Is Your Cat Losing Hair? 6 Reasons for Hair Loss in Cats
Yikes … are you noticing your cat losing hair? Hair loss in cats, or alopecia in cats, may have a few different causes. Let’s examine some of them here.
Kellie B. Gormly | Jan 23rd 2019
One of last year’s litters of foster kittens brought more than joy and heart-melting cuteness to my house. Unfortunately, the outdoor kitties and their mom came with a pack of fleas, and the pests took up residence in the fur of my resident cat, G.G., who had a maddening itch. The itch soon turned into thinning hair on her belly, at the base of her tail and on her hind legs. So, is your cat losing hair? What causes hair loss in cats? In G.G.’s case the hair loss turned out to be caused by a flea allergy. Let’s learn more about hair loss in cats, also known as alopecia in cats.
First, let’s define hair loss in cats
First, what exactly is hair loss in cats? Photography by Ramon Espelt Photography / Shutterstock.
A cat losing hair — also called alopecia in cats — can be complete or partial and happens in felines for a variety of reasons, the most common of which is skin allergies, experts say. Dr. Fiona Bateman, assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Georgia’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital, regularly sees hair loss in cats at her clinic.
Is alopecia in cats ever ‘normal’?
Some cats have hereditary alopecia. For example, Sphynx cats are born without hair and never grow any.
Another type of normal hair loss is pinnal alopecia – hair loss on the outside of the ear pinnae — which is common in Siamese cats but usually resolves on its own. Many adult cats also experience preauricular alopecia — thinning of fur on the skin strip between the ears and the eyes, which is considered normal in cats, Dr. Hayworth says.
What about acquired alopecia in cats?
The rest of the cat population, which is born with normal fur, gets acquired alopecia — which is a symptom of a disease or condition, and not a disease itself. The veterinarian will diagnose the underlying condition, Dr. Bateman says.
With a cat losing hair, will that hair grow back?
The good news for cat parents is that this hair loss in cats usually doesn’t indicate a serious illness, and the hair can usually grow back, Dr. Bateman says. Dr. Hayworth, of VCA Northview Animal Hospital in the Pittsburgh suburbs, explains that how well a cat losing hair can be treated and reversed depends on the underlying cause.
“Generally, if we can reverse the cause, then we can get the hair to grow back,” Dr. Hayworth says. “This is especially true with over-grooming related to allergies. So, if you notice hair loss in your cat, it is definitely worth a trip to the doctor.”
These are six of the most common conditions behind a cat losing hair. Note that this isn’t an exhaustive list, as alopecia in cats is a broad condition with many potential factors.
1. Allergies — Particularly to Fleas — and Itching and Over-grooming
An example of G.G.’s hair loss due to a flea allergy. Photography courtesy Kellie B. Gormly.
Fleas can bite and irritate any cat, but some cats have a hypersensitivity to antigens within the flea saliva. These allergic cats get miserably itchy if they encounter fleas — and many of them will over-groom as a way of scratching the itch. The hair doesn’t just fall out; the cats actually lick it so much that they pull their hair out.
“It’s not that the hair can’t grow,” Dr. Bateman says. “These cats are licking it out faster than it can be replaced.
“About 90 percent of those cats we see in our clinic are over-grooming,” she says. “It is much less likely that the hair is falling out and not regrowing.”
Sometimes, a cat may engage in compulsive grooming because of neuropathic pain from nerve damage in the skin. In rare cases, a cat may groom too much and lose hair for psychogenic reasons, like anxiety after a stressful event; but, it’s more likely that cats licking off their hair are itching from flea allergy, Dr. B
Yikes … are you noticing your cat losing hair? Hair loss in cats, or alopecia in cats, may have a few different causes. Let’s examine some of them here.
Kellie B. Gormly | Jan 23rd 2019
One of last year’s litters of foster kittens brought more than joy and heart-melting cuteness to my house. Unfortunately, the outdoor kitties and their mom came with a pack of fleas, and the pests took up residence in the fur of my resident cat, G.G., who had a maddening itch. The itch soon turned into thinning hair on her belly, at the base of her tail and on her hind legs. So, is your cat losing hair? What causes hair loss in cats? In G.G.’s case the hair loss turned out to be caused by a flea allergy. Let’s learn more about hair loss in cats, also known as alopecia in cats.
First, let’s define hair loss in cats
First, what exactly is hair loss in cats? Photography by Ramon Espelt Photography / Shutterstock.
A cat losing hair — also called alopecia in cats — can be complete or partial and happens in felines for a variety of reasons, the most common of which is skin allergies, experts say. Dr. Fiona Bateman, assistant professor of dermatology at the University of Georgia’s Veterinary Teaching Hospital, regularly sees hair loss in cats at her clinic.
Is alopecia in cats ever ‘normal’?
Some cats have hereditary alopecia. For example, Sphynx cats are born without hair and never grow any.
Another type of normal hair loss is pinnal alopecia – hair loss on the outside of the ear pinnae — which is common in Siamese cats but usually resolves on its own. Many adult cats also experience preauricular alopecia — thinning of fur on the skin strip between the ears and the eyes, which is considered normal in cats, Dr. Hayworth says.
What about acquired alopecia in cats?
The rest of the cat population, which is born with normal fur, gets acquired alopecia — which is a symptom of a disease or condition, and not a disease itself. The veterinarian will diagnose the underlying condition, Dr. Bateman says.
With a cat losing hair, will that hair grow back?
The good news for cat parents is that this hair loss in cats usually doesn’t indicate a serious illness, and the hair can usually grow back, Dr. Bateman says. Dr. Hayworth, of VCA Northview Animal Hospital in the Pittsburgh suburbs, explains that how well a cat losing hair can be treated and reversed depends on the underlying cause.
“Generally, if we can reverse the cause, then we can get the hair to grow back,” Dr. Hayworth says. “This is especially true with over-grooming related to allergies. So, if you notice hair loss in your cat, it is definitely worth a trip to the doctor.”
These are six of the most common conditions behind a cat losing hair. Note that this isn’t an exhaustive list, as alopecia in cats is a broad condition with many potential factors.
1. Allergies — Particularly to Fleas — and Itching and Over-grooming
An example of G.G.’s hair loss due to a flea allergy. Photography courtesy Kellie B. Gormly.
Fleas can bite and irritate any cat, but some cats have a hypersensitivity to antigens within the flea saliva. These allergic cats get miserably itchy if they encounter fleas — and many of them will over-groom as a way of scratching the itch. The hair doesn’t just fall out; the cats actually lick it so much that they pull their hair out.
“It’s not that the hair can’t grow,” Dr. Bateman says. “These cats are licking it out faster than it can be replaced.
“About 90 percent of those cats we see in our clinic are over-grooming,” she says. “It is much less likely that the hair is falling out and not regrowing.”
Sometimes, a cat may engage in compulsive grooming because of neuropathic pain from nerve damage in the skin. In rare cases, a cat may groom too much and lose hair for psychogenic reasons, like anxiety after a stressful event; but, it’s more likely that cats licking off their hair are itching from flea allergy, Dr. B
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