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My cat has balding spots, bleeding, and dandruff. Is it ringworm?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Hello. Im concerned that my cat might have ringworm but I am unsure whether its just natural shedding and just a cut or its ring worm. Ive attached photos of the current symptoms ive observed. This includes balding and bleeding by the mouth area, few tufts of fur coming out of her cheek area (no balding site spotted though) and dandruff when deshedding the body.

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4 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Elizabeth

Veterinarian

Published on March 15th, 2019

This does not look like a natural shedding and it does look suspicious for ringworm but a cut or abrasion can sometimes be this same circular shape. As you probably know, ringworm is contagious to humans as well. Ringworm can generally be diagnosed by your veterinarian and I recommend to get your kitty checked out so that you know what you were dealing with. Best of luck and please feel free to post any additional questions.

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Other Answers

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    Answered By Rodrigo Roca, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on July 21st, 2018

    Hello, sorry to hear about Dewey. That may indeed be a ringworm lesion and if you have some left over cream from last time, you can still use it until your appointment day. Monitor for any other similar sites around her body, and make sure you are washing your hands after interacting with Dewey. You should also wash any of her bedding 2-3 times weekly to decrease environment contamination with potential ringworm. Hope this helps and best of luck.

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    Answered By Amber Da Silva, DVM

    Veterinarian

    Published on August 27th, 2017

    This could be ringworm. Ringworm causes crusting and flaking and the hair to fall out. It could also be mites or another type of infection. I would recommend that they do a skin scraping if it wasn't done already. This will looks for mites and infection. The only way to know for sure if it is ringworm is to culture it. I would definitely recommend doing this as ringworm can infect people and other pets. She is such a cutie!

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    Answered By Lauren Jones VMD

    Veterinarian

    Published on December 22nd, 2017

    Congratulations on adopting Tinkerbell! Patches of hair loss in young kittens could be due to a number of conditions, including ringworm, mange, allergies, or contact irritation to the skin. Both ringworm and sarcoptic mange are contagious both to people and other pets. I'm glad to hear that Tinkerbell is eating and acting normally. However, I still recommend taking her to the vet for a physical exam and skin testing to try to determine the cause of these lesions so that they can be appropriately treated. Unfortunately, the only way to differentiate between many of these conditions is through testing of her skin through skin scrapes (for mites that cause mange) and fungal cultures (to check for the fungus that causes ringworm). If you begin to notice skin lesions on yourself, be sure to contact your physician. I hope this helps and that all goes well!

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