Do cats shed more fur in the spring?

[Norachan]

 
what a beautiful cat you have!

I'm thinking now...since you live in Tenn, your temps will be higher now than ours in Canada.

your pix seem to show your kitty has really 'grown' since last summer - yes, i agree, brush brush brush

  what's a 'meat in 2'?

Meat and two veg. We've got the Chicken and the Beans, just need another vegetable now.

 

[bigperm20]

what a beautiful cat you have!
I'm thinking now...since you live in Tenn, your temps will be higher now than ours in Canada.
your pix seem to show your kitty has really 'grown' since last summer - yes, i agree, brush brush brush
  what's a 'meat in 2'?

I guess the meat 'n two (and subsequent meat 'n three) is a southern concept.

Here in the south a lot of non-chain restaurants will offer a lunch menu with a couple of meats to choose from and either 2 or 3 vegetables as a side.

I guess Beans has grown some more. She'll be 2 in June. I thought cats were supposed to stop growing at about a year of age? I know she's gotten heavier. It's not fat though, so maybe she's just gotten more muscular.

As far as the weather, we usually have very mild winters here. It's just this year that's been so cold. We kept getting that darn Canadian jet steam for some reason. Has it been a tough winter in Canada?

 

[2ketzels]

this winter some say it was the worst but I say, it reminds me of the 50's when we had huge snowstorms, ice frozen on tree limbs (then they would fall onto cars to crush them), wading thru big piles of snow...it was a refreshing change to have some 'real' weather. and..up here with the 'real weather' and winds not only do all the creepy-crawlies die off but the winds sweep the pollution coming up from the US mid-west away! i also had a chance to wear my heavy-tread rubber Sorels, lined in detachable sheepskin and my fur coat. yes, it was delightful...altho i must say i hate the high winds alone; they're very bitter

right now it's mild, the snow is melting and looking dingy but i hear the birds singing and the kitties are glued to the window

must be nice to live in Tennessee - I would love to tour about the south, all the back roads. is it really true that marmelade cats such as yours are the most intelligent?

 

[Norachan]

I guess Beans has grown some more. She'll be 2 in June. I thought cats were supposed to stop growing at about a year of age? I know she's gotten heavier. It's not fat though, so maybe she's just gotten more muscular.
 

Chicken will be 2 in July. She's still growing too, getting longer and taller. I think cats keep growing until they're around three years of age. I heard that female cats tend to be bigger if they are spayed when they are quite young, as having a litter before their first birthday takes a lot out of them.

I think we're both going to end up with some giant fluff ball kitties.

 

[bigperm20]

@2ketzels I love living here in Nashville except for the politics here. I know it's not polite to talk politics amongst good company so I'll leave it at that. Oh, and I don't really care for the heat either. This year is the first year we've had an actual Spring. Usually we just have hot and cold with no real Fall or Spring. I usually don't mind the cold but this winter was a little excessive.

I have heard that ginger kitties are very smart. Unfortunately, that gene missed my little Beanie. She's not exactly dumb, but compared to my other cat Oksana she isn't too bright. Oksana is too smart for her own good in all honesty. instead of using her mind for good, she just manipulates poor Beans into doing her bidding. She pulls the proverbial strings and Beans just goes along for the ride.

@norachan I had Beans fixed at about 5 months. Honestly, I've never been around a female cat as big as her. Her paws are absolutely huge. They were as a kitten as well. I have always wrapped both her and Oksana up in a towel in order to clip their claws. They hate it, but it's over quickly, and a lot easier than trying to to,cut them while they're wriggling around. About a month ago Beans decided she wasn't going to do it, and by God she won! I was amazed at how strong she is. I was so afraid I hurt her if I tried to force her, I just let her be. Beans 1 : Daddy 0

I have always had females except for one or two, but all of them have been tiny girls. I guess the spaying early theory does make sense in terms of growth.

How old was chicken when you got her?

 

[2ketzels]

ah...an actual spring - yes, here it's like where you are - cold then incredibly hot so that you yearn for the cool in the autumn. the only time I've ever experienced spring was when I lived in Greece and it came on so gradually and so did the fruits and berries, so natural; i had no idea nature could be as glorious.

here, too, in T.O. the politics is very vexing - i'm sure you've heard about our mayor the crack-head.

my kitties were 'used' so I'm not sure how old they are but I just couldn't take a kitten when the other cats were so alone; i was going to take one but they told me they were brother & sis so i had to take 2 and i am glad of it; they keep each other company altho she can be quite bitchy and he's the hilarious clown. they seem to be very sensitive to my moods or if i'm feeling unwell; it's so nice to have them sit by me then.

bye for now

 

[Norachan]

How old was chicken when you got her?

