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Why is my cat's mouth black and losing fur after giving birth?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Mixed Breed | Female | unspayed | 1 year old | 5.55 lbs

After my cat gave birth to her kittens her mouth started turning black (like she caught bacteria) then the fur around her mouth area started falling out and she got some wounds there too I want to know what are the possible causes and how can I treat her

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Leigh, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on March 2nd, 2019

It looks like she has a dermatitis on her face. The best thing would be to have her examined and treated by a vet. She may need an antibiotic, anti-inflammatory, and/or other medications to treat the dermatitis. Also, make sure to clean her food bowls thoroughly and use stainless steel or ceramic bowls as some cats can be allergic to plastic bowls and plastic can harbor bacteria more easily.

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    Answered By Ricardo Fernandez, DVM

    Veterinarian, Veterinary Oncology Resident

    Published on July 24th, 2018

    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 her allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. This could also be due to something like mange and an examination would be needed to determine that. 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!

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