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Old May 11th, 2009, 10:21 AM
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How do you deal with shedding?

As you know I got two cats and they really didn't shed much around this time last year... probably becuase they were still tiny. But now full grown, they are shedding like crazy!

I brush Kyuubi (medium hair) every day with a needle bruch and get 3-4 brush full of hair! Every so often, I use the Furminator and get a lot more out. But I'm not sure if this is just getting rid of the hair or just cutting hair out. Brushes don't seem to work on Azrael (short hair). I use my hands and can get about the equivalent of one brush full of hair.

But even still with all that, my place is littered with hair! I de-fur the couches every week and with all the hair I get out, I can make another cat! I sweep every other day, but it still feels like my place is dander central. I think since my place is small, shedding becomes much more noticable.

So is there anything else I can do? I never given Kyuubi (main culprit for the shedding) a bath, but maybe that'll help. Also he's not loosing hair, just shedding a lot. I'm even considering shaving him!

Any suggestions?
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Old May 11th, 2009, 11:59 AM
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I've come to the conclusion that some cats are just shedding machines. My two sisters, Mookie and Squeak, both shed a lot. We just try to keep up with the brushing, but cat hair in my house has become a way of life and the vacuum is always handy.

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Old May 11th, 2009, 12:17 PM
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I find cats shed more this time of year

I am vacuuming every day

I am brushing every day

I am sneezing every day

I am thinking of shaving my two every day
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Old May 11th, 2009, 01:45 PM
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just might be this time of year i find my cats do shed a lot more spring time mainly cause they are getting rid of that winter coat.

i vacuum every other day
i sweep everyday
i pick fur out of my food everyday

though eclipse is badly matted already this year so yea he's getting shaved hehe
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Old May 11th, 2009, 02:10 PM
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I look at Kyuubi and notice that he likes to stay in areas where it's cool... I got to thinking that maybe he's just too hot with all that fur. Also, Kyuubi doesn't clean himself that often (sometimes there is poo stuck to his fur). I would see Azrael grooming him often. So maybe shaving him is a good idea... or maybe I'm just trying to justify shaving him!
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Old May 11th, 2009, 02:57 PM
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Why not use the Furminator more often? I have been doing that and vacuuming more. It seems to be working. I haven't seen a ton of fur like last year at this time.
Could you keep Kyuubi's fur around his butt fairly short? That may help with the non grooming issue.
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Old May 11th, 2009, 03:41 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 14+kitties View Post
Why not use the Furminator more often? I have been doing that and vacuuming more. It seems to be working. I haven't seen a ton of fur like last year at this time.
Could you keep Kyuubi's fur around his butt fairly short? That may help with the non grooming issue.
I don't know if the Furminator really works... It seems like it just cuts up the hair instead of pulling out the dead hair. When I run a needle brush after the Furminator, I can pull out more hair. Maybe I'm doing it wrong. Kyuubi hates it, so I go much slower than the video and I don't grab onto his fur with my hands. I will say this, Kyuubi gets small mats in his hair and the Furminator is really good at getting those out.
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Old May 11th, 2009, 06:44 PM
t.pettet t.pettet is offline
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How do you

Furminators cut rather than thin-out so I use a cat slicker brush and a cat de-matting comb (teeth with 2 lengths) on my customers. Use the slicker very gently as cats skin is very thin and sensitive. A treat after each grooming session or even as bribery during the sessions will help your cat to look forward to the grooming. Adding a fish oil supplement to their food will help also.
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Old May 12th, 2009, 01:28 PM
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Problem solved here!

Ah yes, those longer sunlight hours will do it every time----the Spring shed, and then again in the fall. How well I remember all that sweeping, vaccuming, sticky-rollering etc. for my shorthair and longhaired cats. After my last longhair and shorthair cats passed on to kitty heaven, I got two Devon Rex. Problem solved!
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Old May 12th, 2009, 01:34 PM
Jim Hall Jim Hall is offline
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how can two tiny kits shed so much hair i ask myslf that every day

all part of the wonderfull world of cats
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Old May 12th, 2009, 08:41 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TacoGrl View Post
I find cats shed more this time of year

I am vacuuming every day

I am brushing every day

I am sneezing every day

I am thinking of shaving my two every day
Ditto ^^^^

Plus what magic said about picking fur out of your food every day.
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Old May 13th, 2009, 04:13 AM
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We brush almost daily, vacuum daily, and for quickie jobs, I love the Swiffer. The trick is to dust/vacuum often enough before it starts flying all over the place. I do wish though that there was some magical fur remover for comforters .

We also use the Furminator on two of our dogs and I don't find it 'cuts' their fur at all . If that were the case, I'm sure I'd see the hairs of their topcoat in the brush. Rather, it pulls out much of the loose undercoat. I love it .
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Old May 13th, 2009, 05:24 AM
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I dim the lights real low and pretend it's not happening . When we were buying our new couch last year, my Husband nearly hit the roof because I wanted the colors to match the furries
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Old May 13th, 2009, 08:56 AM
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We have eight dogs, all blowing their coats right now. How do we deal with it? We brush them often, vacuum constantly, marvel at the extra protein in our food (even though hair is not high-quality protein, it does provide some ) and try not to breathe through our mouths

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Old May 13th, 2009, 09:25 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MommaKat View Post
I dim the lights real low and pretend it's not happening . When we were buying our new couch last year, my Husband nearly hit the roof because I wanted the colors to match the furries
My couches are similar in color to my cats. You look at the couches and it looks like there is no hair, but rub any part of the couches with your hand and you got instant hair ball!

So on Monday night, I was determined to get every loose hair out of my cats. I spent over an hour brushing them... They are not fans of getting brushed, so it's a struggle. A combination of Furminator and needle brush got enough fur out to make another cat!

Then yesterday, I did it again and got a bunch more fur out. About 1/3 of the day before... But then I tried the rubber brush:
I bought this last year, but I didn't think it was effective. Maybe I wasn't using it properly. This time instead of long strokes, I did quick and short strokes. I managed to get out a bigger pile of fur than yesterday!

Even with these small victories... I fear that I will loose the war on shedding.
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Old May 16th, 2009, 09:55 AM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MommaKat View Post
I dim the lights real low and pretend it's not happening . When we were buying our new couch last year, my Husband nearly hit the roof because I wanted the colors to match the furries


We just ordered a new couch - leather! and the discussion to decide on what fabric to get went like this: Me-should we get the tan coloured fabric to match Yeti or the orange and black coloured fabric to match Sparks or the black fabric to match Pepin (our rabbit who shares the couch along with the rest of us)? Hubby-neither! We're getting leather so I don't have to vacuum the d*mn thing twice a day (hubby does the heavy cleaning!!)

Then we spent another bunch of $$ having the manufacturer make a very low ottomon type thing in the same leather as a step for the animals to get up onto the couch so they don't scratch the leather on the way up!

Haven't updated my wardrobe in two years but $6000 on a new couch to accommodate the pets.......
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