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My kitten has a dry nose, puffy eye, and fur loss. Is it ringworm?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Mediumhair | Male | neutered | 2 months and 17 days old | 2 lbs

We recently got a new kitten. I have noticed his little nose is always dry and crusty. He is a black cat with a black nose so it is hard to see what it actually looks like. I just took a warm wet white washcloth and cleaned a dark colored scab or something came off of it. And it looks as though under his one eye may be a touch puffy and maybe missing a little fur. Looking this up I came across ringworm. Is there other symptoms I could look for to know? 1st picture is a few days ago 2nd is now

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1 Answer

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Summer Walker, DVM, MS

Veterinarian

Published on July 11th, 2017

The hairloss area beneath the eye could certainly be a dermatophyte (ringworm) lesion, but it is also possible that it could be due to excessive tearing/discharge from the eyes that is resulting in irritation in the area. This could also be contributing to the nasal crusting. Upper respiratory infections (URI) are common in young kittens and can cause ocular (eye) discharge and nasal discharge, with intermittent sneezing and/or coughing. Ringworm lesions are typically itchy but not always. Be on the lookout for any additional hairless or crusting lesions to appear elsewhere on the body, and also if any similar lesions appear on any humans in contact with Rayder, as ringworm is highly contagious. It would be best to have him visit his veterinarian for a thorough physical examination to rule-out a potential URI and perform a dermatophyte culture if indicated.

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