Healthy Cats

Cat Shedding

Shedding continued...

The tabby pattern is the most common coat pattern in the wild. The tiger is a striped tabby, the leopard is a spotted tabby, and the lion is a tabby agouti. It is also very common among domestic cats, such as this American Shorthair.

Most cats have a double coat made up of long, coarse, outer guardhairs and a soft, fine, woolly undercoat. The Devon and Cornish Rex breeds are exceptions. Rex cats have a single coat made of fine curly hair. The Selkirk Rex has a slightly longer, curly coat. These cats shed but less than a cat with a normal coat. This is a dominant mutation.

Wirehaired cats have a tightly crimped coat, including the whiskers. This is a dominant mutation. The coat is coarse and harsh to the touch.

When a cat with a double coat begins to shed, the undercoat is shed in a mosaic or patchy fashion, giving the cat a moth-eaten look. This is perfectly normal. Totally indoor cats may shed somewhat all year round and never go through this kind of extreme shed. When shedding begins, prevent skin irritation by removing as much dead hair as possible by daily brushing.