Cat that doesn't shed?

dusty's mom

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My cat Dusty is a domestic long hair. She is about 4 and she came to us as a stray 2 yrs. ago, so we don't know a thing about her background

Anyway I have a question about her fur, which is very soft, fine and long. Funny thing is she doesn't shed. I can comb her, brush her, pet her, and no hair comes out - EXCEPT during her molting period, which is from March to May, when she loses her winter coat.

Does this sound like any particular kind of cat? I've had several cats, but none with fur like this. Is this common?


Winter coat


Summer coat
 

jen

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Oh my god! All I have to say is that she is GORGEOUS!! I don't think I have seen a cat so beautiful! I love the difference between her summer and winter coat. Sorry I am of no help whatsoever though to your question.
 
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dusty's mom

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Thanks for the compliment Jen. Dusty is a sweetheart! Anyway these 2 pics might better show the difference in her two season coats.

Currently her white "bib" is in full bloom - about 6 inches long! Her coloring is mostly charcoal grey with some redish brown highlights.


Recent pic - winter coat


Summer coat


shows the highlights in the sun
 

pami

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OMG She is absolutely GORGEOUS!!!! I dont have any advice as to what kind of cat except BEAUTIFUL!!!!!!
 

kluchetta

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I did a google search for "cat" and "blow coat" (because that's what it's called in dogs, LOL) and came up with mostly Maine Coon cats that blow their coat like that! HTH!
 

lookingglass

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Ming, my first kitty, was kind of like that. She'd shed enough for three cats in the spring, but for the rest of the year we didn't get much fur off of her at all.

BTW your kitty is beautiful!
 

goldenkitty45

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Any cat with fur WILL shed - some just shed a lot less then others. Turkish angoras, birmans, ragdolls have a more single layer coat compared to a persian, so they kinda "molt" the coat.

Rexes don't shed like normal cats, but you can still get a bit of fur when petting during the "shedding" season.

The only cats that don't shed are the sphynx cause they have no hair to shed


The summer coat picture reminds me of a turkish angora type
 

krazy kat2

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My Fluffy, rescued Christmas Eve of '05 looks very much like your Dusty in coat length and general shape. She barely sheds at all, even when we comb her. We have no idea of her background, or even how old she is, but the vet said she looks like a Maine Coon x. I think it might have been his way of making her more attractive to a potential home, though. Even though she has many of the features, like coat, ear and toe tufts, she is a very petite cat, unlike a MC. Dusty is a very pretty girl.
 
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dusty's mom

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After scouring the net, I've found that there is a breed that goes through a molt season, and the coat description and general appearance are similar to my cat Dusty. We have no idea of her background since she found her way to our backyard wearing a collar, but no ID tag. It was apparent she had been living on her own for several weeks.

After reading several sites, I believe she carries many of the same characteristics of this breed. Believe me, having a pedigree is not important to me, but I was curious about some of her unusual characteristics, especially her fur texture and annual molt. Another unusual trait - she has never had a flea or ear mites, even though she goes outside during the day, and prior to us taking her in, she had lived several weeks or months on her own outside. Finally, my friends who are allergic to cats are not bothered by her. Strange.



Norwegian Forest Cat

http://www.catconnect.com/int/Portra..._norwegian.htm

The semilong-hair coat is constituted by a double fur: the thick undercoat that protects it from the cold, and the waterproof overcoat that prevents water from getting in contact with its skin. It is endowed with a thick and long mane cloaking its neck of wild charm, with close "plus-fours" on its hind legs, and with a long and fabulous flowing tail.
At the arrival of the hot season, the Norwegian Cat incurs the molt: its whole overcoat begins to fall until only the thick tail remains to distinguish it from a normal shorthair cat.

http://www.cfainc.org/breeds/profiles/norwegian.html

These lovely cats are really two for the price of one, they can differ so greatly in looks from summer to winter. Some time in the spring they take off their “winter underwear,†the downy undercoat that provides warmth, and the long non-tangling outer guardhairs that act as protection from rain and snow. The contrast can be quite extreme. The inner-ear hair that deflects the wind and snow (and can be three to four inches long, curving out and around the ear like flexible racing stripes) remains all year. The tail is always magnificent, being as much as twelve inches or more when fanned to its fullest. Perhaps the most impressive part of the coat is the mane. On a fully mature cat, i.e. one over five years of age and which is challenged by the most adverse cold weather, the mane is nothing less than spectacular. It is long, dense and very, very impressive! This, unfortunately, may disappear in the spring, but rest assured that it will begin to lengthen again as the days begin to shorten.

http://www.acfacats.com/norwegian_fo...t_synopsis.htm

… The ruff in winter Is truly magnificent, exhibiting three separate sections: a short back of the neck ruff, side mutton chops, and a full frontal bib. When feeling the coat, one should get the feeling of denseness especially on the tabbies. Solids, bi-colors, and tri-colors often have a softer coat. The length of the coat is semi-long which means that it should not be as long as a Persian coat.
… The Forest Cat appears almost shorthaired in the summer. The undercoat drops in the spring, and the new undercoat starts growing in the fall. Indoor cats and outdoor cats have different coats. The outdoor cat develops a much more woolly undercoat than a cat that is kept inside, however the Norwegian Forest Cat is well suited to indoor life.
 

denice

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She is beautiful. That is the most I have seen a cat's coat change from winter to summer. I had only seen that much change in some breeds of dogs expecially the northern breeds like the husky.
 
