Dr. Dan Christian specializes in small animal medicine, with special interests in behavior and nutrition. He has been instrumental in establishing animal behavior residencies for veterinarians at leading veterinary schools and developing innovative programs with veterinary organizations in the United States. He is a member of the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Animal Hospital Association, and the Southern California Veterinary Medical Association. During his professional career, Dr. Christian earned the American Association of Feline Practitioners Award. He has also appeared as a guest on television and radio pet health programs nationwide, and to has authored numerous articles for pet health magazines.

Q: About a month ago my husband and I rescued two kittens from the pound. Both are very energetic and adapted very easily to the house and their new family. Recently we noticed that the hair above the eyes on one of them is gone, the skin is dry and the edges of her ears are very dry and cracked, like they are chapped. What can I do, and what is this a symptom of? A couple weeks ago she was very lethargic, and she wouldn't eat or drink anything. We waited a couple of days and she has been fine, so we just though it was a cold or something she got over. Could these two things be related?

A: First of all, congratulations on the new additions to your home. I'm sure you've found they add lots of joy and entertainment to your lives. In answer to your question about whether the hair loss around the eyes and ears could be related to the lethargy and loss of appetite -- yes, they could be related.

When kittens (or puppies for that matter) are housed in a public facility where there are many opportunities to be exposed to fungal, viral and bacterial infections, because their immune system is not fully developed, they may have a bout of illness. The hair loss could be caused by a fungus (we refer to it as ringworm), and your cat's skin should be checked by your veterinarian to determine if this is the case. Ringworm is a fungus (similar to what causes athlete's foot in humans). It is often passed from cat to cat and to humans, and can be eliminated with the right medication.

When the immune system is mature and strong, most cats fight the exposure to ringworm and do not develop the condition. Since the immune system in a kitten is in a weakened state, the secondary signs of loss of appetite and lethargy may have been caused by a bacterial or viral condition. So make sure you get your kittens examined by your veterinarian and feed them plenty of high-quality dry and canned foods to get their nutritional state where it needs to be, and all should turn out well.