Why do cats shed?

Answer 1

It's their form of waging chemical warfare on humankind!

Answer 2

What you should know about Cat’s Shedding

The truth about cat shedding is that every cat lovers must accept it, because this is normal natural event in the cat’s life. Even the humans have periods of hair growth and shedding of hair. Shedding is how animals replenish their fur and keep it in good condition.

Cats in the wild generally shed their coats twice yearly, in the spring to lose the heavy winter undercoat and in fall in preparation for the "grow-in" of the next winters' undercoat. However, since we have domesticated cats and subjected them to air-conditioning in summer and artificial heat in winter, their systems have been confused enough to put them into a constant shedding state.

Cats shed in order to remove dead hair from their bodies. Dead hair can cause skin irritation and thus needs to be gone. If you do not remove it for them, they will release it on their own.

Hair shedding is considered a sign of health in the cat, because the sick cats do not shed. It happens for different reasons, but basically it depends from the time your cat spends outdoor or whether your cat is purely an indoor cat. The shedding is largely influenced by daylight, and this is called “photoperiod”. The number of hours a cat is exposed to sunlight in a day (photoperiod) triggers the shedding process. In addition, shedding varies considerably with breed as well as husbandry practices (i.e. bathing, grooming, activities, etc.).

Indoor cats shed at any time of the year. The amount of shedding hair is less than the outdoor cats due to the artificial light inside the house, but it depends and from the control of the constant temperature in your home.

Answer 3

Hi Jonny...it's their way of going from their winter coat into a summer coat. Less hair means a cooler body. Cats lose more hair in the warmer months because of the increased daylight hours/longer days triggers the shedding process. The average house cat will also shed more because of the electric lights, even near the light from a TV screen.

Answer 4

Cats shed in order to remove dead hair from their bodies. Dead hair can cause skin irritation and thus needs to be gone. You can prevent this by brushing your cat often to release the dead hairs.

Cats tend to shed more during the spring, as less fur means a cooler body temperature during the summer.

Cats often shed more when they are nervous, frightened, or ill.

Answer 5

Cats will shed when they are scared, or when they are wanting to spread there scent.. also in the summer when it gets warm they shed to stay a little cooler as well.

Answer 6

Part of the shedding could be poor nutrition. Nothing against you, don't worry about that. Ours sheds real bad and we give her table food a lot, which would be classified as poor nutrition. See if this website will help you:

http://www.sniksnak.com/cathealth/whydo.html

The answer you want is almost at the bottom.

Answer 7

Cats shed in order to remove dead hair from their bodies. Dead hair can cause skin irritation and thus needs to be gone. If you do not remove it for them, they will release it on their own.

Humans shed too.

Answer 8

i imagine it is the same as why humans do.. i think all animals shed hair and skins cells

Answer 9

They do it in the summer/spring so their coat is thinner, and they can stay cooler, but otherwise probably just to keep the people who make those lint rollers in business.

Answer 10

They shed when it's hot, when they're scared, or when their nutrition isn't balanced.