My rescued kitten has severe hair loss. What's causing this?

Based on the picture it appears that she may have had a lot of clumping debris on her fur? If her skin was irritated from debris encrusting the underside of her belly then it could cause enough irritation to cause hair loss. Also skin infection and ringworm are also possible causes. I would encourage you to monitor her closely for any other changes. If You feel the shelter vet if too busy then I would encourage you to consider having a second opinion. Best of luck and I hope she improves soon. Thank you for using Pet Coach.

Based on your description I would be suspicious of ringworm, which is a fungal infection that commonly affects young animals. If you can find a shampoo with ketoconazole that may be helpful, but she likely needs a prescription of an oral antifungal such as itraconazole. Please practice good hygiene after handling her as ringworm is contagious to people as well. Of course this is not a diagnosis, just an assumption based on your description. Best of luck and I hope she improves soon!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Sorry to hear about Oreo. Skin and hair coat problems can be caused by a variety of things including external parasites (fleas, ticks, mites, etc), nutritional problems including loss of nutrition/blood by intestinal parasites, other dietary issues, bacterial/fungal infections, among many others. I don't think the food is causing a problem unless you are not feeding kitten food and I have never heard of the litter causing a problem like this unless it is getting caked onto the hair and skin. They are definitely old enough to be dewormed and I would highly advise that. Deworming should start at 2 weeks of age and be done every 3 weeks for at least 3-4 times. If these areas of concern worsen and persist, I would highly advise you have your vet evaluate Oreo to try to figure out what is going on. It doesn't seem like it's something contagious but sometimes not all kittens are affected. Your vet can advise some tests if needed (skin scrape, skin cytology, fungal culture, woods lamp exam, etc) to try to determine what is going on. Once a diagnosis is made or suspected, a sound treatment plan can be put into action. Your vet can also advise you on a sound preventive health care plan including deworming, testing, vaccines, flea/tick control, etc. Good luck with Oreo.

I would bring Kitten 4 to the vet for a checkup if you haven't already. Not getting enough nutrition, an underlying illness or metabolic issue, or even something such as parasites/fungal/skin infections could be causing hair loss. Excessive grooming by the kitten or mom may also cause hair loss in the areas where it is scratched or licked too much. If kitten is bothered by it, using an e-collar or tiny t-shirt to prevent scratching and chewing may help until your vet can take a look to determine the cause.

The boldness may be treatable based upon the cause. Skin mites and ringworm are common causes of hair loss in kittens and may spread to humans. I recommend to have the kittens tested. Testing is easy and straightforward. I also recommend to have the mother cat spayed when the kittens are 12 weeks old since this is the second litter that has had problems. Additionally, spaying has many health benefits as well as helps to control the problem of pet overpopulation. I hope this helps and best of luck.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding your kittens. They will need to see a veterinarian for skin testing. They will likely need a fungal culture to check for ringworm and skin scrapes to look for mites under the microscope. There is a common mite in kittens that lives within the hair follicles. An overgrowth can result in bald spots that do not typically itch. These mites are microscopic and cannot be seen by looking at the cats. I hope this information helps and you are able to get their skin cleared up!

I would just stick with the kitten food and wet food, Muezza does not need the chicken and mutton. You will need to see a vet to diagnose the cause of her hair falling out, which could be due to fleas, mites, allergies, or ringworm. Once the vet diagnoses the cause, they can prescribe the needed medication for her. She will also need a deworming treatment, and the vet can give her vaccines. Feline core vaccines include FVRCP (feline distemper combo) and a Rabies vaccine. If she is an outdoor cat, the FeLV vaccine (feline leukemia) should be considered. I hope this helps.