Kitty Hair Loss

Meeooowww…. Kitty, O'Claw here. I have a disturbing observation.  Today, while my human was brushing my silken hair, I noticed that my fur seems to be thinning a bit in spots.  I was aghast!  My silken fur is my crowning glory, one of my finest features, aside from my ice blue eyes, of course.

Anyway, I had my human do a little research and it turns out that there are many reasons a kitty can lose her hair.

Some are not very common, so I won't bore you with them.  One is demodectic mange which sounds awful and not something a pampered queen like me would have.  Another, hypotrichosis happens in kittens, so that's not the problem with me.  And, of course, ringworm causes your fur to fall out in a circular pattern, but you can rest assured that I wouldn't have anything as vile as that.

Other causes are easily treated such as food allergies, fleas and mites.

Some of the reasons for hair loss happen to humans too.  Like hypothyroidism which is when your thyroid gets kind of whacked out and makes to much (or too little) thyroid hormone.  Yes, cats can get that too. It can cause your hair to pull out easily.

Another is psychogenic alopecia. Now, you might recognize alopecia as something that happens to humans and causes hair loss.  Psychogenic alopcia in cats is a little different as it results from compulsive grooming and usually presents itself as thinning hair on the tummy or in a stripe down the back.

When humans get thinning hair, they can go to the doctor and get some meds, or try one of the many hair loss shampoos, but what do cats do?

Treatments vary and depend on the cause.  Sometimes a medicine might do.  If its caused by parasites like fleas or mites, then you must rid your pet of those (shame on you for letting your cat get them in the first place!) and if it is a thyroid problem then there is medicine your cat can take.