Pet hair loss is a cyclical process that is repeated every year depending on the season. In the cooler months, many cats tend to shed considerably less hair, which is lost in greater quantity during the hottest months of the year. What is more of a concern is when a cat has bald patches due to excessive hair loss. What should I do in these cases?
When a cat has bald spots in some parts of its fur, it can be due to many different reasons. A disorder that many pets can suffer at least once in their life, which has an easy treatment detected in time.
Read on to find out what to do if your cat has bald spots, how to detect the problem, and when to go to the vet to find the best solution.
Bald spots in cats
If you have noticed that your cat has bald spots in some areas of its body, the first step is to stay calm. Bald patches in cats are quite common, and in most cases, it usually gets better without treatment.
You should analyse the areas where the animal has bald spots, its skin condition, and you should especially observe their behaviour to detect any health problems.
Check if your cat has been licking itself excessively or if it has any visible symptoms of skin infection. These facts will help you know why your cat is has bald spots and what to do to treat it.
Why does my cat have bald spots?
Excessive hair loss and balding in cats may be due to different reasons. By just paying attention to the behaviour of the cat you can find out the cause of the bald spots, or you can go to the veterinarian if you are not sure.
Causes of bald spots in cats
Among the causes of bald spots in cats we highlight the following:
- Fungal skin infections, such as ringworm
- Presence of parasites that cause the animal to scratch frequently, such as fleas
- Skin allergy, which also increases the need for scratching
- Joint pain
- Excessive grogginess from anxiety or stress
Ringworm in cats
Feline ringworm is a fairly common disease, affecting all the animal’s skin, with completely bald areas.
Round bald patches on cats that are located mainly on the head, behind the ears and back, are usually caused by a fungal infection.
If in doubt, go to the vet quickly to find the most suitable treatment for bald patches on your pet.
Other causes of alopecia in cats
When bald spots on cats are due to a disease or physical problem in the animal, they are very easy to detect. However, stress in cats (which causes massive hair loss) can be more difficult to diagnose.
Just like humans, pets can also suffer from stress. Moving to a new house, a new member in the family or the addition of another pet, and even any change in the habits of the animal, can provoke a very extreme stress situation in a cat.
If this stress situation also coincides with when the animal is moulting, the amount of fur the cat loses can be considerable. The hair is weaker and can fall more easily, resulting in large bald areas on the sides and belly.
Stop the animal from continuing to lose too much hair, as excessive licking in bald areas could cause serious skin wounds from its rough tongue, as well as the formation of hairballs in its stomach when the cat swallows a large amount of fur.
Taking care of the physical and emotional well-being of pets is a very important aspect that we want to highlight at Sepicat, check your cat as soon as it has visible bald spots.
26 Responses
My cat is on a diet to lose an extra pound. Could that cause stress and so two little bald spots on his shoulder blades and another on top of his head? I don’t see skin irritation.
Probably is stress, specially if you changed the type of food that she/he was used to. Try to reduce the amount of food your cat usually ate rather that changing the brand of type of food you feed him/her. Hope this is useful!
My cat is usually fine but I noticed a bald stop right behind her ear, she does lick herself and her diet has become less, and she is sleeping too much, she does scratch her ear where the bald area is but it doesn’t have dryness or anything else, I am worried that she might have a problem, so anyone please tell me what to do and what is the cause!!!! Please!!!
It may be due to an infection that could be present, we recommend that you visit a veterinarian for treatment and check the cause of his poor feeding.
Our cats bold spot is by her upper leg /belly . She doesn’t lick our scratch it . It is not red. But is a bit dry ,not much . There is a difference in house . My husband her dad was out of town for a week . She was stuck with me ! Could it be just stress !
Thanks for your help Terry E.
Don’t worry! It probably is stress and will go away once her dad is back. But, don’t disregard fleas or skin affections. Observe your cat’s behavior, if something else seems rare or unusual, we advice you visit your veterinarian.
Hi I have a cat who is of about 13 weeks old I have noticed she has a little bald patch on her inner front side of her neck.
Wondering what it could be.
It could mean different things, it would be good to go to a veterinarian.
My kitten is 2.5 months old , she came to me 1 week before only and within a week only I can see some bald spots near neck area , I showed her to vet and they gave me some medicine to apply but still no progress , she is getting more bald spots .
What should i do
She is eating regular cat food , I just mix milk in that
Is milk could be the problm ?
It would be good to ask your veterinarian
I just had my kitty about two weeks now. She has been doing great. She cuddle all the time. She play all the time, but today i found a huge bald spot on the side of her body closer to her middle back. It’s a big patch, making me almost cry seeing her like that. But she is not itching. Or licking the area. Could this be cost of stress? Or allergies? But she is not itching.
We recommend you to read this other article https://sepicat.com/blog/what-is-the-most-important-thing-about-having-a-cat/
Is there any to do to reduce the stress level in my cat?
There are many things that you can do, for example, avoid any sudden changes in his/her routine. The most important thing is that you pet feels protected, try to spend more time with him/her and be very loving and patient.
my cat has a huge bald spot on nearly his whole back. Its been two months and no hair has grown. The vet thinks that its genetics instead of fleas/parasite or a skin disease. What could it be?
It would be good to continue to monitor it in order to rule out further options.
My cat is going to be shave because of sever matting. Just noticed baked spot below her rift ear. She is totally indoor cat. She does not contently groom. Hardly ever notice her doing so. She shows a little ancious. Are the Matt’s causing this?
You could consult your veterinarian
I shaved the big clumps of hair off of both of her sides and her skin is bare. There is like dandruff close to her skin. Is that dry skin?
It would be good to continue observing it
I lost my beloved sweet Colby boy this month Aug. 11th. He just turned 7 in June. He was seeing a local vet. Diagnosed with a hot spot. Serviced 3 times in 6 weeks. It got worse, smelled like rotten flesh. He was on a antibiotic 25 mg. twice a day.His last two days of life was no eating, drinking or the litter box. He weighed 19 lbs. For the life of me I just can’t grasp he died like that. Here at home one morning at 6 am, bam just gone. I really grieve, I didn’t even know he was terminal.
We are very sorry for your loss 🙁
You mention joint pain for bald patches. How so?
We always try to touch on important topics
I have a male orange tabby with a couple bald spots on the left side of his back near his tail. He does seem to groom that area a lot. I have checked him for fleas and any sign of an skin infection but I am not noticing anything. He eats and drinks and uses the litter box normally. Not showing any signs of anxiety, and again it’s just on that one area
This may be due to other physical factors that your kitten may be going through, we recommend that you take them to a veterinarian and prevent them from scratching or licking themselves so they don’t hurt themselves.