Answer

Thanks for the question XXXXXXXXXX.

This is actually a very easy question for me as I have seen a great many cats like this in my consulting room. The pattern of hair loss will be confined to the stomach and perhaps the inner aspects of the thighs as well. The most likely diagnosis is allergic skin disease of the cat.

There are a number of possibilities as to the allergen [ the cause of the allergy ]

1. It can be related to flea bites, the flea injects a small protein in to your cat's saliva when it feeds. If your cat has a predisposition then only one or two flea bites will set it off.

2. It can be related to other small proteins which get into the cat's blood stream via inhalation. Pollen and house dust are often implicated here.

3. Your cat could be allergic to something in its diet.

Often it is difficult to work out precisely which allergen is causing the problem so these cats often get put on anti-allergy medication by your vet and this works well but may not be a permanent cure, cortisone is often used but it is possible to adjust the dose rate and there are other drugs as well.

It is possible to carry out allergy testing and I have done this a few times but the results can be unreliable. Of course you should be meticulous about flea control both on your cat and the house as flea bites perhaps even only a very few are often related to this condition.

If I have not covered your question fully enough or you would like to ask more I will be online for the next hour or so and I will be at your disposal.

Scott Nimmo BVMS MRCVS