Why is my cat losing hair on her butt? What should I do about it?

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is not possible to diagnose this based on a picture. Possibilities include inflammatory disease, cancer, immune mediated disease, an infection, among other possibilities. I recommend that you have her evaluated by a veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. They may have to take samples from the lesions to try to find out. They Good luck and have a great day!

The most common reason that we will see hair loss at the base of the tail is a flea allergy. Even if you do not see fleas on Benny, it is still possible. Cats are very good groomers, so they will often groom the fleas off themselves before we can find them. And if a cat has a flea allergy, they only need 1 flea bite per week to keep them itchy. So, my first recommendation for Benny is to make sure that all animals in the house are on regular flea prevention. I am attaching an article on flea control that also has a link to flea control products. https://www.veterinarypartner.com/Content.plx?P=A&S=0&C=0&A=1575 If you are not seeing improvement with a flea prevention or notice any bumps or redness in that area, I would be certain to have your veterinarian examine Benny to see what else might be going on. Good luck! I hope that was helpful. Thanks for using PetCoach.

Hello, thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It looks like a superficial skin infection. It does not look serious at this stage. Sometimes this happens randomly, somteimes it is due to a bad tooth. The saliva has bacteria in it that gets on the skin and can cause this infection. The vet needs to check her entire mouth. Don't bother trying to clean it at this stage. Just let the vet look at it first.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. With Nola being so young it is possible that she has a skin parasite or skin infection that needs treatment. I would recommend having a veterinarian examine her so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. She may need an anti-parasite medication or antibiotic for treatment. I hope this helps guide you in the right direction. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. From the pictures, it appears that there is "dirt" in the affected area you are referring to. This could be dry blood from a scab that was previously there or it could be what we call "flea dirt" which is dry blood from fleas. I would recommend administering a flea preventative such as Frontline and see if this helps. If the area becomes larger or multiple more areas begin to develop, I would recommend having a vet take a look at Soya so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I would keep the collar off of her as well. Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This could be a benign or malignant growth. There is no way of knowing what it is just based on its appearance. This is often differentiated by a test called a fine needle aspirate (FNA) which is a pain free, inexpensive and easy procedure which in most cases will help reach a diagnosis. Sometimes a biopsy is needed for a definitive diagnosis. I recommend that you have him evaluated by your veterinarian for further assessment and treatment. I am really hoping for something benign. Good luck and have a good night!

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! They are gorgeous! This is not expected to be due to the puppy. There is a variety of reasons that can explain alopecia or hair loss. The causes can easily be differentiated by the clinical signs associated with it and the physical exam findings. If they are only showing some hair loss without scratching or overgrooming then it could conditions such as alopecia areata that can affect cats and usually resolves on its own. If there is evidence of scratching and you start noticing some redness or irritation associated with it, then other conditions such as allergies are possible. If you notice them overgrooming in that area then it could be something like psychogenic alopecia which is more of a behavioral issue. I think that since they are not having overt clinical signs and it is mostly hair loss, I think it is likely transient and will resolve on its own. You can monitor this closely and if it does not resolve or it worsens then have them examined by your veterinarian. Good luck!