My cats are constantly shedding, what should i do?

Question

Both of my 7 and 8 year old cats have excessive hair loss. Everytime I pet them I get a lot of fur. I brush both cats every day, but the excessive shedding never seems to end. Wherever they lay I find a big clump of hair afterward. They both eat Purina dry cat food- Complete Formula (sometimes soft food as a treat). I live in chicago where it has been around 85 degreese all summer (near 100 almost all of this week). What type of brush do you reccomend?, and what can I do to stop all of the shedding?

Answer 1

you start out ok the brushing is very good.your cats are older now. give them a good senior food without alot of fillers in it. cats need some oil in thier diet they do not get this in dry food.when you change a cats diet do it a little at a time to get them used to the food otherwise they get bad digestive ailments. check out some of the senior foods that have some oils in them that will help the shedding along with the daily brushing. cats shed when really stressed and when weather changes alot or if they are ill.I have 4 big cats that sleep with me. you can also get a spray that keeps the shedding down. keep them inside they live alot longer and the tempeture stays the same. treats are ok nitely. cheese is well liked by cats and has some oil in it.I feed mine dry but each morning they get some wet food. than thier diet is not so boring. I think changing the diet gradually to a good food for seniors will help along with a little oil in thier food a couple times a week will help and do keep brushing. Good luck

Answer 2

Proper diet will help shedding a whole lot. I see that you're using Purina, which is made to look like a good food, but it's really not, so try going to a pet store or your vet and talking to someone about a better option. Many holistic (all natural) foods are available at a decent price. Most grocery store foods include fillers such as bone meal (ground up bones) and parts of animals that you wouldn't even think about eating. You can also have your cats shaved. I have a long-haired cat who sheds a little bit (even with a good food, there will still be a little bit of shedding). I got him what's called a lion cut where they cut the body hair very short but leave and "mane" and a poofy tail. It doesn't eliminate shedding, but the hairs will be a lot shorter so it won't be as much of a nuisance.

Answer 3

You know, my cats are the exact same way. Whenever they sit on my chair they leave huge clumps of fur all over it and I have to be careful near them if I'm wearing black. You could ask the vet or just try out some different brushes, but I don't really think there's much you can do. It's probably just the heat and hopefully it will cool down soon (it's been a really hot summer here too).

Answer 4

Purina is all but poison. Stop feeding it at once.
Iams and Science Diet are no better. Anything you buy at Petco, Petsmart, Walmart or the grocery store is unhealthy.
Read "Food Pets Die For" by Ann N Martin if you don't believe me.
Go to naturapet.com and look up Innova EVO. It is the best cat food out today.
Wellness, Artemis, Felidae, and Chicken Soup for the Cat Lovers Soul are also good.
The nasty food interferes with the body's natural functions causing shedding, allergies, stomach and intestinal problems amoung other symptoms. You really need to change their food.
Good Luck

Answer 5

Try a Zoom Groom. You can find them at pet shops and on line. They're funny looking rubber brush thingies that look like they wouldn't work very well, but they work great! I learned about them from a professional groomer.

Proper diet might help, too. Cats don't have the digestive enzymes to properly process vetgatble proteins, and dry food is made almost entirely from grain. Read this:

http://www.catinfo.org

Answer 6

My cats and dogs shed a lot too. Go to a pet store and get a brush that collects the hair.

Answer 7

Science Diet and Purina are not poisons. They are good diets. Shedding a lot this time of year is normal. My favorite thing to comb them with is a shedding blade. It is a loop of metal with little teeth, like a saw blade (but not that sharp) on a plastic or leather handle. Gets out tons of hair fast and easy.

Answer 8

Cat's shed, period. When it's warmer than usual they will shed more than usual. Get an air conditioner and leave it turned up high in a room that the cat's are confined to, that will slow down the shedding considerably. I know cat breeders that do this to encourage hair growth on their Persians and Himalayans.

Answer 9

Shave them. We have a cat with big fluffy hair and we shave him wtice a year. Petsmart around here does it for $45 and it lasts months. No shedding for almost all of that time! We also switched to Iams and that made a difference. They are funny but cute shaved. Ask for the Lion-cut and they leave a mane and a tuft at the end of the tail.

Answer 10

Try the rubber glove treatment. Put on a pair of latex gloves and pet them. You will see what I mean. You will be able to remove giant gobs of hair easily. Make sure you go outside to do this. Cats shed when they need to, in response to climate and other factors.