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How to tell if your cat has catnip

Pet Knowledge
This article is provided by Veterinarian Dr. Chloe Johnson
There are three main ways to determine whether a cat has catitis catis: touching it with your hands, checking whether the cat has hair loss, and using a Wood's lamp. First of all, if you feel hard lumps on your cat’s skin, it may be cat moss. Secondly, if your cat is found to be experiencing abnormal hair loss, accompanied by symptoms such as redness, swelling, increased dandruff, and itching, then the probability of cat tinea will be greater. Finally, if the affected area is illuminated with a Wood's lamp and green fluorescence is displayed, it can basically be diagnosed as cat moss. It is recommended that owners consult their pet's doctor promptly and use antifungal drugs for treatment.

1. Touch with your hands

Cat ringworm is a skin disease caused by fungi, which can cause scabs and ulcers on the cat's local skin. Therefore, owners can use their hands to touch the area where the cat is suspected to be infected with catnip. If there are hard lumps on the skin, it may be catnip. It should be noted that because cat ringworm is contagious and can be transmitted to dogs, cats or owners, you need to wear disposable gloves when checking with your hands.

2. Check whether the cat is hairless

Normal hair loss in cats is generally uniform hair loss all over the body, there is no local hair loss, and there will be no baldness on the body. . If you find that your cat has partial hair loss and the skin can be directly seen, it is most likely to be cat moss. At the same time, because the cat keeps scratching the affected area, it will also lead to increased hair loss.

3. Check with Wood's lamp

If the owner cannot distinguish cat moss with the naked eye, he can use Wood's lamp to judge. By irradiating the suspected infected area, if an apple-green fluorescent reaction is found, it means that it is likely to be infected with cat ringworm, and the accuracy rate is about 70%.