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Cat Forum / Health and Behavior / March 2008hair comes out in chunks when pulled
I have an indoor only cat (lives at my office after being evicted from the house by my wife almost 2 years ago). He's a long hair about 8 years old. I'm not normally in the habit of grooming him as he hates being brushed so I've just let him be for the most part. This past week though I decided that I was going to clean him up. He had some small clumps of hair around his collar, so I removed his collar and brushed him out as best as I could. There were still clumps so I tried to see if I could brush through them and break them apart with my fingers but found the hair pulls right out without bothering him. I felt all over his body and found a few areas with small clumps and the hair in those areas pulled right out as well. This sounds a little odd to me and I'm not sure if it's because spring is coming, if it's normal, or because of his diet (I feed him twice a day, about 3oz of dry food at a time and use Innova Reduced Fat as he's overweight. I realize wet food would be good as well but I have not been giving him wet). I see no sores, feel no problems with his skin, though his fur is a bit dull. Any thoughts? > This sounds a little odd to me and I'm not sure if it's because spring > is coming, if it's normal, or because of his diet (I feed him twice a > day, about 3oz of dry food at a time and use Innova Reduced Fat as > he's overweight. I realize wet food would be good as well but I have > not been giving him wet). Food has everything to do with the appearance of his coat (and his overall health too). I noticed a huge difference in my Tucker's coat when I switched to an all-canned diet. Less shedding, fewer hairballs, and a generally more glossy coat. My guess is that, since he's long hair and hasn't been regularly groomed, is that he's just shedding. If you see any more mats that are close to the skin, I'd recommend taking him to a groomer and have them shave the area. Once his fur is mat free, keep brushing him on a regular schedule. I really like the Furminator--it really gets the hair out--but use whatever brush your cat will tolerate. Some cats love the rubber Zoom Groom vs. a metal brush. > > This sounds a little odd to me and I'm not sure if it's because spring > > is coming, if it's normal, or because of his diet (I feed him twice a [quoted text clipped - 14 lines] > hair out--but use whatever brush your cat will tolerate. Some cats > love the rubber Zoom Groom vs. a metal brush. Thanks, I"ll take a look at some of the brushes you mentioned but I don't think it will matter, he HATES being brushed. He wraps all 4 paws around the brush and bites the brush and my hand if I even go near him with the thing. It doesn't matter where I try to brush, if he even just sees it, he goes into attack the brush mode :). I'll see if I can mix in some wet food, I used to use Welness but my local source dried up and with the price of gas, it's a LONG drive to the closest place that carries it. I'll look into some of the alternatives. I'm sure the store where I buy Innova must have something of quality (Innova wet perhaps?) snip > I'll see if I can mix in some wet food, I used to use Welness but my > local source dried up and with the price of gas, it's a LONG drive > to the closest place that carries it. I'll look into some of the > alternatives. I'm sure the store where I buy Innova must have > something of quality (Innova wet perhaps?) ------------ Check out www.petfooddirect.com There are almost always coupon codes available. Right now, the promotional code GEICO will get you 20% off which will cover the cost of the shipping. The price of the food itself is also cheaper than in stores, but it's sold by the case. If possible, it's best to have your cat on an all-canned food diet (for a number of reasons). Best regards, ---Cindy S. The Innova canned food would be a good option. Also, canned food is less in calories than dry so that would be another reason to switch your cat over to canned since you said he was overweight. As far a grooming tools, I had a glove that was for grooming. It had rubber nubs on the palm part. You would wear the glove and just pet your cat and it would help remove loose fur, etc. I'm not sure if such a glove is available anymore, but you could check the pet stores or maybe online somewhere. S.  Signature**Visit me and my cats at http://www.island-cats.com/ ** --- >> > This sounds a little odd to me and I'm not sure if it's because spring >> > is coming, if it's normal, or because of his diet (I feed him twice a [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > alternatives. I'm sure the store where I buy Innova must have > something of quality (Innova wet perhaps?) > The Innova canned food would be a good option. Also, canned food is less in > calories than dry so that would be another reason to switch your cat over to [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > available anymore, but you could check the pet stores or maybe online > somewhere. Innova is a good brand, and Nature's Variety raw or canned is excellent as well. I believe those gloves are still available. If you can't find them at a pet store, try a place like Harriet Carter, where they tend to sell the unusual. Have you tried taking him out on a harness and brushing him that way. I've found it works great with my cats. They are distracted by outside sounds/smells, and I can brush away. That's how I clip my cats' claws....I take them outside and they are so distracted by being outside, I can trim those nails in no time flat! S. Signature**Visit me and my cats at http://www.island-cats.com/ ** --- On Mar 27, 10:46 pm, "blkcatgal" <blkcat...