Fur growing back a different color?

strange_wings

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I have a little black female cat - August 18 she was opened up to be spayed. Now I know it is very common for fur to grow back another color, such as white, around an incision or wound and that's not what I'm asking about.

The odd thing is that everywhere she was shaved is growing back light grey or even white.
There's definite edges where it stops so it looks like a it will eventually be a patchy greyish rectangle on her belly. Because no one knew she was already spay she was shaved for a larger than normal area for a larger incision to be made.
Her normal under coat is matte black, so I'm not getting how undamaged skin would grow it out a different color.

Has anyone had a cat grow back fur of another color just from being shaved? I'd think it wouldn't be very common as it would present a problem for those shaving long haired cats.
 

nes

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She may just be changing into her adult colours?
(do cats do that? I know most other animals do, dogs & horses at least).

How old is she?
 
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strange_wings

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My guess is 3 to 4 years old.
 

otto

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The undercoat is often a softer lighter color than the top coat, so perhaps that is what you are seeing, her under coat. By the time it all gets grown back it may look normal again.

but if it doesn't she can be proud of her special square of gray fur!


I know about it now, but hadn't heard about that some fur will grow in white over a wound.

Mazy cat had an abscess a few years ago. After it healed the fur just never grew back and I resigned myself to her pretty coat having a bare patch. Then one day months later I all of a sudden realized she had a patch of pure white on her shoulder where the abscess was! There is no other white on her anywhere and I love her little white patch!




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strange_wings

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No, her other undercoat is definitely matte black. Her coat is normally black from roots to tip. She's one of those DSHs that have a medium amount of undercoat and not too much guard hair (coat?), and that is shorter, too - so she has a very nice satiny feel and look to her coat.

Everything that was shaved is growing back much much lighter, aside from a few little spots that are getting black and the spots were very little fur grows (lower belly and thighs - suspect past skin issues there). I'll try to get her to hold still for a close up picture later. I've just never heard of anyone mentioning that shaving their cat caused fur color to change.


I'm glad that not all cats have fur that grows back lighter over a wound. My seal point Sherman has the side of his head torn open when I caught him and hauled him off to the vet. Thankfully the fur remained dark.


BTW, fur/hair growing back white will happen in other animals and humans, too. I had a couple baby hamsters that were viciously attacked by their mother (psycho hamster, something was wrong with her mentally). They were cream but the fur over their scars later grew back white.
 

srrh

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I had a bizarre similar experience. When Lolly and Fiona first met, they had a small scrap, which involved Fiona swiping at Lolly's forehead, and not actually scratching her, but pulling a tuft of hair back. Lolly is mostly gray all over (she does have light light orange on the very tip of her tail and a bit rippled through the fur on her sides), but the fur on her forehead grew back in orange! She doesn't have orange anywhere on her head, so that spot looks very funny.
 

stephanietx

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Callie's a tortie and her fur is always changing colors. Over the years, I've noticed patches of various colors come and go. My vet said that changes in coat color is common in Siamese cats.
 

hosman

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Does your cat have a white or lighter colored undercoat? My cat is black but the vet showed me she has a light(almost white)colored undercoat.Recently she was spayed and they shave the tummy for that.I noticed Alley has some greyish-white fur coming in where she was shaven. Most likely she always had this area of lighter fur just that I did`nt notice it. I also see faint tabby stripes on Alley`s sides when the sun hits her.
 
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strange_wings

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Originally Posted by HosMan

Does your cat have a white or lighter colored undercoat?
To answer the question, again.
Originally Posted by strange_wings

No, her other undercoat is definitely matte black. Her coat is normally black from roots to tip.
In case anyone misunderstands what matte means, it means dull - not shiny. The fur on her belly was all black before with some bare patches where fur didn't, and still doesn't, grow.

And to answer other questions. Again she is (or was) a solid black DSH. No calico, no tortie, no tabby, no siamese, and no patches of other colors at all. She didn't even the striping normally seen in many black cats.


Unless their clippers pulled fur out and caused some damage to the roots I still have no idea what could have damaged it so that it grows back another color.
 

nes

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It's very strange SW. I know lots of animals can change their coat patterns up to a year or so old just because they have their adult fur growing in, but if she's 3 or 4 that makes no sense.

Maybe shave the rest of her?
 

-_aj_-

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sooty was like that when his leg was shaved when he was neutered it grew back grey then all of a sudden was black again and his coat his black from root to tip
 
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strange_wings

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Originally Posted by -_aj_-

sooty was like that when his leg was shaved when he was neutered it grew back grey then all of a sudden was black again and his coat his black from root to tip
I've never heard of a cat's leg being shaved for a neuter!
This sounds exactly like what Siri's fur is doing, though.

While it's suspected that she was originally spay while very very young and has never had a litter, she has a belly like a cat that just had a litter of 10 kittens. That's to say, it's rather saggy. (past obesity, likely) So I do hope it eventually changes back or darkens more to help her belly blend in. It looks funny how it is now.
 

littleraven7726

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Lola's fur on her neck grew back in a white color. She had 2 huge bot fly larvae growing in her neck when we caught her (we had to trap her). She had no fur on those areas, just the huge festering wounds. They were gross! The vet had told us it might not even grow back, but it did. Just a different color.

All of my cats have been shaved in spots for various vet related things, but no one had it grow back a different color (yet anyway).
 
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