My cat is chewing fur and losing hair. Should I take her to the vet?

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. With Nola being so young it is possible that she has a skin parasite or skin infection that needs treatment. I would recommend having a veterinarian examine her so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. She may need an anti-parasite medication or antibiotic for treatment. 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.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Lilly! I would have Lilly rechecked. At a bare minimum she needs medications (prednisolone taper) to relieve the itching. I would request that a skin scrape be performed to rule out skin mites. They are microscopic and need to be looked at under a microscope. I would also culture the area for ringworm. She may have allergies and I would suggest trying to change her diet first. Chicken is the number one allergic protein so try to change her to all venison or salmon diet. You will need to give the diet 2-3 months to see if it works. If mites, ringworm and food allergies have been rule out then I would consider it behavioral and start her on prozac. I hope this helps and I wish you and Lilly the very best! Happy New Year!

It sounds as if your cat has a skin infection, most commonly caused by an allergy or fleas. The allergy could be a due to a protein in Muffin's food or an environmental allergy like to dust, pollens, grasses, etc. The allergy causes your cat to itch and chew at the skin which breaks down the skin barrier. This then leads to infection. Muffin will need antibiotics to help clear up the infection and possibly an anti-itch medication like steroids to give some relief while the infection clears up. A medicated shampoo may be beneficial as well. I would also recommend she be on a good flea control too. I can totally understand it may be hard to catch Myffin. But hopefully you can get her into the vet one time and everything will be able to be given injectably and she will be able to get cleared up. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck!

The most common problem causing Milly's symptoms is a severe flea allergic dermatitis. Regardless I recommend brushing her to remove the old fur and skin, giving a bath with a hypoallergenic shampoo and using Advantage flea prevention on her. You can purchase it at PetCo. She may need antibiotics to heal the skin and your veterinarian will do an exam to determine the cause of her problems. They may run a blood panel in addition to determine if she is anemic or has a metabolic problem. Once they have a diagnosis they will give her the appropriate treatment and hopefully she will recover quickly. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Milly.

It does look like Nina’s paw is swollen. I would be concerned that she either has an abscess (likely from a cat fight wound) or has one or more fractured bones in her paw. I think the best course of action would be to take Nina to the vet to be examined. Your vet may recommend X-rays to have a better understanding of what is going on. As far as the shedding is concerned, cats can shed excessively when they are stressed. So you may be noticing more hair if she is stressed from being injured. I hope this helps. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Best of luck.

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Without seeing Bubu it’s hard to say why she has hair loss. I doubt it is from her diet but I would be concerned about parasites like fleas 9 demodex or she could have a skin infection. I recommend taking her to a vet for an exam. They may also check a stool sample for intestinal parasites which could be taking her nutrients causing hair loss. Good luck and kisses to Bubu!

Hi there and thank you for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to address your concern. The antibiotic injection did not likely worsen the area. The wipes may be further irritating the area so I would discontinue the wipes and consider trying a topical spray such as Malacetic Conditioning spray (can be found online) and apply twice daily until resolved. This may also be a fungal infection such as ringworm so using the spray will help treat the potential fungal infection. If the area does not improve or it worsens, I would bring Marlow back in for a recheck examination with the previous veterinarian so that the most appropriate diagnostic and treatment recommendations can be made. I hope this helps! Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns and I would be more than happy to help you further.