Shedding unlike other cats

Hi,
I have a poor kitty who has been excessively shedding from January through July! I keep reading that this is supposed to stop but it never has! She gets brushed daily (often, multiple times a day), but the hair keeps floating out. Our other cat, who eats the same food and lives in the same temperature, doesn't shed at all now that his winter coat is gone.
What is causing my girl to shed and is there anything I can do to make it stop?

The worse part is that her hair is so fine, that it doesn't even form hair bunnies - it just imbeds in the furniture and floats through the air.

What food do you feed her? Often poor quiality food can lead to extra shedding and dull dry coat and skin.

Buy a Zoom Groom, they are inexpensive and you will be amazed at how well they work. But you have to do it right, you just brush over the cat with it continuously all over the back in the same direction, don't turn the Zoom Groom or anything. Hair will look like it is getting all over the place and making a mess but just keep going over it. Pretty soon it will just pick it all up and clump in the Zoom Groom. Still keep going, you can stop to look at the brush or if the kitty runs away, but don't clean out the Zoom Groom, just continue brushing in the same direction...They are amazing...

You may also try the Shed Ender. I find it works best on longer haired, thicker coat cats. And it is expensive. But if you have the extra money, give it a shot.

I will look into the Zoom Groom. Could food be the culprit even though my other cat has no problems? They eat the same food and he has a beautiful coat.
I will take a look at the Omega 6 content of my cat's food.

Is there a majical pill that stops shedding?

I don't think there is any magic pill no

What brand of food do you feed?

They make some with oils added in, usually the higher quality foods have better ingredients and include extras like oils that are good for the cat.

Originally Posted by Jen

You may also try the Shed Ender. I find it works best on longer haired, thicker coat cats. And it is expensive. But if you have the extra money, give it a shot.

Click to expand...

Just letting you know, I found shed ender at Bed Bath and Beyond for only $9.99. The price for zoom groom is just under that.

As for the cat that sheds a lot I would look into what you are feeding your cat. Just because one cat doesn't react to it doesn't mean the other can't. Cats are like people, we all react different to different things. Also I have seen additives you can add to the food that is supposed to help stop shedding (Linatone, Lipiderm, shed-x, etc). I've tried one on one of my dogs but I haven't seen the best results (of course I wasn't really good at giving it to him everyday either). These types of products you can find in pet stores.

Ohh that is a good price. Cheapest I have seen the Shed Ender is 11.95-21.95.
I bought mine used off Ebay for cheap.

Zoom Groom at PetSmart here I thought was only around $5 or $6, maybe I am wrong, but either way it is definately worth it.

Is your cat an angora or angora mix, by any chance? They have very fine hair that floats around and gets in everything... you breathe it in. At least from my experience, they also shed tremendously.

So the individual cat's genes make a difference. But things that help are diet, and brushing daily with not only a brush but a comb-type product like the Furminator or the Shed Ender. The combing tools get out the undercoat, that light fluffy hair, which a normal brush doesn't touch. So you could be grooming your cat but not getting at the hair that's the real problem.

Stress can also play a role.

My cat has been the same way and she eats a high quality wet and Natural Balance Dry. I heard that if you give them a little bit of olive oil in their food once a week it helps. I tried that for about a week then I just kept forgetting. I think I'll try it again. No matter how much I brush and how much hair I take out she continues to shed.

I've had cats all my life, long and short hair but nothing prepared me for my little Tyler. He's a short hair that sheds like nothing I've ever seen. It's unbelievable. He'll lay on my bed for literally two seconds and I'll go through 5 lint sheets getting the hair off.

So, I tried some of the shed supplements, ShedX, Linatone and I can tell you they really work. In 4 weeks, the massive shedding stopped and he was suddenly normal. Unfortunately, Tyler stopped eating food with the supplement(a mostly oily substance)on it so I'm back in shedding hell. I've tried all the brands and he'll have none of it. He'll only eat it on tuna and I can't give him that on a daily basis. If anyone has any suggestions for me on how to get him to start eating the stuff again, I'd greatly appreciate it.

But, you may have better luck so I definitely recommend trying it. You give approx. 1 tsp once per day. Be patient, it takes a few weeks to show results. Good luck!

Some cats just shed a lot more, and one of mine sheds when he is scared or under any pressure, is it a newer addition the family who hasn't quite settled in or have their been any changes that could upset her?

My short haired cats shed all the time compared to the longer haired ones, but the furminator has helped a lot with that (its amazing how much loose fur they have on them!!)

after diet and supplements already mentioned the only thing that might help if taking her to a groomer who can do a good job of getting any loose coat off her and start from scratch while she doesn't have loose fur that distracts you from the results