Hair loss in cats – symptoms, causes, diagnosis, treatment

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Falling hair from the pet during seasonal molting becomes an extra reason for regular cleaning of the apartment, cleaning things and finding wool in tea or morning flakes. Unpleasant, but innocuous.

Quite another question is why the cat has hair dropping for no apparent reason, there are bald patches and what to do about it. It should be understood that you can count more than 20 reasons for such trouble, without even going into details. We shall understand in popular and imperceptible at first sight the reasons of loss of a wool at cats.

A blatant case or pattern?

The lucky one is the owner who has never faced problems with hair loss from pedigreed pets, even the owners of sphinxes are no exception, because they are velor. Cats of “noble” breeds have stronger immunity, but if they violate the norms of content or contact with other individuals, they may get sick like everyone else. Next, on the points we will analyze the problems with one of which every fifth owner of cats faces.

Important! If you look at the basis, there can be only two reasons – skin problems or general disease, so the loss of hair is a symptom, and not an independent disease.

Is it necessarily a disease?

Absolutely not necessarily, perhaps the animal is experiencing age-related changes, is acutely responsive to the change of the seasons of the year or stress. Falling hair is not a reason for panic, however, like any deviation from the norm, requires close attention.

There are problems, but you do not need to panic.

The consequences of injections or inoculations – scarring of the skin is accompanied by loss of hair, sometimes irretrievably. Closely monitor the condition of the animal after vaccination, inspect the injection site for redness, the formation of scales or pustules.

Symptoms: thickening of the skin at the site of injuries, scarring, abscesses or inflammations, subcutaneous hematomas, bruises, itching, rarely – fever.

What to do: in case of redness and itching – to limit the affected area from scratching, to give a veterinary antihistamine. The presence of temperature – mandatory consultation (in extreme cases by phone).

Age-related thinning of the hair cover – touches the areas around the eyes, on the ears and between them. If against the background of a decrease in the density of the cover there are no deviations, the animal normally eats and leads a normal life, the owner has nothing to worry about.

Pregnancy or lactation period – a cat can lose a lot of hair, up to partial alopecia. On the stomach of a nursing cat, bald spots around the nipples can form – a normal phenomenon. It is necessary to provide the mother with vitamins, nutrition and care.

With gipotrihozom can encounter owners of kittens. This is not a disease, but an inborn defect of genes. Kittens are born with very rare hair and completely grow bald for 3-4 months. If you are lucky enough to become the owner of a pet with such a rare deviation – stock up on clothes and rugs, the animal will often freeze.

In one of the pet hotels, the cat Phillip greatly frightened the caretakers and veterinarians. An hour after the owner’s departure, the cat can not stand, and after 4 hours I lost all the hair. Doctors could not reach the owner Michael, who was flying over the ocean. After landing, Michael immediately bought a return ticket and six hours later he was at the hotel, not hoping to find a friend alive. As it turned out, the fall on the paws and the dropping of the “fur coats” were a reaction to stress, the cat fed from the pipette was frightened and decided that they threw it. A week later, Phil already ran, and six months later he was covered with wool.

Hair loss, as a symptom of the problems of moderate severity

Food allergies – like people, cats can not tolerate some foods. In case of signs of allergies, one should not think in terms of stereotypes. Despite the predatory nature of the pet can be a reaction to fish, milk, canned food and other “ordinary” products.

Symptoms: hair loss on some areas of the skin, itching, inflammation of the ears, sometimes the temperature. For an accurate diagnosis, a doctor should be examined. The cat becomes “jerky”, often itches, can be licked for a long time, pays particular attention to the fingers and claws.

What to do: revise the diet, exclude all newly added products, “by the trial method” to determine the allergen, eliminate purchased food and any harmful food, to achieve complete disappearance of symptoms.

Congenital atopy is an allergy to inhaled substances. Symptoms are similar to food allergies, revealed by skin biopsy or blood analysis. The cause may be pollen, dust, mold spores.

Contact dermatitis is more serious and severe in the treatment of an allergic reaction to the environment.

