cat losing hair... advice needed please

[dalebillster]

Hi ABers, my persian x, 4 yr old cat molly is slowly losing hair in various parts of her body. there are sore, bald patches over her one eye, directly on the top of her head, down parts of her back & around the base of her tail. Iv rigorously checked for fleas but found nothing. She isnt the biggest cat either & im worried this is uncomfortable for her. I could put a cone on her for a short while but does anyone have any ideas as to what the problem could be? Im 95% sure theres no fleas on her but im just wondering what could be bothering her so much that she has to scratch herself sore & bald....

[redcrx]

take her to the vets, an allergy to fleas can flare up even with one bite.

[murraymints]

it sounds like fleas...get to the vet....

[dalebillster]

could possibly be fleas then. i have other cats but as we live in high rise flats our cats dont go outside. il give the vets a call & see what they have to say, cheers...

[Prudie]

take her to the vet, could be anything, even mange.

[dalebillster]

whats mange or what causes mange?

[murraymints]

mange..loss of fluff/hair...I think caused by parasitic infection....

[Prudie]

it is, caused by a mite and causes hairloss.

[dalebillster]

oh ok. il call the vets, thanks for the advice

[Prudie]

That's best as we are just guessing, could be hormonal too. Good luck. hope it's something simple.

[milly143]

I had a dog that had the same problem. Would scratch and gnaw at herself until she was bold and red raw. That turned out to be a flee allergy. She did have to wear a muzzle for a while, although you might not have such luck getting a muzzle on a cat.

[dalebillster]

should she need anything to stop herself from nibbling then i suppose itl be a collar that she needs. Shes been like it for a while now but im fed up of a ugly looking cat walking round the place lol & whatever the problem, it cant be comfortable for her. Thanks for the advice...

[dalebillster]

iv just had a good look at the cat & after looking at pictures on google images im pretty sure its a flea allergy, small red dots on the bald patches & a few more scabs which iv just noticed... a trip to the vets is needed i think :-(

[carmalee]

whatever it is -it's uncomfortable for the cat so you are quite right to get it sorted asap. good stuff