10 Causes Why Is My Cat Shedding Hair on Their Tail

It may be alarming to find that your cat’s often thick, luscious fur appears to have a bald patch. It may be much more perplexing to search out that this patch is seemingly solely on their tail, particularly when you haven’t observed any modifications of their habits. Cats are secretive creatures and sometimes cover any causes of sickness or damage from their homeowners.

Hair loss can generally be missed till a major quantity has been misplaced, leading to a reasonably unpleasant bald patch. This text will look at 10 causes your cat is likely to be shedding hair on their tail and what you are able to do to stop additional hair loss.

The ten Causes Why Is My Cat Shedding Hair on Their Tail

1. Fleas or Different Parasites

The primary reason for cats shedding fur on the base of their tail is a parasitic infestation. Fleas can irritate cats, notably if they’ve an allergic response to their saliva, inflicting them to itch and over-groom the realm. This could trigger extra harm to the pores and skin beneath the fur, leading to unpleasant scabs and loss. Generally the hair loss could be minimal, with a coin dimension piece lacking. Different occasions, a considerable amount of fur spanning virtually half of the again can happen, however that’s an excessive instance.

Watching your cat’s habits is the important thing to figuring out whether or not or not your cat has fleas. There are different noticeable indicators of fleas or different parasite an infection, together with flea filth (very small darkish brown or crimson items in your cat’s coat) and bodily seeing the parasites themselves.

Treating your cat for a parasite infestation utilizing topical therapy prescribed by your vet is the important thing to managing this hair loss. If they’re very distressed and itching, your vet might prescribe a brief course of steroids or an injection to assist relieve the itching whereas the pores and skin heals. The sort of hair loss often does develop again.

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2. Overgrooming

Sadly, cats are creatures of behavior and may undergo from stress greater than different animals. Cats will groom to calm themselves if confused, however they will escalate this in any other case regular habits to grow to be obsessive. This could result in overgrooming and even self-mutilation. So, when you discover your cat obsessively grooming the identical space regardless that it appears to be in discomfort and there have been different indicators of tension, they might be overgrooming attributable to stress or anxiousness.

You may deal with this in a number of methods, starting with giving your cat a respiratory house to de-stress. Loads of distractions, together with cat toys and scratchers, may assist. It’s important to be sure that there are sufficient assets out there in a multi-cat family, comparable to water, meals, and litter containers, to alleviate any territorial or resource-guarding stress your cat might face. Lastly, cat-appeasing pheromones will help scale back stress ranges within the house. Ensuring this overgrooming is handled sooner reasonably than later is important. Your cat might grow to be accustomed to this stage of over-grooming, inflicting a recurring subject often called psychogenic alopecia.

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3. Allergy symptoms

Cats can undergo from allergy symptoms to the identical widespread allergens as people. It might be an allergy to fleas, meals, chemical compounds across the house, and even mud. It may be difficult to pinpoint what precisely is inflicting an allergy, however they typically manifest in pores and skin points comparable to itchiness and hair loss, in addition to gastrointestinal points. As well as, bald patches brought on by allergy symptoms are sometimes accompanied by different indicators like itchiness, so taking your cat to the vet and explaining their signs is the most effective plan of action.

There are a number of remedies for allergy symptoms in cats, together with administration with medicine comparable to low-dose steroids, in addition to dietary administration if it’s a suspected meals allergy. Hydrolyzed proteins or novel protein diets are the most effective dietary administration strategies; your vet can create a eating regimen plan. There are checks out there that can assist you establish what precisely might be inflicting the allergic response in your cat, however these are often pricey. Examine together with your veterinarian and insurance coverage supplier to see in the event that they cowl allergy checks.

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4. Fungal An infection

Fungal infections comparable to ringworm could cause patches of fur loss in your cat. Ringworm causes spherical patches of fur loss with a recognizable ring of crimson pores and skin. Ringworm is very contagious and zoonotic, that means it may be unfold out of your cat to your self, so good hygiene practices are essential when coping with a cat with ringworm.

The kind of hair loss related to ringworm could be full, that means that the entire space in a circle form is balding or thinning first. Remedy could be given on the vet’s workplace, and checks will probably be used to find out whether or not ringworm is the offender to your cat’s tail fur loss.

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5. Cat Chew Abscess

Cats are territorial, notably male unneutered cats. Additionally they have soiled mouths, and sadly, they’ve sharp tooth to struggle with. Cat chunk abscesses are very generally discovered on the base of the tail attributable to how cats struggle. If a cat relinquishes a struggle and turns to run away, it’s not unusual for the chasing cat to chunk them across the again and tail space.

