Cat missing some ear fur...any ideas?

mxmarks

Hey all-

So our cat, Tabby, is missing some fur on her ears. It's been like this for a couple months now, honestly, but never struck us as anything too serious. Absolutely nothing about her behavior whatsoever is strange besides this. She eats normally, is active, isn't scratching them, ect. Even when investigating she doesn't even flinch when touching the bald spots - so we're assuming she's not sensitive there or in any pain. Because we didn't notice any other issues, we hoped it would pass and moved on. She's 8 years old.

It goes through phases of clearing up a bit, and then sometimes looking worse. But again - her behavior never changes.

She had some dental issues and lost some teeth years ago, but she's a perfectly healthy looking kitty otherwise.

I hope this doesn't reflect poorly on me as a pet owner - my girlfriend would do anything for the cat, but we also realistically are very aware of how high vet costs can rise if they say "Hmmm...could be a billion things, how about we run tests." If we had disposable income, we'd be there right now. And even without disposable income, if the answer seems to be "Yeah, that needs to go to a vet ASAP", we'll leave right now and make it work financially.

But I figured it couldn't hurt to post it here and see if anyone recognizes what it is to give us a clearer focus on what we should do next. Thanks very much - Tabby appreciates it too!

radroadkill

Our cat (10) has a spot like this by his eye. He also doesn't scratch it or have any weird behavior. It's been there for years, going through phases of minor regrowth and more balding. He's been to the vet multiple times for all his routine visits and exams and the vets have never been concerned about it.

I'm not a vet but I'd assume if she's in good health, there's no signs of parasites, and she is unconcerned by those areas she's probably okay.

Djeet

It could be just bald spots like radroadkill says. Otherwise, sudden hair loss makes me think mange. Also check the inside of the ear for mites.

I Zimbra

Eh, the lack of redness, irritation, or excessive scratching would make me think it's not mange or ear mites. With winter and the air being dry, it could just her rubbing at an itchy spot.

If she's eating, drinking, and eliminating normally and showing no signs of distress then she's almost certainly fine.

Ana Ng

Makes me think dry skin. Our kitty had a spot like that on her leg, whenever the air would get dry her fur would thin out in one spot. We asked a vet about it and they basically said just keep her hydrated. Lots of water and wet food helped out but it ultimately was never a huge issue.

Pacificstar

If your cat is older, this could be a sign that his/her kidney is going. This happened my cat as she got older. Most house cats die of kidney failure. It may not be the case, but if your cat is older, I would definitely go to the vet and get it checked out.

adarden

I have a Siamese cat about to turn 1. A couple weeks ago we noticed a small pea sized balding spot on the right ear. The skin is still a pretty pink with no dryness or scaling. This morning now, we noticed a small balding spot directly above her left eye. Pretty much on the rim of her eye (eyelid). Still healthy skin though. No change in environment or food. These spots DO NOT seem to phase her a bit!! Any ideas???
We also have another Siamese that is 2 years old who is not showing ANY signs of any kind of hair loss.