Is it bad for a cat to loose fur?

Answer 1

It depends on how much they are losing. Mild hair loss is normal for a cat and it is referred to as shedding. They tend to shed more in the summer months as well due to the heat. If your cat has bald spots and what looks to be skin irritation you should take him/her to your vet and have them checked.

Answer 2

All cats should shed to some degree (some more than others is normal). Large scale excessive shedding can be a sign of poor nutrition. Add vitamins to the cat's food and there are vitamins at your local pet supply store specifically for the coat. Large patches of fur coming out, can be a sign of infection or allergy. You need to see your vet about this. All treatments (vitamins or meds), take at least a month to start showing results.

Answer 3

As a tamed ferral cat it makes no difference unless his fur is especialy thick,all cats moult in the summer - it's perfectly normal, imagine walking around in a fur coat yourself all summer, you'd soon get hot!! Just groom him regularly and keep any knots to a minimum, if he scratching as well he might need to be de-flead, use frontline or similar it's brilliant!

Answer 4

If your cat is losing fur in patches (large or small) it could be a sign that he or she has a serious health condition and should be taken to the vet for a check-up. Also if the hair loss starts suddenly and is primarily on the ears it can be a sign of ringworm--which can be contagious to humans.

Answer 5

Shedding is normal, but if it is losing fur because of an interaction with a fan belt, I would say its bad!

Answer 6

depends on how much, cats shed a LOT, which is why I don't have one...if the cat looks like it's going bald, then yes, it's bad! If you're just pulling out 15-20 hairs evertime you pet her, that's normal.

Answer 7

It depends how much, it's usually shedding, and especially during the summertime, cats tend to shed more, but if you are noticing bald spots you should take your cat to the vet.

Answer 8

It depends on how much...during summer time cats and dogs tend to shed allot of their hair because of the hot weather (normal ) and in winter they tend to grow a thicker coat to protect from cold weather.

Answer 9

It's fine it's getting warmer you know! The cats are only shedding their fur. Mine is doing that too. they are just hot cuz it's warmer! Don't worry
~*Alyssa*~

Answer 10

There are a number of possible causes of alopecia in cats but most of them do show up earlier in life.
Despite this, it probably makes sense to think about all of them and then try to figure out which ones
are unlikely and which ones might possibly be present.

The first question that is usually asked is whether the cat is itchy, or not. It can be very difficult to tell
if itching is present but most of the time, if there is chewing or licking on the fur it is better to assume
that it is.

If itchiness is not present, the most likely diagnoses are a systemic problem leading to hair loss,
endocrine disorders, bacterial skin infections, ringworm and immune system disorders.

In cats, there are some reports of sex hormone related hair loss, hyperadrenocorticism can occur and
some vets believe that there are cases of hypothyroidism in older cats, although this is pretty difficult
to be sure of since it is usually based on response to thyroid hormone supplementation rather than
changes in thyroid hormone levels on lab tests.

If itchiness is present, the most likely diagnoses are skin parasites, bacterial skin infections,
ringworm, (I know that some things show up in both lists), skin cancers, and immune system
disorders.

It is important to have some information as just a general database to start from when hair loss
occurs in older cats. A general blood chemistry panel and complete blood cell count should be done,
to try to rule out systemic illness such as liver disease contributing to skin disease. A feline leukemia
test should be done, even if this has been done previously, since this is a disease that can lead to hair
loss problems. It may be a good idea to check for feline immunodeficiency virus, as well. It may be
reasonable to test for the hormonal diseases as well. In cats, a low dose dexamethasone suppression
test may detect hyperadrenocorticism. I am not aware of a good test for the suspected
hypothyroidism that occurs in cats because thyroid values are reported to be in the normal ranges
even in cats that do respond to replacement thyroid therapy. As an alternative, it is reasonable to
biopsy the skin and see if the pathologist detects signs of endocrine related hair loss and then try to
figure out which hormonal skin disease might be present.

Skin scrapings to rule out demodecosis, testing for fungal infections, using good flea control
medications to decrease the possibility that fleas might be present, treating for any bacterial infections
and even considering the use of cortisones to rule out itchiness as a possible contributing factor can
all be helpful.

In Larry's case, I would worry a lot about the possibility of fleas, if you are not using a good flea
control product, such as Frontline (Rx), Advantage (Rx), Revolution (Rx) or Program (Rx). There
might be a change in the number of fleas or they may attack Larry now where they preferred your
other cat in the past. Fleas seem to have preferences for one pet over another sometimes.

These are the things that I can think of that cause hair loss in cats. In sorting through these in a cat of
Larry's age with a previous history that doesn't include hair loss I lean towards doing the general lab
testing first, including at least feline leukemia testing. Then a skin biopsy does make sense, or some
effort to diagnose the endocrine problems through lab work. If nothing can be found it is reasonable
to try some therapies, including antibiotics, corticosteroids or even thyroid hormone supplementation,
although I have personal doubts about that last option.

When everything else has been eliminated then it is time to consider pyschogenic alopecia, unless
somewhere along the line you feel really strongly that this is the most likely problem and decide to try
treating for it prior to doing some of the other testing.

Antihistamines help in cats to control itchiness. They are most successful when hair loss is occurring
due to itchiness from allergies leading to the cat pulling its own fur out. The one advantage of using
antihistamines early in problems like this is that they can provide relief, if itchiness is the problem,
without causing problems interpreting lab tests and skin biopsy results for hormonal illnesses.

I know that this is a lot to sort through. If this note causes you to have more specific questions,