cat shedding

I have six cats. Three were strays born feral that I managed to tame and adopt while they were still young enough to trust me. Each of these cats are a year apart in age. I believe they all have the same mother, but different fathers. I've tried unsuccessfully to catch "mother" for the past four years! She is just too wild and has outsmarted me at every turn! At this point, even if I do manage to catch her, it will only be long enough to have her spayed and then I'll let her go again. Anyways, my question is that I've noticed that all three of her kittens that I've adopted over the years do not shed at all! Also, their fur is extremely soft, more like a rabbit than a cat. Since "mom" looks like a Turkish Van and so do two of the kittens, I thought that was the reason. BUT, the third kitten is a tortie and also has the same soft fur and never sheds! What is the explanation???? Is there one? Is there such thing as a "Tortie Van". ? :-)

Darned if I have a clue....but LUCKY YOU!!!! :-)
Linda

Let me go off topic for a moment: I had 2 feral mom cats like yours. Keep trying to trap - it took me 5 years to get the first one. Why not start a thread on what you've tried thus far to trap her and have folks weigh in on the tricks that they use. There's a lot of knowledge here and they may not notice this thread.

Back to topic: Many of mine are also related thru my 2 allusive moms and they share a lot of both physical and behavior traits. Every Turkish Van that I've known sheds like crazy so there might be another genetic trait that is hindering their shedding. I've noticed the biggest effect on shedding is the quality of their food, although I have to say my short haired reds do not shed much.

Originally Posted by Momofmany

Let me go off topic for a moment: I had 2 feral mom cats like yours. Keep trying to trap - it took me 5 years to get the first one. Why not start a thread on what you've tried thus far to trap her and have folks weigh in on the tricks that they use. There's a lot of knowledge here and they may not notice this thread.

Back to topic: Many of mine are also related thru my 2 allusive moms and they share a lot of both physical and behavior traits. Every Turkish Van that I've known sheds like crazy so there might be another genetic trait that is hindering their shedding. I've noticed the biggest effect on shedding is the quality of their food, although I have to say my short haired reds do not shed much.

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Thanks momo. I love your idea about posting more about experiences trying to catch a feral cat. I see there is a forum for it as well, so I'll write something about my previous experiences soon. As for the three cats, I have never owned a Turkish Van. I just was doing some research and since the cats look similar to a Van, and they all have unusual coats, and all are "toilet divers", I thought that could be it. After your comment though I did some more research though and you are correct. The only cats that don't shed are Rex or Sphynx. That's possible too though, since one of the cats has HUGE ears. The other has a very angular face and is all white. The tortie just has no explanation though. I'm not complaining! They're all great cats and I love them, but no more than my other three cats that are "typical" and shed like crazy! :-) It's just wierd.....