Top Reasons Why Hair Loss In Cat Actually Occurs

For a cat owner, sudden hair loss in cat can be quite upsetting. Any change in look can be alarming but a sudden shift in the fur pattern? That immediately raises concerns. Licking, biting, chewing, and scratching at the skin, along with an increase in hair balls and other irregularities like redness, pimples, scabs, ulcers, or crusts, are common symptoms of problematic hair loss. Changes in appetite, vomiting, diarrhea, altered energy levels, increased thirst and urination, and an expanded abdomen or potbelly appearance are some additional more severe symptoms.

Reasons for Hair Loss in Cats

There are various reasons for hair loss in cat such as:

Parasitic or Fungal Causes

These fungal and parasitic diseases could be an infection caused by ringworms or mites, or allergies to fleas in cats. Indoor cats and outdoor cats alike need to take the proper precautions against them. However, a veterinarian would probably recommend topical ointments if such an infection arises. Furthermore, intravenous fluids or antibiotics can be needed if there’s a subsequent infection.

Allergies to Food

Any age can cause a cat to become allergic to its food, and the resultant skin reaction could include a rash. Cats typically experience itching and irritation from this rash. There’s also a chance of ocular discharge, nasal congestion, pink eye, and ear inflammation.

These can be soothed by the application of ointments and by dietary adjustments. Your veterinarian can provide you with more advice depending on situations concerning your cat.

Hyperthyroidism

Hyperthyroidism is therefore a disease that affects cats in that they produce more than enough thyroid hormones. These hormones are made inside the thyroid glands which are found in the neck of the cat. Thyroid hormones are involved in the regulation of a body’s energy; overproduction of thyroid hormones can result in a hair loss in cat, or alopecia, in large quantities.

 

Urinary Tract Problems

Some of the diseases that are most often diagnosed incorrectly in cats include urinary system disorders where the cats are often diagnosed to be exhibiting behavioral disorders instead of medical disorders. In fact, they most often are chronic, in need of attention all through one’s life. The painfulness of UTIs could be just as agonizing for cats as for human beings. This being the case, treatment for these diseases needs to begin as soon as possible.

The signs and symptoms of illness are yowling with urination, urinating outside the box, blood in the urine, and increased frequency but decreased volume of urination. Causes include stones, urethral plugs, stress, and FIC (feline idiopathic cystitis).

Your veterinarian may recommend or prescribe urinary health cat food, which regulates consumption of calcium, phosphorus, and magnesium that may cause crystals to set in the urine. Other interventions may also be provided to a cat to overcome UTI depending on the diagnosis.

Inadequate Nutrients

Good health, great skin condition, and hair, all depend directly on the amount of well-balanced nutrition ingested by the cat. Nutritional inadequacies can result in poor coat condition and even hair loss. Omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids are major players in maintaining healthy skin and coats in animals. A deficiency in these fatty acids can lead to hair loss in cat and dry, flaky skin. Adding healthy coats to your cat may be as simple as bumping up their intake of these nutrients through food or supplementation.

Deficiencies in various minerals, such as zinc, and in some vitamins like vitamin E are also known to be the cause of hair loss. A good and balanced diet, therefore, that is able to supply all the nutritional elements necessary to your cat will go a long way in preventing nutritionally related feline alopecia.

Dry Skin

This one should go without saying. Cats’ skin can become inflamed and cracked in the same way that we humans can due to environmental factors and weather. Additionally, it may result in red, itchy rashes.

Stress

In terms of stress, displacement grooming may be the cause of your cat’s excessive grooming if it seems healthy otherwise. This is a result of nervousness, and the cat may use grooming as a relaxing technique. In the event that your cats don’t get along, this could also serve as a means of keeping off violence from other felines.

If this is not addressed, it may develop into “psychogenic alopecia,” a disorder that causes compulsive grooming. Usually, this kind of alopecia mainly affects areas of your cat’s body that it can reach with its tongue, such as the inner forelimbs, the back of the abdomen, the groin, and/or the lower back.

Typical reasons why cats get stressed out are:

Environment Changes: Stressful events like adopting new pets, moving to a new house, or schedule adjustments might cause cats to lose hair.

Lack of Stimulation: Cats who are bored or do not receive enough mental stimulation may groom themselves excessively.

Medical Concerns: Stress and over grooming can sometimes result from pain or discomfort from an underlying health issue.

Stress-induced hair loss can be lessened by treating the underlying cause of the stress and offering enrichment (toys, scratching posts, and regular playtime).

Ways to Support Your Stressed Cat

Investing in climbing poles and perches will benefit your cat by providing it with a more private and stimulating habitat. Distracting your pet and assisting in its energy burn can also be achieved by playing with interactive toys and encouraging its hunting drive. Catnip, food puzzle games, and nontoxic cat grasses are other tools for stress relief.

A synthetic form of the relaxing chemical that cats naturally make, called pheromone, is also released by certain items, such as the Feliway diffuser. Supplements, medications, or special foods may be suggested if these changes are ineffective, or if your veterinarian determines that further intervention is required. Supplements like Anxitane or Composure may be among them. Fluoxetine or paroxetine may be administered if medical aid is needed.

Finally

There are a number of underlying causes of hair loss in cat, including stress, and parasites. It is essential to comprehend these reasons in order to treat and avoid problems effectively. Careful attention and routine veterinarian exams can help owners maintain their cats’ health and make sure they are content and comfortable. Visit to www.petplace.pk to get a wide range of pet care products that will help your cat thrive and be in good health.