite. Of course, not all cats are allergic to insect bites and stings, but some cats can have a really bad reaction to them. Cats can have a food allergy if they’re allergic to a specific protein within a food. It should be noted that scratching is not always the most obvious symptom of an allergy.Sneezing, coughing, wheezing, and watery eyes are often stronger symptoms.
