Why is my cat scratching holes in her fur?

[frannn]

My cat is about 6 years old and I have started noticing very small pieces of fur missing off her head (only one or two spots at a time) with a red mark on her skin, like she scratched herself so hard that she scratched the fur off. Should I be worried about this? I have not been trimming her nails as often as I should be. Could her nails be too sharp, causing her to hurt herself?

 

[Eeyore1954]

Consult a vet. Your cat could have a skin irritation or infection. I would be concerned about pieces of fur missing from my cats' heads. My first call would be to our vet to schedule the next available appointment.

 

[SugarBear]

It could be something as simple as fleas.

 

[izzy]

I'd vote for fleas or ringworm.

 

[nuke]

My first thought was fleas or an allergy.

 

[HauntedMansionGeek]

Could be mites.....just after adopting our cat she had mites that caused her to scratch herself hairless. Poor thing...

I'd get a vet check to treat the itching as I'm sure it's uncomfortable for her.

Hope your kitty feels better soon.

 

[helenabear]

I vot for taking her to the vet too... it could be a flea or bug bite, acne (yes cats get acne), some sort of allergy or other skin troubles. In short, not entirely sure, but those are things that have caused that sort of scratching for my furbabies in the past.

 

[frannn]

Could she have gotten fleas from the dog? They don't really interact except to argue...

 

[grinningghost]

How long does cat fur take to grow back - anyone? My dumb cat ran into the screen door quite awhile ago, and a little chunk of fur got torn off his face and it's still gone.

Sorry a little off topic.

I do hope your kitty is feeling better soon, and maybe we can find out how long it will take for the fur to grow back.

 

[helenabear]

Originally posted by frannn
Could she have gotten fleas from the dog? They don't really interact except to argue...

Oh my, most definitely!!!!! If you have fleas in the house *anyone/thing* can be bit! Go to the vet if you think they have fleas and get that taken care of ASAP! One of my cats has "allergic reactions" to flea bites and will rapidly lose weight if bitten. It can honestly be a very serious thing. I hope your kitty feels better soon.

grinningghost, my cats have lost hair for various reasons and I would guess it took a couple weeks for the hair to grow back to almost normal. Depends on how long the injury would take to heal first I'd guess.