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dusty's mom

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She is a very easy cat to have. She doesn't mat and her fur is very soft and fine. The only problem is during her molt. She sheds so much that she is tossing hairballs constantly. She won't take Petromalt. Even with daily grooming, the amount of hair in her tummy and the throwing up caused her to lose 2 lbs. last spring - down to 6.5 lbs from 8.5. I was sure she had some terminal disease. The vet prescribed some anti-nausea medicine that made her gag. That was counter-productive.

Now that I understand that she really does have a molt season, I'm going to be much more diligent about combing her several times a day, and get the Petromalt down her somehow.

I'm fairly sure that she isn't a purebreed anything, but the NFC is the only breed I can find that sheds like she does - once a year, with such a drastic difference in appearance.

I've had a few cats over the years, but none as smart and as affectionate as this one. She loves to cuddle right near my face, and purrs constantly. I swear she also understands English. If we ask her to give us a kiss, she will rub the top of her head against our lips. She is our baby, and we love her to pieces! My husband, who used to dislike cats, absolutely spoils her rotten!
 

denice

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I can relate to the spring shedding. I used to have a Siberian Husky and he would blow his coat in the spring. I would brush him out once a day and sometimes I would almost fill a brown grocery bag with the fur I got off him and I was still vacumning daily. Of course with a dog I didn't have to deal with the hairballs.
 

mzjazz2u

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I had a calico Perisan with the same kind of coat your kitty has. She never shed (except in the spring) and coat was very fine and silky soft. It doesn't seem to be breed specific, really. My cat never matted either. Which was nice from a Persian!


My red makrel tabby Persian, Jake, molts and looks totally different in summer then he does in the winter. In fact he looks drastically different! People always think he looks like he lost a bunch of weight but it's mostly just a bunch of fur. In fact I can pull out little tufts of fur with my fingers and it comes out so easily it doesn't bother him at all.
 
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dusty's mom

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Originally Posted by mzjazz2u

I had a calico Perisan with the same kind of coat your kitty has. She never shed (except in the spring) and coat was very fine and silky soft. It doesn't seem to be breed specific, really. My cat never matted either. Which was nice from a Persian!


My red makrel tabby Persian, Jake, molts and looks totally different in summer then he does in the winter. In fact he looks drastically different! People always think he looks like he lost a bunch of weight but it's mostly just a bunch of fur. In fact I can pull out little tufts of fur with my fingers and it comes out so easily it doesn't bother him at all.
That's very interesting! Last year she was still new to us, so I thought she was sick when she was throwing up all the time. As I said in a previous post, she went from 8.5 lbs to 6.5 lbs in a few weeks. I could feel her ribs and her bony bumpy spine. I was sure she was going to die. I really don't want her to go through the barfing again this year.

How do you keep Jake from swallowing all that fur? Do you have any suggestions to keep her more comfortable during this time?
 

kluchetta

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I have a DLH tortie that's 17 and we've had hairball problems for quite a while. Putting her on a dry food hairball formula works great.

Also, I guess if you brush the heck out of her, you might keep her from swallowing all that hair, LOL!
 
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dusty's mom

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Your kitty Smudge is beautiful!

Dusty does have a few flaws. She is a VERY PICKY EATER. I tried the dry hairball formula last year, but she wouldn't eat it. The only food she will eat is Fancy Feast, and only a few flavors - no grilled, chunked, sliced, gravy, aspic - only fish, chicken and beef and only "Gourmet Feast." She won't even eat the kitty treats Santa left in her stocking. The only dry she will eat is Little Friskies Ocean Fish flavor.
 

purefusion

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Your situation is very similar to ours as well. Our cat Jaden appeared to be a shorthair when we adopted her in mid-September. Soon after she started filling out to a long hair. We thought she was just suffering from poor nutrition, now after reading your posts maybe she sheds her coat for the summer. We'll just have to wait and see, I guess.

But our Jaden's fur is very similar: very fine and silky as well as soft and fluffy. It doesn't matt, nor does it shed. A few strands come off onto the couch, but I know more fur passes through her as waste, as she grooms herself very well. She looks more like a Turkish Angora than a Forest Cat, as the longer fur is on her scruff and tail. She also has cute toe tufts which we let grow out, but no ear tufts. (The pics of her in this sig are from when we first got her with short hair)
 

juliekit

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WOW, that is one gorgeous cat! I was absolutely shocked at the difference. She looked so huge and plump in her winter coat and in the next picture I was thinking 'hey where'd the cat go?'
 
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