Kitten going bald

My mother found a stray kitten yesterday morning. She says the kitten
appears to be in good health. She gave it a bath and fed it, but then
started noticing the kitten's hair falling out. She says the skin under the
bald spots is clean and clear, no scabbing or anything. She also said that
if you barely lift the fur it will come out in chunks.
She is also barely getting by right now and has 3 other animals to take care
of. I will be sending her some money to help with the vet bill for this new
little guy.
My question is, does this sound like something she'd need to take him to the
emergency vet for? She has another cat to worry about and two dogs. Does
this sound like mange? I thought mange would be scabby or something.
Thanks in advance.

Poor little guy! Please give us an update on his condition. If the
kitten had come my way I would have take it to the vet straight away but
not to the emergency clinic, since the kitten doesn't seem to be in
immediate distress. Fur loss could be flea allergy or maybe not.
Definitely would isolate the kittens from other pets for 2 weeks, to rule
out contagious disease. (Always a good safety precaution.)

Sharon Talbert
Friends of Campus Cats
Seattle

On Sun, 4 Dec 2005, Mommy Dearest wrote:

My mother found a stray kitten yesterday morning. She says the kitten
appears to be in good health. She gave it a bath and fed it, but then
started noticing the kitten's hair falling out. She says the skin under the
bald spots is clean and clear, no scabbing or anything. She also said that
if you barely lift the fur it will come out in chunks.
She is also barely getting by right now and has 3 other animals to take care
of. I will be sending her some money to help with the vet bill for this new
little guy.
My question is, does this sound like something she'd need to take him to the
emergency vet for? She has another cat to worry about and two dogs. Does
this sound like mange? I thought mange would be scabby or something.
Thanks in advance.

Fur coming out like that can be due to just about anything that causes
stress to the body (illness, food change, or just being a lost kitten
are a few).
Cats rarely get mites that cause mange, so I wouldnt think it was that
at all.
If the little man is eating and drinking well, its OK to wait until she
has some money to see a vet. I definately don't think it warrents a
trip to the ER and paying too much $$$$.
I recommend that she keep him SEPARATE from the other animals, and
confined to one room, incase it is something contagoius like ringworm.
Good luck to your mom.
Lisa (vet tech)
..