Cat vitiligo

Anon999

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My cat has been getting white hairs everywhere I thought it might be because he’s white underneath but the white hairs grew on rapidly and are longer than his normal hair, he also recently got a white patch, i think it might be vitiligo?
 

white shadow

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Hi Anon999 !

Vitiligo is an extremely rare condition, making it very unlikely that your kitten is dealing with it. (and, you're speaking about the main body 'trunk', whereas with that condition, it would be 'peripheral' areas like the face and pawpads that are affected)

He's primarily black with white, and these cats typically will seem to have white hairs intermingled in with the black.

How old is he now?


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mrsgreenjeens

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A Anon999 , My (mainly) black cat has very fine white fur that pops out that is also longer than his regular fur. When he was a kitten, they named him "Pop" because of this. He also has a very white spot on his tummy about 2 inches in diameter. Otherwise, most people think he's a black cat. He's in my signature below. (far right).

With vitiligo, their skin would change color, not necessarily their fur.
 
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Anon999

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Anon999

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Hi Anon999 !

Vitiligo is an extremely rare condition, making it very unlikely that your kitten is dealing with it. (and, you're speaking about the main body 'trunk', whereas with that condition, it would be 'peripheral' areas like the face and pawpads that are affected)

He's primarily black with white, and these cats typically will seem to have white hairs intermingled in with the black.

How old is he now?


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He just turned 8 months! i dont know if I should be worried because the white hairs are getting more and more and they are quite longer than his black hair. Also yes I was thinking maybe it could be due to the fact that he’s black and white tuxedo cat
 

white shadow

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Hi Anon999 and welcome back !

One word answer? NOPE !

Now, we do have someone on the forum who has explained the same thing to lots of other folks here - she's really well-informed on this 'stuff.........that would be lutece lutece

His coat - and he - looks a lot like one of my cats, too. He isn't Tuxedo, though.

Do you have a few more pics.....from a little further back, so we can see all of him ? That would help even more.

Be patient, lutece will eventually drop by. You'll see some of her helpful posts in this other forum: thecatsite.com - Describing Cats - What Does My Cat Look Like.
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lutece

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I'd like to see your cute kitty's face, too! :)

From these pictures, I think you have a normal black and white cat. At just 8 months, he's still developing his adult coat, so it's normal to see some changes as he grows and matures, including slight changes in the distribution of white hairs. White patches can get slightly bigger or smaller. It's also normal for the edges of his white patches to have some irregular mixing of black and white hairs.

As for scattered white hairs over the body that are longer than other hairs, this is not necessarily related to the white markings on your cat. Some cats get these long white hairs, and they are quite visible on a black or blue cat; I've seen them on my cats, too. I am not sure where they come from, but I don't think it is related in any way to vitiligo. Most cats don't get many of these hairs, although some cats get more than others. People who show pedigreed cats generally pluck these long white hairs before a show.
 
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