The condition of a cat's skin and coat can also be an important indicator of its general health.
This category also includes hypersensitivity disorders and eosinophilic skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis, miliary dermatitis and feline eosinophilic granuloma and skin diseases caused by autoimmunity, such as pemphigus and discoid lupus.
Other cat skin infections include parasitic diseases like mange and lice infestations.
Other ectoparasites, including fleas and ticks, are not considered directly contagious but are acquired from an environment where other infested hosts have established the parasite's life cycle.
A mixture of bacteria introduced by a bite wound cause infections in pockets under the skin and affected cats often show manic depression and fever.
[6] A deficiency in these fatty acids can occur if the fats in the cat's food are oxidized and become rancid from improper storage.
[5][1] A deficiency in vitamin A will result in a poor coat, hair loss, and scaly, thickened skin.
[1] Signs of hypervitaminosis A are overly sensitive skin and neck pain, causing the cat to be unwilling to groom itself, resulting in a poor coat.