Why is my cat losing his fur?

My cat, Stinkie, seems to losing a lot of his fur. This is not only summer shedding. His fur has thinned out A LOT. I can see his skin in several places. He has dermatitis. Could that have something to do with it? Or, is he missing some kind of vitamin? I know he needs vitamins that he isn't getting because I've noticed some unusual things he does lately, but could his fur loss have anything to with that? We were going to buy vitamins for him today, but Wal-mart did not have any for cats and the pet shop was closed for the holiday weekend. It won't be open again until Monday. I'm not sure of anyone else that sells vitamins for cats, because we live in a small town. The major pet stores aren't available to us. I don't what to do. Could this be serious?

Your cat needs to go to the vet for a check-up. If he is pulling out clumps of fur, this is usually a pain response. You don't say how old he is, or if he is just excessively licking himself? It could be diet related, or as mentioned pain related. If you put him on vitamins make sure your vet knows about it, don't just buy over the counter vitamins and start giving them to him because you think he may need them. Do everything in your power to do the right thing for him and get him to a vet for a check up.

Also has he been de-fleaed? Your vet can help you there as well as recommend a good diet for him if he lacks something in his.

Best of luck!

He is 3 years old. We sprayed him with frontline a little about 2 or 3 weeks ago, but he still has fleas. And yes, for a while, a couple of weeks ago, he was washing himself constantly. I haven't noticed him doing it quite as bad lately as he was, but it's still more than normal. My vet did tell me he probably needs some kind of vitamin, but he didn't tell me much of anything about his fur loss. I am trying to find a new vet. Until then, I'm not sure of what to do.