The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Pets & Working Animals => Cats => Topic started by: sabrina on April 30, 2014, 03:59:29 pm
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Last night while working in the paddock I saw one of my neighbours cats. She was in a terrible state with most of her fur hanging off. I thought the worse and gave them a phone. Seems the cat sheds her coat every year. Skin underneath is healthy. She is just a normal moggy. I have never seen or heard of this before. Anyone come across this.
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No :o.
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Me neither
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Nope, without seeing him/her sounds like its maybe badly matted :-\
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It can happen with dogs so, although I haven't seen a cat do this, would suspect there are the rare cat that also does it. Or it could be seasonal alopecia where they get a skin condition and hair loss with matting which is often in spring or summer.
Whatever the cause, for the health and welfare of the cat, it should be combed daily to stop matting which in itself can be painful. The matts pull on the skin, and sores can develop with lack of air circulation and dirt getting trapped.
If it is feral then it's welfare should be considered and decision made whether it is fair to let it go through this every year :-\
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The cat is a pet, long haired right enough but have to say I never seen it with matted hair. she looks a bit like a sheep losing her wool. When I saw her there was a lot of fur just hanging off. Far from normal.
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It sounds like it may have the same as some dogs then. They drop their winter coat very quickly over a week or two then grow the new coat instead of the average which shed slowly over weeks so it isn't noticed as much. One friend has a long haired GSD which looks like she has been shaven almost to the skin when she sheds her hair suddenly. The new hair grows back over several weeks before she looks normal again.
Obi, our GSD drops his quickly and I get 2 or 3 carriers full over about a week or two then it settles back down but he doesn't lose it too drastically, he still has a good layer of long hair, it just thins until his new coat regrows.
It's still better to comb out the loose stuff daily as it is more prone to matting with it loosening so quickly. If she usually looks well groomed I wouldn't worry as long as it it getting back to normal within a few weeks.