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Is it normal for my 11-month-old cat to have thin hair by her ears?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

My cat seems pretty healthy overall eats, sleeps, plays, uses the bathroom just fine like everything else. By her left and right ear it’s a little bit of hair loss nothing serious she still has hair there it’s just not like the rest of her body is thick har I’m wonder what can be the cause of that? She’s about 11 months old and I give her purina kitten chow. She doesn’t seem to be shedding hair by the hair and loosing more or more any day is still the same just not equal to the rest of her body.

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3 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Dr. Strydom, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on November 26th, 2019

The hair loss around the ears may be normal. Some cats just have very thin or no hair in that area. As long as it is symmetrical (same on both sides) I would not be overly worried. Just have your vet check it at her next exam. You know her best so, if you are really worried, it is never a bad idea to have her examined now. It's up to you. Great question!

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    Answered By Ricardo Fernandez, DVM

    Veterinarian, Veterinary Oncology Resident

    Published on February 1st, 2018

    Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is hard to know without being able to evaluate her or see this. There is a variety of reasons that can explain alopecia or hair loss. The causes can easily be differentiated by the clinical signs associated with it and the physical exam findings. If Spooky is only showing some hair loss without scratching or overgrooming then it could conditions such as alopecia areata that can affect cats and usually resolves on its own. Sometimes it is just normal transient hair loss. If there is evidence of scratching and you start noticing some redness or irritation associated with it, then other conditions such as allergies are possible. If you notice her overgrooming herself in that area then it could be something like psychogenic alopecia which is more of a behavioral issue. I think that since she is not having overt clinical signs and it is mostly hair loss, I think it is possibly transient and could resolve on its own. You can monitor this closely and if it does not resolve or it worsens then have her examined by your veterinarian. Good luck!

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    Answered By Dr. Davis

    Veterinarian

    Published on November 25th, 2019

    She’s a cutie! In one of the photos it looks like she may have a ringworm lesion. That can cause some skin scaling and hairloss. All cats do have less hair in this area so it may just be normal. I would look closely at the skin and if it has any scaling or abnormal look then I would bring her in for a skin scraping and fungal culture to check for ringworm or a bacterial infection. Ringworm is contagious to people and it’s common in kittens so please wash your hands with antibacterial soap after touching her. Ringworm in small patches like this can be treated daily with a topical cream. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for your cat.

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