Cat chunk abscesses are shaped by the cat’s sharp tooth puncturing the pores and skin and delivering micro organism from their mouth. Due to the tiny holes {that a} cat chunk can go away within the pores and skin, the floor heals over, trapping any micro organism inside, which might trigger an infection. The physique’s pure protection towards the an infection produces pus. This pus build-up beneath the pores and skin kinds a bubble or an abscess which might finally burst, leaving an unpleasant gap.

Hair loss is anticipated with cat chunk abscesses; when you suspect your cat has a cat chunk abscess, or they appear to be grooming the realm extra intently or holding their tail at a wierd angle, it might be that they’re in ache and wish therapy. Taking them to the vet as quickly as you watched is crucial, as sometimes abscesses left untreated or drained can flip right into a extra critical systemic an infection that requires antibiotics and even hospitalization.

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6. Ache

As a result of cats are stoic, they will simply cover indicators of being in ache, generally for a very long time. Older cats are notably vulnerable to arthritis and are predisposed to joint circumstances comparable to Munchkin cats or Scottish Folds. If a selected space is in ache, comparable to the bottom of the tail, this could trigger your cat to overgroom it. Different indicators of cats being in ache can embrace:

When you assume your cat is in ache on the base of their tail, they might be injured, or in the event that they’re older, they might be affected by arthritis. Take them to the vet as quickly as attainable, as there are a lot of choices for ache aid that would cease the over-grooming.

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7. Thyroid Issues

Cats are vulnerable to a situation often called hyperthyroidism. It’s a illness the place the thyroid gland (a butterfly-shaped gland within the entrance of the neck) malfunctions and begins to overproduce thyroid hormones comparable to liothyronine and thyroxine. Overproduction of those hormones impacts lots of the physique’s processes, together with inflicting thinning hair and bald patches. Different indicators of hyperthyroidism in cats embrace:

It’s quite common in older cats, so if you’re involved your cat has a thyroid situation, take them to the vet. It may be handled in numerous methods, together with medicine and surgical procedure. As soon as the underlying thyroid drawback is handled, the signs ought to subside, and your cat’s fur ought to develop again over the bald spot.

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8. Accidents or Scars

In case your cat is a identified scrapper or has had surgical procedure that resulted in scars, it could have scar tissue over the realm, which has prompted everlasting fur loss. It’s because scar tissue basically differs from regular pores and skin cells and tissues. If hair follicles are destroyed, they can’t develop again, that means they are going to be a everlasting web site of baldness. This may seemingly not upset the cat and shouldn’t irritate them. Nevertheless, in case you have any issues, it’s price taking them to the vet to verify that every part has healed accurately.

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9. Genetic Situations

Some cats will probably be born with congenital circumstances predisposing them to hair loss. These circumstances are extra widespread in some breeds, comparable to Burmese, Siamese, and Devon Rex, and are brought on by inherited genes or ones which have spontaneously mutated.

For instance, a kitten could also be born with thinning fur that will get thinner as they grow old, however this often causes a bigger space of hair loss reasonably than being focused on the tail space. Taking them to the vet and having them checked over is one of the simplest ways to find out whether or not a genetic situation is the reason for a cat’s fur loss or whether it is one thing extra sinister that may doubtlessly be handled.

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10. Most cancers

Lastly, there’s a most cancers referred to as feline paraneoplastic alopecia, through which patches of hair fall out utterly, inflicting bald spots. The pores and skin can also present lesions and peeling, and different signs are related to the situation, together with dryness, decreased urge for food, and painful cracks on the pads of the paws.

Normally, a lot of the cat’s physique is affected, however solely the bottom of the tail could also be affected.  The hyperlinks between most cancers and feline paraneoplastic alopecia aren’t effectively understood, however there are some developments that veterinarians have found. For instance, pancreatic most cancers is extra prone to have this sort of alopecia as an indication.

Conclusion

A cat might lose fur on their tail for a lot of causes, however most are simply handled. Generally, a cat experiencing alopecia of the tail is concerned by parasites comparable to fleas and mites, or different pores and skin irritations, inflicting them to over-groom.

Fortunately, the hair typically grows again in these conditions. Nevertheless, if you’re involved about your cat’s hair loss, taking them to the veterinarian as quickly as attainable is vital to lowering any long-lasting harm to the coat and pores and skin.

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Featured Picture Credit score: Anete Lusina, Pexels