My new kittens are shaky with bald spots & sunken eyes. Are they okay?

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!

Hi and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! The pictures are good but it's still tough to see what is going on. Hair loss with dry/flaky skin is often indicative of ringworm especially in kittens. This is highly contagious to other animals and to people making it a zoonotic disease. I would definitely have a vet evaluate the litter and start treatment for a fungal infection right away to prevent this from getting worse. I would quarantine the litter away from all other pets and humans especially young children and the elderly since they are most likely to get infected. Even the shed hairs can contain fungal spores so direct contact with the animals is not required to get infected. It could be something else but in the pictures it is highly suspect since it looks like the paws and tail are affected. Other possibilities include mites, bacteria, external parasites (fleas, etc), dietary problems, intestinal parasite problems, among other things. Your vet can evaluate them and advise a woods lamp exam, skin scrape, fungal culture, hair analysis, etc to determine what is going on. The ears could be infected with ear mites and they could evaluate those also. Eye problems in young kittens are often due to viruses which infect the eyes and cause upper respiratory infections. These are contagious also along with the ear mites to other cats and dogs. Your vet can evaluate everything that is going on a make a plan to solve the puzzle. They can advise a sound treatment plan in addition to guiding you in preventive health care items including deworming, vaccines, flea/tick products, etc. Good luck and I hope it's not ringworm.

This is very suspicious of ringworm (a fungal infection of the skin). This could also be due to a yeast or bacteria infection, but it's much more likely to be ringworm. . It's best to get it diagnosed by a veterinarian, because ringworm can spread to different parts of the body and can spread to other animals and people. Also, the more involved the infection, the longer it will take to clear. Ace will need prescription antifungal medication in order to clear this and will also need medicated baths. For now, I recommend separating Ace from your other animals and washing your hands anytime you touch him. Your veterinarian will be able to get you some more info at the time of exam. I hope that helps and Ace gets better soon.

It is difficult for me to say without seeing them. My best guess is that they have this appearance due to intestinal parasites (worms). You should speak to your vet about getting a product to deworm them. Best wishes.

I am sorry to hear about your kitten! From the photos you show, the thinned hair in the areas in front of the ears can be a normal variation. If you notice any redness/bumps/scabs on the area or the hair thins so much that there are bald spots then this would be concerning and we would worry about things such as external parasites, ringworm (a fungal infection), bacterial infection. We may also worry about infection inside the ears from bacteria, yeast, or mites, if the kitten is rubbing/scratching at the ears there thereby rubbing the area in front of the ears as a result causing damage to the skin. If there are other pets or small children in the house I would wonder if the longer whiskers were removed from play with them, or if the kitten goes outdoors. I would, however, recommend an examination if your kitten is acting lethargic. This is a very vague symptoms so there could be a multitude of causes and a physical exam may better help the vet determine the possible cause of lethargy.

I would bring them in for an exam to check for ringworm. That is a fungal skin infection that many kittens have. Please wash your hands well after handing them as people can get ringworm too. They will check to see if it's a bacterial or fungal infection and usually get you topical medication to use. Bathing the kittens may help and make sure they do not have fleas or ear mites. This will get better with treatment so no reason to be overly concerned. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your new kittens.

The symptoms you have described do not fit with a fungal infection like ringworm. The skin appears unkempt all over. Jessy may have light sensitivity, which can happen with a number of diseases, such as tick-borne disease, autoimmune diseases, kidney disease, etc. I am so sorry, but without being able to examine Jessy and run blood work, I am not sure how to help you. Some of these diseases benefit from steroids, but in some cases, steroids could make things worse. He really needs to be evaluated by a vet.