When you share your own home with a feline good friend or two, you would possibly end up tearing your hair out over cat shedding. Sadly, once you tackle a furry member of the family, you don’t simply get the love, enjoyable, and friendship. You’re additionally becoming a member of the membership of cat house owners dealing with a lifetime battle to take away cat hair from their dwelling!
However is there something you are able to do to cut back the quantity of fur your cat sheds? Does something actually work?
Why Do Cats Shed Fur?
Cat shedding is completely regular and mandatory. In spite of everything, the hairs develop and shed in cycles, and the useless hair has to come back away. By the identical token, some breeds of cats usually tend to shed fur than others.
Additionally Learn: 23 Attention-grabbing Information About Cat Fur You Could Not Have Identified
So, in the event you personal a Persian, a Ragdoll, or perhaps a British Shorthair, you must anticipate extra shedding than your common cat. Nonetheless, poor vitamin, lack of grooming, stress, and sure well being circumstances could make your cat’s coat shedding worse.
How To Cut back Cat Shedding
You’ll by no means cease your cat from shedding altogether, and longhaired cats are prone to shed considerably greater than short-haired cats. Nonetheless, a number of issues would possibly assist cut back the quantity of cat hair to a extra manageable degree.
1. Take Them For A Vet Test
In case your cat out of the blue begins shedding rather a lot, schedule a checkup along with your veterinarian.
It’s regular for cats to shed their fur, and so they might lose extra hair at sure instances of the 12 months when the seasons change. Nonetheless, suppose there may be any drastic change within the quantity of fur your cat is shedding. In that case, they need to be checked by a veterinarian.
Additionally Learn: Hair Loss In Cats: Causes, Signs, & Therapy
That is particularly vital in the event you discover them creating bald spots or patches of skinny fur. Well being circumstances like stress, pores and skin allergy symptoms, and overgrooming could cause hair loss, so your vet can verify for these underlying well being issues.
2. Brush Them Commonly
Frequent brushing is the easiest way to maintain shedding underneath management.
Brushing your cat repeatedly will take away free hairs earlier than they discover their technique to the couch, carpet, or different gentle furnishings. This doesn’t simply assist cease them from shedding hair round your home, although. It’d cease them from mentioning hairballs after grooming.
It additionally helps forestall the build-up of useless pores and skin cells, yeast, and micro organism, which is able to hold the pores and skin and coat extra wholesome. After all, not each cat likes and even tolerates being brushed, so it’s finest to make it part of their routine from a younger age in the event you can. When you personal an grownup cat who gained’t tolerate brushing, begin slowly and use loads of treats and constructive reinforcement as a reward.
Additionally Learn: Finest Cat Grooming And Deshedding Gloves
When you don’t have the time to decide to the quantity of brushing your cat wants, you may guide them a daily slot on the groomer.
3. Cut back Stress
Extreme shedding could be a symptom of stress in cats.
Have you ever ever visited the vet along with your cat companion and located that they cowl the examination desk with hair? Don’t fear; your vet can be used to this as a result of confused cats launch their fur.
Additionally Learn: 5 Visible Indicators Of A Burdened Cat And How To Assist
That’s to not say they’ll find yourself bald, however they are going to lose vital quantities of hair. By lowering sources of stress and utilizing a relaxing spray or diffuser, you may see an actual distinction within the quantity of cat hair in your house.
4. Test Their Weight-reduction plan
A high-quality cat meals can assist preserve wholesome pores and skin and coat, lowering shedding.
A well-balanced eating regimen is important in your purry pal’s well being, and this consists of their pores and skin and fur. To have a shiny and wholesome coat, cats want good high quality protein of their eating regimen and sources of important fatty acids, nutritional vitamins, and minerals.
Additionally Learn: 15 Finest Cat Meals For Shedding
Poor vitamin can result in a sparse, poor-quality coat, and will result in shedding. Due to this fact, you must just be sure you feed your cat an excellent high quality, nutritionally full cat meals.
5. Enhance Their Hydration
Staying hydrated is important to your cat’s general well being, and will assist management shedding too.