@comcast.net> wrote: > The Innova canned food would be a good option. Also, canned food is less > in [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > available anymore, but you could check the pet stores or maybe online > somewhere. Innova is a good brand, and Nature's Variety raw or canned is excellent as well. I believe those gloves are still available. If you can't find them at a pet store, try a place like Harriet Carter, where they tend to sell the unusual. Have you tried taking him out on a harness and brushing him that way. I've found it works great with my cats. They are distracted by outside sounds/smells, and I can brush away. > That's how I clip my cats' claws....I take them outside and they are so > distracted by being outside, I can trim those nails in no time flat! [quoted text clipped - 25 lines] > him that way. I've found it works great with my cats. They are > distracted by outside sounds/smells, and I can brush away. Yeah we've tried the harness thing, in fact we tried to train him from when he was a kitten with the intent of being able to walk him, but it didn't work well. Once the cats came back inside, they would all go nuts trying to kill each other. I just noticed our 3yr old long hair female at home is having similar issues, so it's probably just the whole spring shedding thing. The glove brush thing sounds kind of cool though and I'll check out the website mentioned above. Thanks for the tip. > Yeah we've tried the harness thing, in fact we tried to train him from > when he was a kitten with the intent of being able to walk him, but [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] > cool though and I'll check out the website mentioned above. Thanks > for the tip. I also thought I would add that if you cannot find canned food close by, and do not feel like doing mail order (which is actually very convenient and a good suggestion) some pet suppliers will be willing to order the canned food for you at a discount on the shipping... This would include pets stores and also many feed stores (larger animal type feed stores). Just a though :-) Good luck ;-) That's a good suggestion. When I was looking for a particular brand of cat food which my local pet store did not carry, I asked the owner if he could order it for me. He agreed and he didn't charge me for shipping at all. Of course, I had to buy at least a case of the canned food (which wasn't a big deal). All you have to do is ask. S. Signature**Visit me and my cats at http://www.island-cats.com/ ** --- > >> Yeah we've tried the harness thing, in fact we tried to train him from [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > > Good luck ;-) > That's a good suggestion. When I was looking for a particular brand of cat > food which my local pet store did not carry, I asked the owner if he could [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] > > All you have to do is ask. Hey Blkcatgal, How is your newest member of the family doing? Is she adjusting pretty well? Have you accomplished the full intros with your other cats yet? Is she getting friendlier? Thanks! Melissa ;-) Hi Melissa, thanks for asking about Zoey. She is doing very well. She finally seems to be warming up to me. Not totally trusting me, but it is getting better. Of course, if I have food, I am her best friend! :-) She will still run from me if I approach her but I'm beginning to think that's just the way she is going to be. She's now coming up the basement steps and sitting at the door. My husband thinks she is getting bored with being in the basement, but I think she is fine. We are still keeping her isolated from the other 2 cats. After talking with a few people, including my vet's office, they all recommended that I keep her isolated for at least 8 weeks and then have her retested for FeLV/FIV (it's been 6 weeks now since we caught her). My vet recommends 12 weeks but I don't think I'm going to be able to hold out for that long. I don't think there's going to be a problem but I'm erring on the side of caution. And I'm going out of town for a few days next week so when I get back, the introductions will begin. My other 2 cats have been sniffing her through the door, etc. I've tried the sock trick trying to get my resident cats use to the new cat's smells and vice versa. I have real concerns about my one cat and how he is going to handle all of this. He smells the sock and starts hissing and growling and then will go after the other cat. I know, redirected aggression. Guess we'll have to take these introductions nice and slow. Thanks for asking. I'll keep you posted. S. Signature**Visit me and my cats at http://www.island-cats.com/ ** --- >> That's a good suggestion. When I was looking for a particular brand of >> cat [quoted text clipped - 17 lines] > Thanks! > Melissa ;-) Here's a couple of photos of Zoey. http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x17/blkcatgal/IMG_0193a.jpg http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x17/blkcatgal/IMG_0218.jpg S. Signature**Visit me and my cats at http://www.island-cats.com/ ** --- > Hi Melissa, thanks for asking about Zoey. She is doing very well. She > finally seems to be warming up to me. Not totally trusting me, but it is [quoted text clipped - 42 lines] >> Thanks! >> Melissa ;-) > Here's a couple of photos of Zoey. > http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x17/blkcatgal/IMG_0193a.jpg > http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x17/blkcatgal/IMG_0218.jpg > > S. She is absolutely gorgeous! Good luck introducing them--I have mostly had good experiences but was too impatient with one of my rescues. Now there is an uneasy truce--every once in awhile fur will fly. Cats can be so silly sometimes! Bonnie > > Here's a couple of photos of Zoey. > >http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x17/blkcatgal/IMG_0193a.jpg > >http://i182.photobucket.com/albums/x17/blkcatgal/IMG_0218.jpg > > > S. She is gorgeous!!! What a sweetie! Thanks for sharing those beautiful pictures! Adorable! I am with that, mostly good experiences with intros... I have a feeling waiting the couple of extra weeks will help with that as well ;-) Lots of luck ;-) |
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