Kitten losing fur around mouth

[gavin1]

Hello, again. We adopted our beautifully chocolate Coco from the humane society a few weeks ago and noticed then that she seems to have very little hair around her mouth and top of eyes to her ears. It seems to be getting worse. She's otherwise healthy (no fleas and negative for anything they usually test kittens for) - indoor only. We have a vet appointment next week for her last vaccination and will check with the vet on this. I suspect food allergies but I'm not sure. We slowly swapped her from the Purina One she was on to Royal Canin kitten food (kibble and wet) but it doesn't seem to be making a difference. She eats from a ceramic bowl. Our last cat had food allergies and he ate Turkey or Venison Limited Ingredient Diet. However, with Coco being a kitten, it's very hard to find LID food for kittens.

Has anyone come across such a thing before?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Mr. Meow]

I'm not a vet, but this does scream "food allergy" to me. I'm not sure of a limited ingredient food for kittens (the other members of the forum may know), but this would be a great question for your vet.

Have you noticed any excessive grooming or scratching on her part? This can also occur due to stress, or even a slight reaction to a vaccination she got recently.

 

[neely]

First, thank you for going to the Humane Society to adopt your kitten. I'm glad to hear you have an appointment at the vet next week. In the meantime, you may be interested in this Article that discusses skin conditions in cats:
Skin Conditions In Cats – TheCatSite Articles

Best of luck, please keep us posted on Coco's progress.

 

[Juniper_Junebug]

I believe Rawz would qualify as limited ingredient and is suitable for "all life stages." I researched this when I thought my kitten had a food sensitivity (that turned out to be guardia). Not cheap...

 

[Mamanyt1953]

It would appear to be a food sensitivity. Possibly a contact dermatitis, but unlikely. Do discuss this with your vet, and PLEASE keep us updated on how Coco is doing!

 

[kittenmittens84]

How old is she? Those are normal places for cats to have much thinner fur, if there are no other symptoms like itchiness or redness or over grooming I don’t think it’s necessarily something bad. Especially since kittens have a fluffier kitten coat that starts to be replaced by adult fur around 5-7 months. Do definitely ask the vet next week though.

 

[gavin1]

Thanks, all. Will certainly update you once we know. She's not itchy or scratching or over grooming. I do know some dark haired cats have spots over the eyes like hers but I've never seen it thwt large or around the mouth. I think it's a food allergy but would like a professional opinion. I'm going to make sure we have a different vet this time. The first vet dismissed my food allergy concerns when I asked him about it. He said it's highly rare for cats to be allergic to food but our last cat was so it's not rare to us. Lol.

 

[gavin1]

Hello. Update on sweet Coco. The vet doesn't believe cats have food allergies (which is a bit odd considering I had a cat with food allergies before). We're going to keep track of the areas and swap to LID once she moves on to adult food. Ciao!