Ensuring your cat drinks loads of water may assist to maintain their coat wholesome and cut back shedding. Water ingesting fountains and moist meals are each good methods to extend your cat’s water consumption.
6. Look Into Dietary supplements
Sure dietary supplements might assist enhance pores and skin and coat well being.
Even when your cat’s eating regimen is nutritionally full, some further dietary supplements may enhance their coat high quality and would possibly enhance shedding. Ask your veterinarian about dietary supplements like cod liver oil, night primrose oil, and fish oils.
Some mixed pores and skin dietary supplements are additionally obtainable, containing omega-3, fatty acids, and nutritional vitamins like vitamin E. The more healthy your cat’s pores and skin and fur are, the much less extreme shedding will happen.
7. Deal with Fleas
Hold your cat on a year-round flea preventive to maintain them from scratching.
In case your cat has fleas, their pores and skin can be infected and their coat broken. Whereas this would possibly imply they shed extra fur, it may also imply that you simply discover extra clumps of fur round the home on account of overgrooming and scratching.
8. Use A Furminator Or Rake Brush
Deshedding instruments can assist take away extra hair than brushing alone.
When you’re unfamiliar with a rake or undercoat brush, it would simply be the reply you’re on the lookout for. These uncommon brushes are designed to take away the useless undercoat.
Additionally Learn: 11 Finest Cat Brushes & Deshedding Instruments For Lengthy & Quick Haired Cats
Canine house owners usually use them for grooming their canine companions, however they are often simply as helpful for cats. Nonetheless, it’s vital to not overdo it when utilizing a rake brush. Be mild, and hold an eye fixed out for pores and skin redness, irritation, or indicators that your cat is uncomfortable.
9. Think about Turning Down The Central Heating
In case your cat is shedding rather a lot in winter, take into account how heat you’re conserving the thermostat.
Everyone knows that many animals shed their fur seasonally because the climate will get hotter. Nonetheless, in the event you take pleasure in a hotter than common dwelling and have the central heating on repeatedly, you would possibly discover that this causes your cat to shed extra fur.
After all, there’s no want so that you can put on 4 further jumpers and a blanket! However, in the event you can tolerate turning the heating down barely, you would possibly discover your own home is less complicated to maintain fur-free.
Conclusion
Eradicating cat fur from your own home can seem to be a full-time job, particularly when you’ve got a heavy-shedding breed like a Birman or Maine Coon. Nonetheless, in the event you’re on the lookout for methods to provide your self a break from the lint curler, attempt a number of the ideas above. Failing that, if cat shedding is absolutely bothering you, you may all the time get a hairless breed just like the Sphynx!
Often Requested Questions
Why is my indoor cat shedding a lot?
Indoor cats might shed extra fur as a result of they’re in a hotter setting. So long as they haven’t any patches of skinny hair or baldness, and the quantity of shedding hasn’t modified, it is in all probability regular. It is also price remembering that in case your cat by no means goes exterior, all their shed fur can be in your house. You would possibly even discover clumps of hair in areas of the home the place they usually groom themselves. Common brushing is the best technique to cut back the quantity of hair they shed.
Does brushing a cat assist with shedding?
Brushing your cat’s fur will not imply they shed much less, however it’s going to imply that quite a lot of the hair can be on the comb quite than in your house. The truth is, brushing your cat is important, particularly if they’re outdated and arthritic or longhaired. Brushing does not simply cut back the cat hair in your house. It additionally retains your favourite feline’s pores and skin and coat wholesome and prevents mats.
Are you able to overbrush a cat?
Brushing your cat can typically loosen the useless pores and skin cells and oils and transfer them by way of the coat. This may give the looks of a greasy, scurfy coat. Though this seems worse quickly, it’s really useful. Nonetheless, in the event you brush your cat an excessive amount of or with a very abrasive brush, you would possibly trigger pores and skin irritation, redness, and irritation.
How do you retain shedding to a minimal?
Shedding may be very regular for cats, however in the event you’re involved that your cat is shedding greater than traditional, you must take them to a vet. Making certain they’ve an excellent eating regimen, brushing them repeatedly, lowering stress, and giving dietary supplements can assist hold your kitty’s hair loss to a minimal.
