Do cats go gray?

mishirish

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I apologize if this is in the wrong forum. There's no "anatomy" forum so I thought health was the closest thing?

Anyway, I was wondering if older cats can get a few gray hairs? My Patience was a stray, the first vet visit estimated her to be about two years old. Within the last couple months, though, I noticed whitish/gray spots on her tail that I didn't think were there before. I thought maybe she's older than what we estimated? Or maybe they've been there all along, I just hadn't noticed it.
 

courtney_ou

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chloes fur got darker as she got out of kittendom. patchys ears and muzzle are starting to turn white now that shes "maturing" lol shes around 10. i dont like to think about her being old cuz it makes me sad
 

mews2much

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I do not think that it is from her age. I have a 16 year old black and white Cat and she has grey hairs but not on her tail. They are on her face and paws. Our other older Cats had it on the face but never on the tail. Maybe she is just changing color. My Meeko changes color alot.
 

goldenkitty45

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I've never really noticed it. Maybe on black or very dark cats you might find some grey/white hairs as they age. I suspect its just a change in the coat - dead hairs rather then grey ones.
 

momto3cats

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I wonder about that too. None of mine have gone grey or changed color, but my grandmother had a black cat who developed white hairs scattered throughout her coat in old age.
 
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mishirish

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Well it is shedding season and the gray hairs are thin and kinky rather than full and straight, but they're not combing out, at least not quite yet. Thanks for the quick replies, I was rather curious about it. =)
 

cloud_shade

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Some cats do go grey--my Odo definitely looks greyish now, though I know he would have been more tan or brown in his youth. The orange and white tabby we had when I was a kid developed more white hairs when he got to be around 10 years old. That said, Zek has some random white hairs and he's only about 2 years old. They are stiffier than the surrounding hair--they may be vibrissae.
http://www.showcatsonline.com/x/hair_apparent.htm
 
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