Possible allergens: antibiotics, nickel and other metals, polymeric materials (plastic, polyethylene, rubber), natural wool, chemical products (household chemicals, deodorants, cosmetics), poisonous plants.

Symptoms: in cats with a rare coat, skin blisters are formed, redness. Furry pets quickly and chronically lose their hair. With constant contact with the allergen, the wool can crawl and completely expose the skin. There is itching, in severe cases, problems with breathing.

What to do: search for an allergen by exclusion and take special tests for popular allergens. In advanced cases, steroid and antihistamine treatment is performed.

Allergy to flea or lice stings – a strong reaction to the flea saliva enzyme, is rare in young or older individuals.

Symptoms: skin tightening at the bite site (like a blister from a mosquito bite), crusts, loss of hair or coarsening, severe itching, increased temperature of affected areas of the skin.

What to do: remove the parasites. For the time of full recovery, provide the animal with antihistamines and close care.

Lishay – infection with fungal parasites or subcutaneous mites.

Symptoms: hair loss in large areas, in the fore and hind paws, the skin is dry, scaly, dandruff and itching are observed.

What to do: hand over the skin seeding for the exact identification of the causes and treat according to the prescriptions of the doctor. Some types of mites can be transmitted to people, so strict adherence to personal hygiene rules is necessary. House, bedding – burn, home thoroughly disinfected.

Heavy illnesses accompanied by hair loss

Demodecosis – at the initial stage is often confused with depriving. Symptoms are very similar, diagnosed also by sowing. Self-identification and treatment is impossible.

Symptoms: the cat has hair on its back, it can form bald patches along the spine or separate areas. With the fall of immunity, in some cases, in contact with water, combing, the bald patches turn into wounds.

What to do: take a scraping and pass the necessary tests. The disease is very common, so many veterinarians quickly diagnose it. If the affected areas are wet, while wiping gauze remains bloody traces – are assigned parashki and podsushivayuschie drugs. Combing greatly aggravates the situation, so wearing a “cap” is shown. Depending on the degree of defeat, treatment is prescribed, steroids do not apply!

Seborrhea is a congenital disorder, a consequence of disease or skin damage by parasites. Has very similar symptoms with a number of diseases, is diagnosed by laboratory tests.

Symptoms: skin peeling, dandruff, dry / oily hair, unpleasant odor, balding areas, itching.

What to do: give scrapings and skin tests to confirm seborrhea. Undergo a survey to identify the root causes.

Adenitis is a hereditary skin disease, manifested in adolescence or old age. It is accompanied by inflammation and disruption of the sebaceous glands of the skin.

Symptoms: the cat falls hair on the neck, head and ears (in the early stages of the coat easily breaks). Dandruff, scales and dry crusts are observed. Zalyshiny most often round. Affected areas of the body itch and may exude an unpleasant odor. Ignoring the primary symptoms leads to the spread of the bald patches to the back and the site at the base of the tail. Scales become sticky, moist, get gray or yellowish color. Progression of the disease causes severe itching, the animal can scratch the affected areas to the blood.

What to do: always contact the veterinarian. Primary symptoms are similar to eczema and seborrhea, accurate diagnosis and determination of severity, is done only by skin biopsy.

Syndrome / Cushing’s disease – excessive corticosteroid content in the blood, physiological or as a consequence of treatment.

Symptoms: thinning of the skin, loss of hair, severe thirst, frequent urination, marked increase in the peritoneum, black spots (acne), pigmentation disorder, seborrhea.

What to do: conduct tests of urine and blood, examination of the kidneys and adrenal glands. Treat only according to veterinarian’s instructions.

Hyperthyroidism – a violation of the thyroid gland, as a consequence of the improper functioning of the hormonal system.

Symptoms: constant licking, seborrhea, hair easily falls out when stroking.

What to do: donate blood to hormones. With confirmation, medication or surgery may be medicated.

From the above written, only one conclusion arises, if innocuous reasons are excluded, the surrender of elementary analyzes and scrapings is a necessity. If you are not a vet, then guess the diagnosis no chance, and the wrong treatment will only aggravate the situation.

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