What causes hair loss on a cats back and tail?

My cat has a significant amount of hair loss down his back and part of his tail in a straight line. What is causing this to happen? How can it be treated/What causes hair loss on a cats back and tail?
There are many diseases and conditions which can cause a cat to lose hair. Some of these may be considered normal, others can indicate a serious disease is present. Most of the conditions which result in hair loss are included in the table below, though some of them may be rare. This extensive list helps you understand why a quick diagnosis may be difficult to make, and various diagnostic tests may need to be performed. The most common conditions causing hair loss are color-coded gray in the table (some may be more common in certain geographical areas).What causes hair loss on a cats back and tail?
To christin... thanks! that completely makes sense! He is a bit larger cat with short gray hair and he goes under the fence 5-6 times a day. With the weather changing, his fur is dry and it's losing hold. Poor little guy.


Thanks!

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Hot spots, Mange, fleas...if the cat bites at the hind end too much it will lose it's hair. Only you vet can treat it..
Since it is in a straight line, I would guess he is continually rubbing his back and tail going thru a small opening. Does he have a 'dog door'? Does he always go thru the same bush? Does he have a small entrance to a cat post?
its probably a vitamin deficiency or bad diet or a flea infestation the only way to know for sure is to take the animal to the vet
ringworm, another fungus, allergies or stress. I would take you cat to the vet - if it is ringworm you don't want that spreading to you or anyone else in the family.
My first guess would be fleas. Fleas spend very little time on the animal they are slowly draining the blood from. They hop on, grab a bite, and drop back into your carpet to lay eggs. Those buggers reproduce better than rabbits.





In the meantime, your cat has the equivalent of a mosquito bite, and if she is allergic to them, she will literally pull her own hair out trying to scratch the itch.





Take a pocket comb and run it through your cat's fur. Do it over a white surface. If little black specks fall out or are caught in the hair in the comb, then it is fleas and you are looking at flea dirt.





This time of year, fleas are the cause of most dermatological conditions in animals.
Take him to the vet. I had a cat with the same problem and it turned out he had diabetes. He needed medicine and special food, but he was part of thee family and way worth it. He lived to see his 20th birthday.
I had a cat that went bald in those areas - she wasn't itchy or scratching/biting at it or anything. They diagnosed it, but I forget what they called tit. They gave me hormones to give to her and the hair grew back.
could be flea bites, thyroid condition or allergic reaction. The only way to know for sure is to have a vet checked it out