Cats shed; some more than others. For most cats, summer is spent
shedding the winter underfur. It takes all summer to do this. It ends
just in time for them to start growing new underfur for the new
winter.

It makes no difference whether the cat lives down south or up north;
they seem to grow the same amount of underfur. The only difference is
in the cat breed; and in some cases, in the individual cat. It is well
known that Persians are veritible fur-factories. So are Maine Coons
and other long-haired breeds.

But what some people don't know is that some short-haired cats grow
just as much underfur and shed just as much as the long-haired breeds.
And then there are the individual oddities. They don't seem to have a
seasonal regulator. They continually grow underfur and shed all year
long. You can spend a considerable amount of time combing and brushing
said cat until you are sure there is no underfur left. Next week the
cat has just as much underfur as you just brushed out!

My boy cats, Robin and Djoser, are normal short-haired cats. They shed
in the early summer and in the fall start growing another winter coat.
Oh, there is some small amount of loose hair all the time. But that is
not the same as the shedding of winter underfur. Winter fur will fill
the comb or brush in one swipe down the body.

But Sheba is a different story. She is one of the oddities. She sheds
copiously all the time. And it never stops! Most of the dust bunnies
in my house are composed of her fur. I keep a blanket on top of my
bedspread for her to shed on, because it is easier to wash than a big
fluffy, hairy spread. She walks across my pillow and I have to brush
off the hair. As much as she sheds, you'd think she would have thin
hair. But no. Her hair is so dense it stands straight out. She grows
new hair as fast as she sheds!

Sheba is difficult to groom. If I run the brush around her face and
throat, she loves it, and even tries to help by grabbing the brush if
it strays too far from her face. When I use the comb and the slicker
on her body, she lies down and uses all four sets of claws to grab it
and bite it; inevitably clawing my hands in the process. I don't get
the chance to get much of the fur before I have to give up and wash
the blood off my hands.

A few times I have had my son hold her while I quickly brushed and
combed as much as I could while Jeff is desperately hanging on to a
squirming cat and trying not to get clawed. Usually, he suddenly
remembers something he needs to do at grooming time.

But today I figured a way to get the job done. I thought it all out in
detail and made preparations beforehand. Then I went to get Sheba.
Normally, she is right in the middle of the pathway of wherever it is
most inconvenient. This time I had to hunt for her. She was under the
table among the chair legs. Fortunately, the chairs have rollers. I
was able to grab her and lug her considerable weight to the grooming
parlor, normally known as the bedroom.

I plopped her onto the middle perch of the cat tree and deftly slipped
the harness over her head. It wouldn't go all the way over until I got
it out of  her mouth. I got the left arm through the side and reached
for the end of the clasp. I had to pry her jaws open to get the clasp.
At last I had her snapped in the harness. The leash was run over and
under the upper perch with the clip run through the hand loop. I
lifted Sheba up and clipped the leash to the harness. Now, I thought,
she will stand and I can groom her just fine.

Suddenly, her backside sagged and she twisted in the harness. I used
my left hand to hold up her belly while I ran the slicker over her. I
had to stop and clean it frequently. The slicker works great for her
underfur. It has many fine wires bent backward to grab the hair. The
comb doesn't work so well on her fur; but it is ideal at cleaning out
the slicker.

That is when she slipped out of the harness. I finally managed to get
it back on her. Then we had some more fun. She grabbed the sisal on
the pole to get some really good purchase, trying to get away. But
that put her tail base and hiney in a better position to get the
copious pantaloons off her. Finally I got all the underfur and started
with the brush to get the loose stuff floating on the surface of her
upper half. She loved it and didn't even fight to grab it when I ran
it down the lower half of her body. It must have felt soothing after
the pulling of the slicker.

When I removed the harness, she just lay there purring and rubbing her
face on the brush. I looked at the trashcan I put the hair in; it was
half full! I wonder how long it will take to grow back? A week? ~sigh.

--
CATherine