my 2 1/2 week old kitten is losing hair

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  • #46074
    Kitty_Momma
    Participant

    Me and my husband have been raising 3 abandoned kittens since they were 2-3 days old (umbilical cords fell off 1-2 days after we found them). They seem fine and are eating and urinating really well. I have 2 main concerns…They only poop every other day or even less frequently. I’ve been giving them (very little)light corn syrup in their bottles. Should I stop the syrup and start with vegetable oil? How long should I be stimulating them? I go for a minute or two but I don’t want to make them sore lol.

    My next concern seems more odd to me and anyone I ask about it. My male cat started shedding, well thinning out actually, until now he’s all but bald from the top of his neck down his back…he’s got like peach fuzz all over where hair was, his legs and belly seem to have a little more fuzz than his neck back and tail. But from behind his ears covering his whole head there’s hair like normal. There’s no skin issues going on at all. He doesn’t have any scaley, dry, sores, or anything at all…he just lost his hair. No fleas or any other creepy crawlies, no hair falling off in circular patches as with ringworm. I’ve looked around online and I’m not finding anything that seems to fit what’s going on with him…

    Sorry so long but that was kinda hard to describe. Any help will be awesome!

    #673052
    Skyron
    Participant

    About your older kitty losing hair, that sounds very odd to me. I’d say a vet would be your best bet, since it doesnt sound like it could be one of the regular hair loss causes. I’ve seen female cats lose hair like that due to hormonal issues, but never in a boy-kitty . . .

    As for the babies, sounds like everything is going well. Poop every 2-3 days is fine, longer than that needs veterinary intervention. Some vegetable oil in the kmr would be good to keep them regular, since kmr seems to constipate kittens. As for how long they should be stimulated, i dont think there is a specific time limit on it – i’ve figured out for myself that since my babies always start screaming/crying when they are about to poop, if they start crying with the regular pee stimulation, there’s probably a no 2 on the way . . .

    #673053
    Kitty_Momma
    Participant

    The boy kitten is one of the three 2 1/2 week olds that I rescued. He started losing hair close to a week ago, he’s not completely naked of hair though…he has fuzz everywhere he used to have hair.

    Thank you very much for the advice on the pooping, though. I was just figuring they should be going more often since they’re eating so well. I might not be trying for long enough.

    #673054
    Skyron
    Participant

    He may be losing his baby fuzz. Sometimes it looks like they are long-haired babies, and then the fuzz falls out and they turn out to be short-haired. 2 and a half weeks is a bit young for that though. Keep an eye on him, make sure the other kittens arent suckling on him – that could very well cause hair loss, and that he isnt scratching at himself or anything to indicate discomfort. It could be that he’s allergic to something in the kmr; if his hair doesnt grow back uniformly, or he continues losing and regrowing in odd patches, try switching him over to a more natural milk, something like goat’s milk works really well.

    #673055
    Kitty_Momma
    Participant

    I’ve already switched him to goats milk 3 days ago…I’m hoping that’s the case and he’ll get back to normal. I read a few days ago that something like 1 in a million cats will be hairless, something about a recessive mutated gene…and they can be born like that or lose it. I have no idea where I read it or how much truth is in it, but he seems totally fine except for that. I’ll try to post a pic of him and his sisters later. Maybe someone here might see him and figure out what’s up with his little hair loss problem.

    #673056
    Kitty_Momma
    Participant

    Just an update on my rescued kittens…I’ve gotten them all to go poo FINALLY!! I quit using Kayro syrup and started using a little vegetable oil and it really works! I just wanted to say thanks for the advice.

    Also, our vet we’ve talked to seems to think we have stumbled upon 2 hairless kittens…Our boy (Lennon) is completely bald except for a mohawk on his head and his cute little face. One of our girls seems to be heading in the same direction. I’ve done tons of research and, while uncommon, ‘normal’ cats can have kittens born hairless or that shed their hair shortly after birth. I learn something new all the time about cats! My other ‘planned’ cat, Luna is still not too sure about the newbies…hopefully she’ll come around 🙂

    #673057
    ailuromaniac
    Participant

    OK, I am going to say the scary things about hair loss.

    Fleas, Ringworm and Mange. You definitely need to rule these out.

    #673058
    ecbrown
    Participant

    That’s really interesting, Kitty Momma….maybe they will be hypo-allergenic. I didn’t respond before because I had no real advice but the hair loss sounded mysterious. Even though it doesn’t sound like a typical presentation for ringworm, did the vet do a fungal culture just in case? Or maybe he’s 100% sure they are just hairless kittens? Glad they are pooping okay!

    #673059
    Kitty_Momma
    Participant

    The vet looked them over, said there was no signs of creepy crawlies living on them…he didn’t do a culture but he said it wasn’t necessary since their skin is perfectly normal. I was thinking something like that too but the vet didn’t seem concerned about them at all…I came home and started researching like crazy and found other people who had the same thing happen in their litters. I’m not going through all the gene testing and what-not to confirm because that gets major expensive. The vet told me that the mom and/or dad to these kittens probably had the mutated gene laying dormant, but it could have also been spontaneous. Hair or no hair, I love them like their my own…probably from all the late night feedings and pottys. 🙂

