My 16 week old kitten is losing patches of hair!?

I took my kitten to the vet last week to find out the reason why he had missing patches of hair. (He had 3) While at the vet, various blood and stool work was conducted, as well as his second round of shots. I was given dewormer and have been using it per the explicit instructions. But since then, my cat has developed a few more. The exposed skin is flaky, has red bumps, and is tender to the touch. He has no other symptoms. He is still as hyper and playful as ever, and his appetite is normal. But I will say he has started wanting to climb on me more often. I know I probably need to take him back to the vet, but that visit alone was over 200 dollars and I cannot afford to go back at this moment. I just have trouble believing its worms, as the problem is increasing. I am a new pet parent though, so I could be worrying for nothing. Is worms something that just has to run its course and gets worse before it gets better?

My 16 week old kitten is losing patches of hair!?

Could be fungal infection. My kitten used to have that. It was so serious that he only have a few patches of hair on his body. And it's all red and flaky. It turned out to be ringworm. You better bring him back to get treatment though. because fungal infections can be passed on to humans.

My kitty had worms too. But it was totally unrelated to his losing hair. You could bring him to another vet for a 2nd opinion.

It takes a while for the ringworms to be fully gone. If the vet gave you shampoo, then make sure you give him a bath once a week, or as per the recommended frequency by the vet. Also, he should be given oral med as well, keep it going until he finished the course or you notice hair is growing.

But the most important thing is hygiene for your kitty and your family. Wash all the towels used by both your family and your kitty every day. Do not share towels. Also, wash your kitty's blankets and toys and things that he comes into contact with. And try to sweep or vacuum the floor everyday. Ringworms can develop on human, it starts out as a small red rash, then it will develop into ring forms if you scratch it. From experience, oral med is much more effective than anti-fungal cream. So if you realise you've got it as well, go see a doctor to get oral med for yourself.

My 16 week old kitten is losing patches of hair!?

CC is right it is definitely a fungal infection...it is caused due to too much of moisture etc............apply good fungal cream it will soon dissappear

avoid giving frequent baths and keep the kitten dry

My 16 week old kitten is losing patches of hair!?

Did you notice a dark ring around the red area? Where is it located?

It could be ringworm which is not a worm at all but a fungus. Medicine will take care of it and it doesn't hurt the cat but it is contagious to you. They will lose more hair as it's healing and the patches can get really big but it grows back just fine. If it's near the ears, it could be ear mites but since the patches were there when you went to the vet, I'm surprised he didn't look at it. Stomach worms usually don't cause the hair to fall out. I would call the vet and see what he says since he saw the spots before. He shouldn't charge you again as it would be a follow up, if you have to go in..good luck

My 16 week old kitten is losing patches of hair!?

It may be ringworm, which is very contagious to other animals and humans too. It might be a form of dermatitis too. It could be flea bites, they can scab up too. It might be a good idea to at least call your veterinarian and see what they say. It is difficult to make a diagnosis without being able to look at the cat too.

My 16 week old kitten is losing patches of hair!?

ring worms are not that bad my dog had them and they were gone in about 3 weeks just give it time.

My 16 week old kitten is losing patches of hair!?

hes either shedding or his fur is matted

My 16 week old kitten is losing patches of hair!?

Ringworm can be very hard to erradicate, as your cat is constantly shedding it around the house and getting re-infected. Just one spur gets left behind and there you go again.....It might take you weeks if not months to get rid of it.

I'm sorry to say, but it can be a very costly thing to get rid of too. With cultures needing to be done regularly to see if your cat is clear.

Sometimes it clears up on it's own, but usually you'll need treatment as severe skin damage can be done, and because it's so contagious, to humans also.

The most agressive (but often necessary) methods would be dipping your kitten in Lym-Dip (Lime sulfur or Imaverol; available through your vet) daily, combined with some orally administered medicine (even more important), and cleaning your house non-stop, vacuum (discarding of the vacuumbags), bleach, desinfect etc.......

I do advise you to at least call your vet about this - he could've seen the signs before but misdiagnosed, maybe you can work something out?

There's no way around having to pay for the needed medication though.

Good luck - and take care of yourself, too!

A couple of links for you:

http://www.fabcats.org/ringworm.html

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_rin...

http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/ringwo...

http://www.giveshelter.org/resources/der...

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?...

http://www.siamese-kittens.com/Ringworm/...