Why is my senior cat losing fur around his ears? Is it stress?

If he seems to be losing weight, I would make sure her thyroid level was tested. If so, the skin could be due to an allergy or other skin condition. Thyroid level being high can cause skin and hair changes so I would first get this level checked out. As for the skin, you can use Douxo PS calm shampoo and mousse, both of which can be found online quite easily. 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.

I would recommend that Patches get checked out by a vet. Common causes of hair loss in cats include fleas, mites, ringworm, allergies, or endocrine disease like hyperthyroidism. Since she is older, I would recommend testing her thyroid to prevent other issues related to this disease. Some cats will lose hair on the ears as they age, but they do not usually also lose it on other furred areas.

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Moochie. This hair loss could be due to over-grooming. This could be caused by stress but in a cat her age it could be caused by a medical condition such as hyperthyroidism. I'd have her seen by a vet to get this checked out, and I recommend getting a geriatric blood panel and urinalysis done. I hope this helps!

Your cat may well have ear mites, which are contagious and extremely itchy, causing cats to scratch their ears raw inside and in front of the ears. I would have an exam done right away so your veterinarian can start the appropriate treatment. You'll have to figure out how to get him into a kennel to go for a vet visit!

Sometimes cats will lose the hair on and around the ears as they age. Other causes would be those you mentioned, as well as some less common things. If you are concerned, I would recommend taking Moody to the vet for physical examination.

Hello and thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. It could be stress-related overgrooming. Some cats are prone to get stressed and as a result they lick themselves excessively. Moving a house can be enough stress for Kai to show this behaviour. Please, try Feliway diffuser for 5-7 days as it often helps in this situations. However, if there is no improvement you should take Kai to your local vets for an appointment.

This is probably due to an allergy, although it could also be infection or mites or it could be stress related. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment (advocate or advantage), then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). If allergy is not identified this behaviour could be purely stress related. Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.