    #673060
    WeaselsMomma
    Participant

    OKay, so strange! I am a foster for a local Kitty Rescue in my area and I have this baby kitten whom I have named Weasel. He is about 3 weeks old now. His eyes opened last week :)… Weasel’s history, he was brought to the rescue by a woman who said a Momma Kitty had dropped him off at her front door, when I got him he was covered in fleas. I gave him a bath in Dawn soap like I have all my other foster babies, but about 2 weeks ago he started losing his hair. First around his neck, now he is completly bald except like a mask on his face (which i assume will soon be gone too) and some fur on his legs. He is the sweetest thing ever, and happy, going potty, eating, very active… I took him to the vet and got skin scraping – Nothing. He is just bald. I talked to my vet and did research, and hairless kittens are born hairless like rats/mice are… the vet also said “maybe you’ve ended up with a mexican hairless cat” – dont know what that’s supposed to mean or even if there is an actual cat like that??? i dont know i had a momma kitty whom i still have and she had 6 kittens and none of her kittens did this? they have all since been adopted, i have also fostered many many many other kittens and never had a problem like this…

    I took him to petsmart and the vet who knows me from my personal animals saw him and said maybe adrenal disease? i was thinking thyroid or something… but i may be taking Weasel into the vet for more testing… i cant seem to find one answer that fits him – he isnt not going potty, he isnt not eating, he isnt weak … there is no answer online. Ill let you know what the vet says once i get the testing done…

    #673061
    CheetahBoysmommy
    Participant

    Is it possible that he got into something before you found him? Or is he allergic to his food? If he’s otherwise healthy and happy, I would probably just keep an eye on him and see what happens.

    #673062
    Kiplings_cat
    Participant

    My dad’s cat Velvet was a pet-quality Cornish Rex, and some parts of her were more covered in short fuzz than hair. Especially in winter; she would have the normal curled hair over her head, neck, and shoulders, with fine fuzz over back and tail. She did not scratch; thyroid issues were ruled out; he chose not to take her to a dermatologist as she was otherwise okay. The hair loss didn’t start happening until she was an adult. She LOVED lying on the furnace vents, so we wondered if the hot dry air was damaging an already abnormal coat?

    #673063
    Kitty_Momma
    Participant

    Sorry I haven’t on here in a while…I’m taking summer classes to get my degree a little faster…

    Lennon has replaced his hairlessness with a very soft, almost velvet feeling short coat. I’ve never seen a cat like this…he still has his mask and mohawk too. When I get time, I’m going to upload some recent pictures of him. His sister, Lily, is doing the same thing but at a slower rate. Poor girl looks a mess right now LOL. His other sister, E (short for eater LOL) is just as hairy as ever. WeaselMomma, please keep me posted on what the vet says. My vet didn’t seem too concerned at all by the hairloss, maybe bc the hair that was lost was immediately replaced by velvet.

    #673064
    angdeaner
    Participant

    HI, I realize these posts are older, however can anyone give any follow up outcomes on these little babies with their fur falling out? My daughter and I found two babies in the bushes that were ICE cold. They still had blood on them so I’m assuming they were maybe less than an hour old. They wouldn’t have survived much longer! We left for a few min. to see if mom would come back for them but no such luck! So, guess what we have been doing for the past 2 1/2 weeks?

    My youngest daughter has what we thought were severe cat allergies and we adopted a hairless cat 15 yrs ago. Later, after extensive testing we learned that it was dust mites on the cats that she was allergic to. I have been involved with the Sphynx breed since so I have seen natural hairless mutations that people have found on their farms etc. but they are bald when you see them initially.

    The crazy thing is that this little male kitten (who had a beautiful black coat) is losing his fur!! It seems to be the exact same thing that some of you were seeing, on his legs, his back and he has a mohawk!

    What the heck is going on? The vet says the only thing he can think of is ringworm but there are no lesions on his skin! I put him under a black light and theres nothing there, his skin looks great!

    Unfortunately, at week one we lost the little girl which I kinda expected since she was only 74 grams the first day. : (

    Any updates wpuld be appreciated and hopefully will put our minds at rest. We don’t want to lose him!

    #807807
    sylvia
    Participant

    thank you for all the answers and replies. I know an initially that this was not my question, however, my 5 week old kitten is losing her hair. Like all the other kittens she had a full body of hair when she came to us 2 weeks ago. She too has brothers and sisters and was also abandoned. I’m glad to know she will probably live a normal happy life. interestingly for us, all the other kittens have been claimed for new homes when they are ready, this kitten my daughter wants to keep.she claimed her the day we got them.

    #867205
    Laura
    Participant

    Hey Kitty_momma

    Do you have pics of the baby boy cat while he was losing his hair.

    I’m wondering if my uncle’s baby cat is going through the same. Vet saw her today and thought it was scabies. Took a sample and it wasn’t. Then he just said she would lose more hair. I live in a different country than my uncle and he isn’t the most talkative person Lol. So I was just wondering if it looks the same.

    I’ll appreciate your feedback!

    #867212
    Kittyzee
    Participant

    Hi Laura, this thread was originally posted a long time ago. But I think it’s possible that a cat losing hair like this could be ringworm. You can try and over the counter medication called Lotrimin (there are others also) which is for humans but works for cats. Remember that it is contagious to humans so washing everything he has touched and been on is important. 😕 If this doesn’t help, then scrapings to rule out mange or a food allergy would be your next step.

    #881367
    Lyndee
    Participant

    I realize this is a really old topic, but I have the same situation happening right now. I have a 2 1/2 week old male kitten we call him peach and his brother pumpkin. Peach has lost almost all the hair on his back and neck with no skin lesions, no redness, no flaking or scaly skin, no fleas, no other parasites, he has the same diet as his brother who is fluffy and growing at the same rate. He doesn’t lick it or scratch at it (though he is young and hasn’t learned grooming yet anyway)he isn’t bothered when touched on these areas, he is just a pretty chill little kitten. I change their bedding every time I feed them and everything is washed in hypoallergenic detergent. We have a vet appointment next week.

    I linked a photo of both of them snuggling.

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