Bald lip on your cat - What to do about it
What happens if there is a bald lip on your cat?
Bald spots arise because either hair with hair root and all fall out. Or the hairs break off due to mechanical force. For example, a bald lip on your cat develops as a result of frequent rubbing of his lip against an object because he is itchy. But he can also get a bald spot because his hair root bags are damaged and the hair root has come loose. Several causes are explained below that can cause the bald lip on your cat.
Causes of a bald lip on your cat
Skin infections and skin inflammations
If the skin is inflamed or infected, the skin no longer functions as it should. Usually there is a bacterial skin infection and this infection can also destroy the hair root bags, causing the hair to come loose. The result is a bald lip on your cat in the area of the skin infection. You can read more about skin infections on your cat’s lip here.
Fungal skin infections
A fungal skin infection is a common cause of bald lip on your cat. They either contract these fungi outside or through another cat. The fungus can weaken hairs, causing them to break, but also destroy hair root follicles, causing the hairs to fall out. It starts with a small spot and it gets bigger and bigger. Sometimes hair grows back in the middle. We also call this ringworm, although it is not a worm at all.
Injuries
If your cat has fought with another cat or if it has had a collision with a vehicle or a neighbor’s dog, the skin on your cat’s lip may be chafed bare, but the hairs may also be plucked, as it were. It is also possible that a scar has developed as a result of an injury. Hair does not grow on scar tissue either.
Feline acne
This is a common condition in cats. You can see that the hair follicles of the chin or lower lip become inflamed and the hair falls out. The skin on the chin becomes somewhat swollen and may also lose some fluid or even pus. Usually a cat is not very bothered by it. That is why few owners feel the need to visit the vet for this.
Allergies
As a result of allergies, a cat can start itching and develop skin inflammations. Usually this is not only on the cat’s lips, but the bald spots and itching occur all over the body. This can be a food allergy or an atopy. The latter involves an allergic reaction to tree pollen, grass pollen, house dust mites, etc.
Tumors
Fortunately, tumors on a cat’s lips are not very common. If they occur at all, then the cat is already of a senior age. It starts with a small bald spot on your cat’s lip and it gets bigger and bigger and also grows above the surface of the skin.
Treating a bald lip on your cat
It is best if you take your cat to your vet so that he can make a skin scraping and view it under the microscope. Especially if your cat is already a senior, it is important that the risk of cancer is excluded. However, with young cats it is also possible to try some things yourself first to see if you can solve it yourself without a veterinarian. But your cat should not be too irritated by it, otherwise you should best go to your own vet.
Antibacterial treatment
In the case of skin infections, injuries and feline acne, it is wise to prevent bacterial growth. You do this by using iodine solution on the lip. Is the bald lip on your cat very (too) close to the inner mouth of the lip? Then you better use honey ointment. Both products should be applied to the bald lip on your cat 3 times a day for 5 to 7 days. After that, you should clearly see improvement. Try to distract your cat immediately after you put on the treatment. For example, by giving him a little food. That way it can do its work for a while without your cat washing it off right away.
Anti fungal cream
Is the antibacterial treatment not helping? Then you can try whether an anti-fungal cream works. Miconazole nitrate ointment can be used for this. This agent is used in most antifungal ointments for humans. You apply the ointment to the bald lip on your cat twice a day and you continue with ointments for 7 days longer than the spot has completely healed. Usually you can see after a few days that the skin will recover.
There is only a small problem with skin fungi. Some cats can be carriers of the fungus without developing skin problems themselves. It is therefore possible that another cat in your house has the fungus and is therefore the source of the skin complaints like the bald lip on your cat. If the fungus cream works well, there is a good chance that it is indeed a fungus. If the spot is gone and it stays away, you don’t have to do anything. But there is a good chance that the spot will come back or new spots will appear in the cat. But there is also a chance for you as the owner to start developing skin problems. Small children, pregnant women and people with a weakened immune system are particularly susceptible to skin fungus.
So if people or other animals in your household also have skin complaints, it is best to contact both your doctor and your vet. In that case, the treatment will be a bit more difficult and you will need some guidance.
Special food against allergies
Does the advice given above still not help? Then the time has come to go to your own vet. But if you really don’t want to do that yet, you can still do the food allergy test. As described above, an allergy is usually a problem that spreads all over your cat’s body. However, the head, and therefore the lips, is usually the location that is most affected. So the test is worth trying.
In the case of an allergy, it is an all-or-nothing reaction. Even if your cat only ingests 1 crumb of a food to which he is allergic, he can still get the full amount of complaints. So it is important that he gets a diet that does not contain substances to which he can react allergically. We usually use Hill’s Z/D cat food for this problem.
The test starts from the moment your cat only receives this food and absolutely no other form of food, candy or reward. You will usually not notice a difference during the first 4 weeks. So yes, you need to be patient! But if there is a food allergy, you will see recovery from the 4th week. Has it done nothing after 8 weeks and have you really given only that type of food? Then unfortunately there is no food allergy and you will still have to visit your vet for help.
Good luck!
Hopefully this article has given you enough information to help the bald lip on your cat. He probably has his normal cute little hairy face back in no-time!