Not complaining, just curious.....

[adoringangel72]

Nala Ava Marie does not shed! She will be 4 months old in 2 days, she has "normal" fur but the last 2 months or so her beautiful, silky coat has become so lush and much thicker than when she was a tiny kitten. She was fluffier looking as a kitten but now her fur is longer and feels more silky than fluffy. The vet said she is an American Medium hair cat but at the last visit changed it to American Shorthair. Anyway, I've found 1 single cat hair that she has shed. One of the biggest concerns my fiancé had was "Oh, great, now we're going to have cat hair everywhere." But we have not! I only found the one single hair after I had brushed her for 10 minutes. Will she eventually start shedding more as she ages? Is her coat going to change much more? She never has tangles or matted areas but her fur seems more medium length to me than short.

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• adoringangel72
• Jan 10, 2016

 

[adoringangel72]

I'm sure she sheds some but really we haven't found too much evidence! [emoji]128571[/emoji]
She's also getting more proficient at grooming herself. [emoji]127872[/emoji][emoji]128151[/emoji][emoji]128062[/emoji]

 

[NewYork1303]

We noticed this with our kitten too. She just now started to shed. She is now ten months old and I have started to find little black hairs around everywhere. She still doesn't shed the way our three year old cat does though. I would assume the shedding comes with age. 

 

[adoringangel72]

Awwww, I thought we'd lucked out and had a non-shedding cat! That's fine either way, I mean I expected having a cat, shedding is part of the deal! That's why I've been surprised not to find any cat fur around. I brush her when she tolerates it, and I have lint rollers! [emoji]128568[/emoji]

 

[Margret]

It takes time for a hair (fur) to grow out to the point where it frees itself from the follicle.  Think of a baby, just starting to grow hair.  When you brush the baby's hair, you're not going to get too much hair in the hairbrush, even though you do when you brush your own hair.  I would guess that the same thing is happening here.  Hang onto that cat brush, and continue training her that brushing doesn't hurt, is actually nice.  Give her treats and praise when she tolerates it.  Because, one of these days, you're really going to need both the brush and the training!

Margret

 

[katherinep1225]

I think it differs on cats.

My oldest one started shedding when he was about one year-old,

and my second girl started it when she was very little.

I think there's nothing to worry about

 

[misterwhiskers]

I too thought Robin was some kind of miracle non-shedding cat! He started shedding more at 8-10 months, when he lost that soft baby fur. Might be different than non pointed cats,because the brown fur on his back isn't as fluffy as the white fur. But its the white fur that sheds...go figure.

I have found rubbing a damp paper towel on him before brushing helps the brush collect more fur? You might try that on Nala as she gets older, to see when she's beginning to shed.

 

[adoringangel72]

I will try that with paper towel.The hair I did find was black? I wonder if she'll shed white fur and black fur evenly?

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• adoringangel72
• Jan 11, 2016

Look how grown up she's starting to look! [emoji]128049[/emoji]

 

[GoldyCat]

You may have a cat who simply isn't going to shed much. My first kitten didn't shed when I got her, and now that she's 8 years old she sheds very little except some seasonal shedding when the weather starts warming up. I got her sister/littermate about 6 weeks after I got her, and I've had fur flying around my house ever since. They're both shorthair cats, and being littermates you'd think they'd be similar, but no such luck.

BTW, many people confuse the terms American Shorthair and Domestic Shorthair. The American Shorthair is a breed recognized by many associations. Domestic Shorthair refers to any shorthaired cat the is no specific breed. Your kitty does not fit the breed standard for an American Shorthair and would be considered a Domestic Shorthair (DSH).

 

[adoringangel72]

Oh ok, I get so confused! Also, I've had people say Nala is a tuxedo kitty then some people say she's not. My daughter's friend says she has "Magpie" coloring. So is a Domestic Shorthair equivalent to a dog being a "mutt"? I only saw Nala's biological Mom a few times when she was pregnant, she looked young and tiny herself except for her very pregnant belly. She looked similar to Nala except she was a lot more white. I still wonder what made her abandon her 3 kittens? Nala was the only survivor.

 

[Margret]

Remember that littermates only means they have the same mother.  It says nothing about the father(s).

