Background -Dermoscopy is a non invasive technique allowing rapid and magnified in vivo observation of the skin and structures that lie beneath the skin surface. Various congenital and acquired hair shaft abnormalities may be also evaluated by dermoscopy and characteristic features of Microsporum canis-induced tinea capitis and trichotillomania in people have also been reported. Objectives -To describe the dermoscopic findings observed in cats with patchy alopecia due to Microsporum canis infection and in cats with self-inflicted hair loss. Animals -Twenty-four client-owned cats presented to a private veterinary referral practice. Methods -Dermoscopy was performed with both an handheld non-polarized light dermoscope at 10-fold magnification and a videodermoscope at 40-fold magnification. Results -At 10-fold magnification, the most characteristic findings observed in circumscribed lesions of cats with dermatophytosis were opaque, broken hairs slightly curved with an homogeneous thickness (comma-like structures) and a variable amount of brown-to-yellow greasy scales. In cats with self-induced alopecia, multiple hairs with a normal shaft suddenly and cleanly broken at different lengths, short tufts of hairs broken at equal level , hook-like and coiled hairs were observed. By videodermoscopy, hair shaft thickness was also measured. Conclusions -This observational descriptive study suggests that dermoscopy may represent an in vivo non-invasive technique helpful in differential diagnosis of patchy alopecia in cats.