Hair Lifting questions

That`s a strange one!
I`ve noticed when Kitty is cross or very slightly off colour his fur tends to 'stand up' a bit. Maisies fur pouffs up if she`s cold.
Maybe someone else will know.

Thank you, Jaffacake.....I know my kitties' fur poofs up when they've been suddenly frightened by something. This is different. It's something that will last a day or two. almost like the fur is lifting so that more air can get to the skin. I meant to ask the Vet the last time I was in.....

It's similar to running a comb backwards through their fur, and instead of the fur falling back into place..it stays upright...but in one-inch sections......I wonder if it's when they don't feel well.

I'll try to ask the Vet when I take little Samson in for his next vaccination!!

Thank you...

It could be due to a change in body temperature, or a day when they haven't groomed as thoroughly. Perhaps they spent more time sleeping and have bed hair. While Odo's hair doesn't stand straight up, it often seems to open in sections as he moves, sort of like the way armadillo plates look in pictures. Willow's hair was a little bit shorter, just enough that it wouldn't lie flat if she had her back rounded--it drove my boyfriend nuts since he was always trying to smooth out her fur.

I know what you're talking about. Forrest's fur does this. Lilly's does not. His hair sometimes just sticks up in little "ridges" like multiple Mohawk rows horizontally across his back. I just attribute it to a bad hair day - or him being a little lazy with his grooming.

Even though Forrest is black he has "shadow" or phantom tabby stripes that can only be seen in the sunlight. The rows separate out where his shadow stripes are.

Cloud_Shade and AudioCat...that's exactly what I mean...opens in sections....and sticks up in ridges.....describes what I've seen. It only lasts a day or so....but I just wondered if it meant anything. My one cat has never had it...

I'm always looking for signs of illness or the start of illness...so I always think the worst when I spot something different about them. I'm glad to hear that your cats have this and that they're perfectly fine.....

That sets my mind at ease Thank You!

My Clyde has super super thick fur (short hair) and it "clumps" up every so often like that as well. I think that it's when he needs a good grooming.

Kluchetta....I had already groomed them with a good brushing and they loved it...perhaps Max was telling me to brush him again.... ....he didn't have particularily a heavy coat...but he sure loved getting brushed. Phoebe, who has a thick coat like a buffalo....loves getting groomed too....and yet her hair has never done anything but lay flat.... ....funny isn't it!!

Does the coat feel greasy when it sticks up? Often times when a cats' coat shows cracks or sticks up it means that the coat is over oily and tha the cat hasn't been grooming itself up. My Reecie is no longer regularly bathed (I only bathe her once every 3-4 months now) and when her coat does that I know it's time for a bath!

Chynna has short hair, but her coat was doing that too. Turns out that I wasn't getting down far enough into the undercoat when I brushed her. I bought a new brush (a slicker wire one) and that gets right down to the bottom of the undercoat. I got so much hair off of her the first few times I used it. I still brush her a couple times a day because she loves it, but her coat no longer feels greasy or separates into rows/clumps.

Maybe try a different brush, and don't be afraid to brush more than the surface.

Sometimes the coat feels oily...I've never bathed any of my cats, ever. It could be that he wasn't grooming himself for whatever reason....but it does lay back down like normal in a day or so. Guess he wanted me to groom him....they do love it!!!

I'm always afraid to press too hard when grooming...I always think that I'm going to hurt their skin.....like when our mother's brushed our hair too hard, it hurt my scalp.....so that's why I tend to brush their coat against the growth..it lifts it up and pulls it backwards.....I feel it won't hurt as much.

Thanks for the tips....I was just worried that it was a sign of ill health, but it doesn't look like it.

I use both the Furminator and the Zoom Groom. I think the Furminator gets the undercoat more.

I maybe worry too much, but this exactly what I came here to ask about... All 3 of my cats' fur is doing this right now. One is walking around the house doing her normal thing, but is have severe bouts of regression of her PTSD behaviors (rescue from an intensely abusive background). She even swiped at me.. which hasn't happened in a long time. My two younger littermates are sleeping peacefully together as always. They do seem to be rapidly breathing and clingy toward one another. Bianca's face fur puffed up so much last night I considered an animal hospital.. she had no other symptoms though, except she kept giving me the look (when she looks deep into my eyes like she's reading me while letting me know if she could talk, she'd certainly be telling me something important). Maybe they ate something bad? Or all happen to be allergic to a new something around here?