Classic case of what looks like cat hair loss above the eyes but is not

He is a domestic cat of the 'Nanshu Shrine' and he is named 'Nyanshu-chan'. Sometimes he is his charming self at a coffee shop. This is a cute, black cat in Japan in a shop window. I like to see this sort of thing because the cat decorates the shop and makes it more interesting. This encourages customers to come in. 

But this is not the point of this short post. The point is that this black cat looks as if he has hair loss in between the right ear and right eye. Some people ask me what causes hair loss in this position. And the answer is that it is not hair loss. 

 Classic case of what looks like cat hair loss above the eyes but is not. Photo: Twitter.

There are 3 reasons why it looks as if it is and they are (1) the light, in this case the sun, is hitting that part of the head at 90° which helps to expose the skin below and (2) the skin below is visible because the hair is naturally thinner in this position on all domestic cats and (3) the hair strands at position on the head are at 90 degrees to skin i.e. perpendicular. This allows the light to penetrate to the skin.

It varies between individuals but it is thinner. It is simply an anatomical feature of the domestic cat. It is nothing to worry about. It is completely normal.

Finally, this thinner coverage of hair in this position is highlighted in this instance because there is a higher contrast between the black hair strands and the light-coloured skin at the base of the hair strands. The higher contrast highlights the thin covering of hair.

ASSOCIATED: HAIR LOSS IN CATS.