Noticeable Physical Differences After Adoption?

When I was meeting Loki for the first time at the Humane Society I noticed that is coat felt like straw. It didn't feel good at all to touch. I was disappointed, but not enough so that Loki didn't come home with me!

However, within a few days of bringing him home his coat was much, much softer and smoother. I have no idea if this is common when adopting from shelters or rescues where they are kept in cages, though Loki was kept in a large communal cage. I don't know it was because of the food (I bought my first bag of food from them, so I would assume it was the same) or maybe just not getting petted enough.

Has anyone else experienced this or something else they brought home a new kitty?

Tricia

I've been told stress can cause that. I've known a lot of the shelter kitties here to have wiry coats. Poor nutrition causes it.

Stress can definitely cause it, as well as poor nutrition.

My foster kitty Akasha has really nice fur since she's been with me for several months now. However, over thanksgiving she went to another foster home for 4 days. She is a skittish nervous kitty and the new environment stressed her out. She didn't eat the entire time and spent it hiding under the couch. When I picked her up and brought her home she had horrible dandruff and shedding. She immediately relaxed and started eating and I noticed that her fur was back to its usual softness within a few days

I agree that it is a stress and nutrition thing. Marcie has a soft, silky coat, but when we go on vacation and have to board her, her coat gets dull and rough. After several days of being back at home, then it gets back to its normal soft, shiny state.

I believe it's stress and nutrition. Stan feels like a soft little bunny now, but when we got him he earned the nickname "roadkill kitty".

Yup, when we adopted Bayley from our HS, his coat wasn't as soft as it is now. It wasn't THAT bad, but there's a big difference between now & when we brought him home!
Good foods & proper brushing helped too

I bet he finally felt at home, and was able to groom himself properly. Lots of shelter kitties look a bit bedraggled... no wonder, in that environment.

Poor Loki was only there for 2 weeks! He must have been really happy to be with me. Well, that and all the petting I gave him.

Tricia

Yeah, I have noticed that too, I assumed it must be the food and stress - the rescue that I have noticed it from keep animals in large outdoor pens, and they have lots of cats, so I wondered if they all got their fair share of food.

When I got Dharma via Petsmart, her coat was nice, but after about six weeks and a gradual switch over to Nutro indoor, it became like silk and very shiny. I also was brushing her a little bit each day with a soft brush, which she ended up loving.

My Dante, also a DSH adopted via Petsmart, was more noticeable. He had a very 'fly-away' coat - to the point I was convinced my whole house would be totally covered in hair. Again, within two months, the shedding went down dramatically, his coat just gleamed, and even with the furminator I don't get much hair off (yes, I still brush every day, since both enjoy it). I really do think that once they're fairly sure that things are safe and not going to change, plus a better quality food, great things can happen with their appearance. Also, in my case, Nutro really helped the odor factor with Dante and the litter box.

Spoiled Butzie was only in the shelter for 2 days. She was "highly adoptable" and I was the highly sucker to adopt. Her coat was just fine, but I agree that stress could cause a coat problem.