Margret

 

[eck1kaylie]

Oh ok, I get so confused! Also, I've had people say Nala is a tuxedo kitty then some people say she's not. My daughter's friend says she has "Magpie" coloring. So is a Domestic Shorthair equivalent to a dog being a "mutt"? I only saw Nala's biological Mom a few times when she was pregnant, she looked young and tiny herself except for her very pregnant belly. She looked similar to Nala except she was a lot more white. I still wonder what made her abandon her 3 kittens? Nala was the only survivor.

Yes, I believe domestic shorthair (or medium- or long-hair) is equivalent to being a mutt (correct me if I'm wrong!).

 

[Margret]

Oh ok, I get so confused! Also, I've had people say Nala is a tuxedo kitty then some people say she's not. My daughter's friend says she has "Magpie" coloring. So is a Domestic Shorthair equivalent to a dog being a "mutt"? I only saw Nala's biological Mom a few times when she was pregnant, she looked young and tiny herself except for her very pregnant belly. She looked similar to Nala except she was a lot more white. I still wonder what made her abandon her 3 kittens? Nala was the only survivor.

She may not have abandoned them.  She may be dead.  Sad, but it happens with feral cats.  And a young queen, likely with her first litter, likely from the first time she went into heat, would have been physically stressed by the pregnancy and found it hard to defend herself.

Tuxedo is a color pattern.  Black and white, like a man wearing a black tuxedo over a white shirt.  Look at the pictures of Mittens in Texts from Mittens if you want to see a tuxedo cat.  http://www.catster.com/topic/texts-from-mittens/

Most cats are, in fact, "mutts."  Only cats from breeders are recognized breeds.  Even if your cat met the standards for American Short Hair it wouldn't be an A.S.H. without a pedigree to back it up.

And "mutts" is not a pejorative.  Many breeds have physical problems as a result of all the inbreeding.  Genetic diversity is a good thing.

Margret

 

[judicat]

I think the English refer to them as Moggies rather than mutts.  Not sure where that word came from.

 

[Margret]

 
I think the English refer to them as Moggies rather than mutts.  Not sure where that word came from.

I've always had the impression that "Moggy" is a British equivalent to "Kitty."  We have several British members.  Maybe one of them can tell us.

Margret

 

[judicat]

 
I've always had the impression that "Moggy" is a British equivalent to "Kitty."  We have several British members.  Maybe one of them can tell us.

tah​T

 
I've always had the impression that "Moggy" is a British equivalent to "Kitty."  We have several British members.  Maybe one of them can tell us.

Margret

That would be great.

 

[eck1kaylie]

I googled it xD

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• eck1kaylie
• Jan 12, 2016

 

[judicat]

Thanks!

 

[MoochNNoodles]

My 2 are litter mates and shed completely opposite too.  Mooch (also a tuxedo) is on the sleek side and sheds little.  I do get fur when I brush her with the Furminator; but I don't usually find as much fur on the furniture or cat tree as I do with Noodles.  Noodles is gray and her furs are a different texture. They are fine but not long.  Perfect for getting up your nose. 

 

  Whenever she gets into my pile of clean towels I have to rewash them!  They will be 11 in a little over a month; so I don't really remember when they started shedding.

Cats are different from dogs when it comes to how they are described.  Even with mutts; you can usually guess what breeds they came from to a certain extent.  My guess is just that it's easier for breeds of cats to mate. Cats are generally the same size.  "Dogs vary in size much more and it would be less likely for a small dog to mate with a very large one.  Because dogs are so commonly called by their breeds (even if it's a "lab/shepherd mix" or something like that) it's common for us to wonder the breeds in our cats.  Since we cant really tell whats in a cat just by looking; they go by coat patterns and lengths.  I think there are also many more breeds of dogs than cats.  I'm no expert on the matter though!  Those are just my thoughts and opinions. 

 

[GoldyCat]

My 2 are litter mates and shed completely opposite too.  Mooch (also a tuxedo) is on the sleek side and sheds little.  I do get fur when I brush her with the Furminator; but I don't usually find as much fur on the furniture or cat tree as I do with Noodles.  Noodles is gray and her furs are a different texture. They are fine but not long.  Perfect for getting up your nose. :lol3:     Whenever she gets into my pile of clean towels I have to rewash them!  They will be 11 in a little over a month; so I don't really remember when they started shedding.

Funny. My two are the opposite of yours as far as which one sheds most. Shareena is a blue (gray) smoke and white and sheds very little even with brushing or furminator. Miss Patchwillow is black smoke and white (kind of tuxedo pattern), completely different texture to her coat, and sheds like crazy.