by Jenny Vuong

Created on: November 14, 2009   Last Updated: November 15, 2009

You might be shocked if your cat loses hair. Cat hair loss is not that uncommon and can be caused by many different problems. Your vet can be a person that you can receive advice from.

If your cat loses hair on the stomach or inner thighs, then this could of been caused by the animal obsessively licking, biting or scratching due to irritations from fleas, mites, or other parasites.

Many cats are allergic to parasites, once it is bitten by one then this can lead to a severe reaction or incident. When this is caused, the cats seem to worry about these areas, which can cause hair loss. It turns out that many cats lose hair if they get nervous. For example, the cat can lose hair when a person they don't know pets them.

Food allergies can cause the cat to lose hair, due to the fact that other causes in cats can show similar symptoms, and that often the cat has more problems then a food allergy alone. Your vet will want to rule out the other problems before diagnosis for food allergies.

Cats with an allergy to a food, or a food ingredient itch all over and may scratch excessively. It is the eating of some proteins that causes this problem and your pet could be on a 90 day diet limited to a prescription brand food with protein or different carbohydrates that your cat has never eaten before.

Another cause is ringworm, despite it's name for ringworm, it has nothing to do with worms. Ringworm is a fungal infection that speads or grows in the cat's hair, or the exterior of the cat's skin or in it's claws.

Cats with ringworm will happen to have very noticeable skin condition, including loss of hair, while others are normal. Due to this problem, your cat could also have circular patches of cat hair loss on the head , body, and ears.

Cats could be infected with ringworm by coming in contact with another infected cat, an infected animal, or from human beings that could receive this infection from carpets, bedding, furniture, or grooming tools. Ringworm is very contagious and can be passed from animal to human and vice versa. Children are at risk of this infection.

Ringworm can clear itself without treatment although the cat will remain with a carrier of fungus. When you happen to suspect that your cat might have an infection, the best thing to do is go visit your vet. Treatments could be pills, ointment, or lotion for the skin.

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