My kitten is losing fur?!?!

[Buttholelane]

I have noticed she seems to be thinning around her elbow and shoulders, it's only really noticeable when she is bent over eating when I can clearly see the skin under the hair.
Is this normal?
I have had cats all my life and never remember this?
She is somewhere between 10 and 12 weeks old.

She has had a few problems, she was allegedly 8 weeks old but the vet put her at 6, she had fleas, ear mites and possibly worms, she also used to sneeze a bit and sometimes had a bit of black snotty stuff around her nose.

I put her on a herbal mix for fleas, she has stopped scratching and I don't pick up any dirt when flea combing her so I assume she is now flea free.

I treated her ears with otodex, the packet had no indication to age so I assumed it was okay although a Google said 12 weeks plus and now using white vinegar occasionally to clean her ears.

I put her on a mostly raw diet, she gets mice, usually 1 or two a day, chicken drumsticks and wings, chunks of lamb, pork, venison etc.
Sometimes chicken liver and kidneys and sometimes a raw egg yolk.
She has conventional food, usually Lily's kitchen or meowing heads for breakfast.
She doesn't sneeze anymore but does still occasionally have a bit of black snot.
I also give her one capsule of evening primrose oil, everyday.

Sorry for the long post, I included all that inccase her thinning hair is due to something I am feeding her?

I wondered if she is simply shedding kitten coat but she is a bit young for that?

[RubbishMantra]

If you're feeding her mainly raw, are you adding the necessary supplements to it? Or are you giving her something like Nature's Menu that contains all the necessary stuff?

Has she had her jabs?

[Buttholelane]

She gets conventional food at breakfast which contains taurine.
The mice and chicks I feed are whole and I thought therefore balanced?
And there should be taurine in the meat?
So I haven't added any supplements.

No jabs yet.
I didn't want her to have them while already sick.

She seems perfectly well at the moment, just thinning hair.

[RubbishMantra]

Oh, and I've never heard of using vinegar to clean a cat's ears. I use baby wipes and a cotton bud dipped in camomile tea on my cat once a week. But only because he's a breed with massive, greasy ears. Mostly cats don't need their ears cleaned.

[piggychops]

To check for flea dirts, wet a piece of A4, hold her over it and vigorously ruffle her coat. Flea droppings are dried blood and will streak out red when they hit the paper. Using this test often picks up flea infestations which are missed with the comb. You may need something stronger than herbal to treat, but at her age better to get it from your vet so she can be accurately dosed for her bodyweight.

[RubbishMantra]

If you're feeding her mostly raw, then please do research which supplements should be added. In the meantime feed her a good quality cereal free food, like Butchers Classic or Animonda Carny.

You mention her flea treatment is herbal. Any chance of giving her something like Advocate?

If it were me, I'd be getting her to a vet to ascertain why her hair's thinning.

[RubbishMantra]

Hearts provide a source of taurine. But unless you're an experienced raw feeder, best to get the raw ready made with all the added supplements.

[Buttholelane]

I have always used vinegar for cat and dog ear infections, the only reason I used the medicated drops this time was because she looked to have quite a bad infestation.
I didn't know if the vinegar would be strong enough and didnt want to risk her losing her hearing.

I will try the paper now.

Lily's kitchen and meowing heads are both grain free and I think high quality?

No.
Chemical spot ons make my eyes itch and give me a headache, they are loaded with warnings on how toxic they are to people, I don't want that anywhere near my animals.
I have always found the herbal supplement very effective, dog has used it since puppyhood and never had fleas or ticks.

She gets heart sometimes, pig or lamb.

As I understand it, whole prey items need no supplementation?
These are the bulk of her diet plus some chunked meat.
I feed some conventional food in the morning to try and cover anything I might be missing.

[Fluffycloudland77]

The taurine degrades in meat with processing eg time since death, chopping, mincing ect, quite like vitamin C does. The chunks of meat won't have the taurine levels needed.

There was a study in America on raw feeding that got stopped due to cats dying, they were feeding minced whole rabbits & venison.

I know you are trying to give your cat the best but it doesn't sound like she's at her peak health on it.

I'd use a proper prescription flea & worm control product too, there's no reason not to.

I wouldnt give a cat an oil supplement, it's not something they'd eat naturally.

Bengal cat forum has a lot of raw feeders who are very passionate about it, they would be happy to share their knowledge.

[Buttholelane]

Should I use felini?
I hear it mentioned a lot by raw feeders?
How much would I use?

[Buttholelane]

Done the paper test also, she doesn't have fleas.

[Fluffycloudland77]

The dose will be on the pack so you'd need to weigh her. No fleas is excellent, they can seriously damage a kitten.

I'd still ask the vets advice, in case it's a skin condition.

[RubbishMantra]

Get her to the vet.