Cats Hairsfalling out

Question
I have many strays in my neighbor hood and feed them outside regularly.One of the cats I feed I noticed that his hair is coming out all the time and today I'm noticing bald spots on his back. Hes a Stray and I feel bad is there anything I can do short of taking him to the vets? I have 3 cats of my own and my cats would fight with him, so I cannot adopt him,  Thanks  very much

Answer
Kathy,

A cat who is losing hair may be doing so for any number of reasons from parasites to medical problems to people pouring irritants on him. This issue can be cruelty related as well, unfortunately there is a segment of our society that doesn't see stray cats as worthy of kindness or respect so they are unfortunately targets of some pretty awful things. It would be best for this kitty to see a vet and if he is social enough for someone to take him out of the street life and into a home where he can be taken care of properly. In terms of you adopting this cat it can be done provided that he is kept isolated from your resident cats for a period of 2 weeks minimum, longer if there are medical issues that need work. If you adopted him you would be making a commitment to work through whatever is his issue as well as the regular love and routine care. Your cats would accept him once they got used to his scent from under a door where they don't have access to him. This situation can work for you if the only reason that you were concerned about adopting him was because of the potential for fights with your resident cats. With careful supervision and socialization these guys can become the best of friends provided of course that there is no contagious disease present. Please keep me posted and do let me know what you decide to do with this guy. If you have any further questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact me again.