What causes my cat's belly hair loss, redness, and sore skin?

Question

My cat has loss of hair on certain parts of his belly and it looks very sore, some parts are also red. He seems fine but the loss of hair is worrying, i first thought it was from fighting with other cats but I have kept him home and he is still losing parts of hair on areas of his belly. I was wondering what might be causing this and how serious it is. Thank you. Pet's info: Cat | American Shorthair | Male | neutered | 9.92 lbs

Ricardo Fernandez, DVM · Accepted Answer

Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

What causes my cat's belly hair loss, redness, and sore skin?

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