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Hi, my cat seems like he is losing hair on his nose. He's 7 months and has had all his shots. Should I worry?

Hi, my cat seems like he is losing hair on his nose. He's 7 months and has had all his shots. Should I worry?

Updated On March 11th, 2016

Pet's info: Cat | American Shorthair | Male | neutered | 5 months and 20 days old

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Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

Veterinarian

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Yes hair loss on a young cat can be a sign of a mite issue (Demodexx mites in particular). Unless there is some nose rubbing or irritation of the skin to explain the hairloss, this is an unusual location for a mite infestation to start up. I would recommend monitoring the hair loss for the next couple of days to a week to see if the hair loss continues to spread. If it dose then this would highly suggest mites and I would recommend taking him in to your vet for a skin scrape to look for mite infestation. If they are there (demodexx mites are not contagious), then your cat can be started on treatment to get the mite population back down to normal. Demodexx mites are found on every pets skin, however, a low immunity in some pets causes overpopulation and hair loss which can lead to secondary bacterial infections of the skin if not treated.

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