She came as a set of four with her sisters. I've been feeding their mother Kumori, who was spayed soon after they moved in with me, ever since she was tiny. I guess they were about four months old when they first started following their mum here to be fed.

Three of them are DLH, one DSH. Two have long tails and two are bob tails like their Mum. Chicken has always been the biggest, fluffiest one.

She's very stubborn too, just like Beans.

 

[withoutaname]

In the nine months we've had our little baby, he did never, until a couple of weeks ago, shed. Which is why I didn't understand anything. I could pull his hair, and there would not be any loose hair, but now, our whole house is covered in cat fur. 

I don't care much about it, but when people at my school is allergic, I feel a bit bad for them when I sit next to them with a jacket covered in fur. 

Also, my parents are really worried about me breathing and swallowing the hair, because of problems like development of allergies. I try to be careful, but there's not much I can do about it.

 

[jtbo]

I'm being inundated with fur, fur and more fur.   The last month or so it seems to be everywhere!!!!   I brush her. I (lint) brush my clothes.   I Swiffer and vacuum, but I'm losing the battle.  I can even pull on her fur and some comes out in my fingers.  It wasn't like this when I got her in November. So my question is:

Do cats shed old fur to get a new spring coat?

Mine have two coat changes in a year, spring and autumn, spring being far worse as they have thick winter coats because of our cold climate, summer coat has less fur, which is not quite as bad.

These I call 'fur seasons', and also these are seasons when their fur seem to get tangled up much easier than usual.

 

[Norachan]

I don't think you need to worry about developing allergies if you're OK now. I grew up in a house full of cats, rabbits, guinea pigs etc and never had any problems. I'm sure I swallowed plenty of pet hair when I was a kid.

One good way to get fur off your clothes before you go out is to get your hands wet then rub them downwards over your clothes. The fur sticks to your damp hands, balls up and comes of easily. Patting your clothes down with the sticky side of sellotape works well too.

 

[withoutaname]

The problem is that if it happens, I'm stuck with it for the rest of my life. Children have never ever been a part of my plan (not that I'm old enough to really say that but anyway..), but pets have, so whatever happens he will never quit being a part of my life. But some people develop such bad allergies that they have difficulty breathing, so being stuck with that forever would truly suck. Fortunately I'm not the kind of person who have allergies or are prone to developing them 

Plus most people just have problems with runny nose and itchy skin, and some of those people again actually get better with medications, so the chances of such horrible allergies as I mentioned aren't that high 

 

[jtbo]

I have cat allergy, which I developed in last few years. It is such that eyes will get wet, lot of sneezes running nose and if I touch cat from any area of my hand from elbow to wrist, I get lot of red bumps and horrible itch.

Then there is coughing and breathing issues if I spend few hours in cat room.

I'm currently waiting that UK based company will get sales permit for their new allergy medicine as it will be first one which effect should not decrease after several doses, also initial 4 shots should cover one for 2 years

Maybe end of the year or maybe during next year, not sure about when but I keep checking out their site every now and then:
http://www.circassia.co.uk/portfolio/cat/

Ah, according to this 2016 is new date, so have to wait bit longer than what I did read at last summer, but soon enough
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-...285-million-ipo-to-fund-allergy-vaccines.html

Currently available medications are such that they do work, but only for some time, they will loose their effect after enough usage.

As I have Asthma too, doctor told me that cat is worst for people with Asthma, claimed that cat's fur being the issue, however it is not the fur that causes for example allergies, so I suspect doctor really has no idea how cat allergies really do work, despite him being very famous doctor with own tv show.

So one can't really rely on doctors at least not completely.

It is not the fur, allergy is caused by a protein in cat's saliva, when cat licks fur saliva dries up and becomes dust, which is almost impossible to see and that dust floats in air and causes then those symptoms. Protein is called Fel D 1:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fel_d_1

Surely, fur does carry that protein as fur has cat's saliva, but fur is not the problem, actually the air is the problem so air cleaner machine or ventilating rooms more will reduce the potential for getting allergy in first place.

