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Why is my cat losing fur on his back and head and scratching?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | unneutered | 5 years and 1 month old | 5 lbs

My cat has been loosing fur from the bottom of his back and in front of his ears on his head. We moved house in November and I put the fur loss down to stress from the move. I bought a feliway diffuser and his fur began to get better, however it has recently got bad again quite quickly. He keeps scratching and breaking the fur with his claws which i've been cleaning with warm water. Ive spoken to pets at home staff who recommended allergenic foo but this made no difference. What could this be?

4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

Veterinarian

Published on April 28th, 2017

This is probably due to a severe allergy, although it could also be fleas, infection or mites.

First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment (advocate or advantage), then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation.

 If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy.

 Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollins, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair the skin lesions (steroids and antibiotics). Please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By David Elbeze, DVM, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on December 17th, 2017

    This is probably caused by an allergic reaction. first of all make sure you de-flea Micole regularly every month with a high quality spot on (ex. Advantage) as fleas are by far the most common reason for these reactions. If the fleas are not the problem, it could be an allergic reaction to food or an environmental factor. this is more complicated to treat and will sometimes require medications such as Steroids, anti histamines or cyclosporin in order to stop the allergy. You can use the above product you have mention for your cat although i do not believe that it will make any difference for this specific problem.

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    Answered By Dr. Melanie, BVSc MS

    Veterinarian

    Published on March 13th, 2017

    Hi Angel! Poor Mufassa sounds miserable at the moment. It sounds like he is very itchy, and this itchiness could be caused by fleas, mites, ringworm, or allergies. If he isn't up to date on his flea treatment, he will need a spot on treatment such as Advantage or Revolution. You will need to disinfect the environment as well. If he is up to date on his flea treatment, I recommend taking him into the vet for an exam tomorrow. The vet can do blood tests, skin scrapings, and use a Wood's lamp to diagnose allergies, mites, and ringworm. Once the cause of the itching is found, the vet can prescribe the appropriate treatment.

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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    Answered By Dr. Massimo Orioles, DVM, Cert AVP, MRCVS

    Veterinarian

    Published on January 12th, 2019

    Hi, and thanks for your question. This could be due to an allergy, a severe infection or mites. First of all, in order to rule out skin parasites, you will need to treat with a high quality flea treatment, then ask the vet to perform a skin scrape - this might reveal an infection or a mite infestation. If all of those came back negative, the next step is to treat the allergy symptomatically and try to discover the cause of the allergy. Three main type of allergies are usually affecting pets: food allergies, flea and parasite related ones and environmental type (allergens coming from trees, pollens, dust etc etc). Some medications can be given by the vet in order to repair any possible skin lesions (like steroids and antibiotics). Hope this answer was helpful, but please do not hesitate to contact us again on the forum or by requesting a consultation if you have any more questions or to discuss it any further. If this answer was helpful please let us know, this will be used to improve our service!

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    1Pet Parents found this answer helpful

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