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Kitten's skin has sores, crusts, hair loss. Could it be allergies?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Male | neutered | 10 months and 10 days old | 9 lbs

hi there, my kitten (8mnths) ive taken to vet had diagnostic done put resolution on and he is still getting worse. sores and crusts between nails and hair loss. wondering if maybe a food allergy and mite allergy or something ?? just going from what ive been told and reading on here.

3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Destini R. Holloway, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on May 30th, 2017

Food allergies are much less common in cats and typically dont affect them this young so that wouldn't be on the top of my list of causes. It's hard to say without seeing what the skin lesions look like; but scabs, crusts and hair loss can be a flea allergy ( even after the fleas are gone most pets need medication (i.e. Steroid injection) to stop the itch), a mite infestation or ringworm just to name a few. I would recommend taking Jersey back in to the vet for re-evaluation of the skin and a new treatment plan. You can try an over the counter pet formulated shampoo's, however it sounds like Jersey will respond best to stronger medications from your vet. Best of luck.

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    Answered By Jennifer Summerfield, DVM CPDT-KA

    Veterinarian, Certified Dog Trainer

    Published on

    Poor Jersey! I'm sorry to hear that he's having this problem. Skin issues can be very frustrating in some cases. If he is currently on Revolution and still having trouble with sores and hair loss, then it isn't likely that fleas or mites would be the problem. He may have a food allergy, as you suggested. Or, he could also have some type of environmental allergy, or a bacterial or fungal skin infection. I'm not sure what kind of diagnostics and treatment he has already had at your vet's office, but some testing that may be helpful at this point to help diagnose the problem would include bacterial or fungal skin cultures, allergy testing (this can be done by sending blood off to a reference lab), or a food trial with a prescription hypoallergenic diet such as Hills z/d or Purina HA. Symptomatic treatment options that may be helpful would include antibiotics and/or steroids. I would recommend discussing your concerns with your vet, to see what he/she would suggest as the next step for Jersey. If your vet isn't sure what to do next, you may want to seek a second opinion from another local vet, or request referral to a veterinary dermatologist for further work-up.

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    Answered By Rodrigo Roca, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on January 17th, 2019

    Hello, sorry to hear about Park. There could be multiple potential causes for this "milliary dermatitis" Some common causes may indeed be associated with mites, however other more common causes include flea bites, flea allergy dermatitis, environmental allergies, or food allergies. Park may have any of these and will need to be on year round flea control, even if his is indoors only, and undergo testing/treatment for environmental and food allergies. This may include a food trial and skin allergy testing. You may speak to your veterinarian about ruling out fleas and flea allergy dermatitis as well as considering a diet trial and allergy testing during your next recheck appointment. Hope this helps and best of luck.

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