I had almost zero ventilation in 3 meters by 4 meters lower than average room where I slept, 6 cats that had access to one larger room too, but surely enough I got quite bit of exposure and some even decided to sleep in bed. Having asthma before and some allergies, probably bit of cat allergy too, I guess load was bit too much and I got allergies going much worse than before.

With one cat and more space there probably will not be such chance to get allergy, especially if enough ventilation is made.

 

[tweety91]

i started becoming allergic to cats in 2010, even though i was round them all my life. i would sneeze, have a nose like a tap, my eyes would water and swell to the point where i couldnt open them, even if i was in a room with a cat for 5minutes. Bad luck that i studied vet nursing in 2011. i was a constant swollen mess! But two months ago i decided i wanted a kitten and would just take allergy tablets by the dozen and got my beautiful tabby. After two days of her cuddles and smooches my allergies went! its crazy. But a friend of mine is allergic and she has an inside only cat and she doesnt react at all.

 

[bigperm20]

As far as fur removal, I just use a lint roller. It pulls 90% of the fur off in the first pass. If it's stubborn, I'll sometimes use a little duct tape wrapped around my hand to remove it.

As far as accidentally consuming a few strands of fur, it shouldn't be an issue. Allergic reactions I know less about but it's my understanding that you can't "develop" cat allergies. If you do "develop" them, you were most likely already allergic and had just never had a reaction before. Maybe I'm misinformed though...

 

[jtbo]

Oh yes cleaning fur, fastest that gives decent result seem to be Swedish army clothing brush, I got several for 1 euro from army surplus store, narrow brush that has arc towards nose, 'hair' in brush is quite stiff, weights next to nothing and you can brush really quickly many times with simple wrist motion as nose of brush is not getting hooked to anything because of curvature, pics fur really nicely, only those tiny balls of fur needs to picked by hand.

You can see picture from here, maybe you can find something similar locally:
http://kauppa.savenmaa.fi/PublishedService?file=page&pageID=9&itemcode=vaateharja

@bigperm20, one has indeed have to have potential to get allergy, I guess one can call it pre-allergy, then with right conditions allergy can develop:
http://www.webmd.com/allergies/guide/chronic-allergies-causes

Wiki has more than I managed to read at once, but what I have gathered it is that tendency to develop allergies in inherited and allergies themselves are then developed if conditions are supporting allergy to develop:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergy#Genetic_basis

But I guess allergies can go away too, I was very allergic to pollen as a child, but during adult life I had no issues, until about 10 years ago after severe sickness I have got allergic reactions again to pollen too.

 

[withoutaname]

There's been some studies that show that children who grow up with cats are at bigger risk to develop allergies, in at least one of those studies they showed that the risk is much more than to those who grow up with dogs. It's the allergen protein who is really to blame, but I think hair also has something to do with it.

Allergies can develop when you're constantly being exposed to something. For example if you your whole life have had a very dusty room, with lots of dust flying around, you might after many years, find yourself allergic. 

 

[tweety91]

wow really @withoutaname thats so interesting! thanks for sharing that

 

[bigperm20]

It's so hard to trust any of the studies done today. Statistically, everytime they complete a study and determine that X is bad for you, there's a corresponding study that refutes the claims.

I just know some cats produce more Fel-D1 than others. There are a couple of breeds such as the Balinese and certain Siberian's, who have shown to have less of the allergic protein. I think you could probably add the Sphynx as well as they don't have much fur to lick.

Also independent of breed, some domestic kitties have more (or less) Fel D1.

 

[spiffykitty]

I'm a house call cat groomer. I notice the coat change more with some cats than others. I really notice it with Maine Coons.  One Maine Coon I groom is easy to do in the winter, but in the Spring I have to spend twice as much time. His haunches are packed with shedding fur.  All in all, grooming cats in the winter is faster and easier than the other seasons. It seems like winter is when the coat doesn't do much, unless you're talking about Persians. Their coat is ALWAYS doing something.

 

[2ketzels]

as far as I understand, allergies develop in response to an emotional stimulus which then translates into a bodily reaction i.e., allergy. from my own experience I can say that no one on either side of the family had allergies. when l I was about 7, my parents split, my kitty went missing (my sole friend & companion, no siblings) and then ... ....suddenly i developed allergies. it was easter time:  the first allergy was to chocolate (a known substitute for love). when I was tested later I was found to be positive for 64 other allergies...something i had never had before. i think allergies heralded a turning point in my life, unfortunately...