Any advise on persian hair?
I adopted two adult persian cats from a shelter in March and am getting on with them very well. They are pretty good with being groomed if my partner holds them and I comb and brush. However there is fur all over the house no matter how much I vacuum. I expected this to an extent but it really is ridiculous. It is all over our clothes even fresh out of the wash, in our bed, all over the carpet, floating through the air and worst of all all over the kitchen (we tried to keep them out of the kitchen but they weren't happy about at all so they had to come back in). It is quite bad as I have some household allergies and the excess fur is making it worse and finding cat hair in the food really puts me off my dinner! Are there any persian owners out there? How do you cope? Do you have any tips like undercoat stripping, that furminator thing or shaving?! I was wondering if we got them shaved and started again with undercoat stripping everyday would things get better? HELP!
I live in the England so it is just getting cold for winter and the shedding is constant really; doesn't get worse or better.
I did know this would happen with long-haired cats ; just not how bad it would be; we have fur tumbleweed too. But still the benefits of owning persians outweight the fur problem and I would get persians again as apart from this they are perfect for us.
I am on antihistamines for the allergy at the moment and it is helping a bit and it is not just the fur I am allergic to as I was allergic to our last place where we had no pets.
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January 25th, 2010 at 7:39 pm
This is from a friend of mine who is a Persian expert. She can’t answer but sent me this information to pass along:
Long haired cats should be COMBED - not brushed. Brushes do little to remove the loose dead hairs of the undercoat and can break and pull out the topcoat hairs. A comb will gently remove the loose undercoat hairs and leave the topcoat hairs intact. Buy a good quality steel-toothed comb like this http://greyhoundcomb.com/cart/bmz_cache/d/dab64fe029bfad3b518c6405dda94122.image.569×550.jpg You can find them at most pet stores (usually in the dog section) for under $10 and it’s really all you need. Not only do they work well at removing the loose hair but if there’s any small matts you can easily break them up with the tines of the comb. If you really want the best comb look for the "Greyhound" brand. This is a UK company so it should be fairly easy for you to find over there. You need to comb the coat fully EVERY SINGLE DAY until you get the loose fur under control. Then you need to comb the cat at LEAST every other day from now on.
If you ARE keeping up with the combing and the cats are still excessively shedding then you need to consider their diet. What do you feed them? No cat should be fed cheap dry food made mostly of corn but especially so the Persian as the lack of nutrients will reveal itself in an unhealthy coat. Feed them a MEAT based dry food with little to no grain and also have canned food as part of their diet as well. Another thing to consider is adding salmon oil to their diet. Salmon oil is rich in Omega-3 and Omega-5 fatty acids and can really help improve the quality of the cat’s coat and promote better health overall.
Lastly, if you’re following all of the above and the cats are STILL shedding get them a vet for a check up. Certain diseases and vitamin deficiencies can lead to excessive shedding/hair loss.
January 25th, 2010 at 7:39 pm
Obviously the shedding problem will be worse at certain times of year. I don’t know where you are but if the weather’s changing they will shed excessively as the new coat comes through. Apart from that there’s not much you can do really; you probably should have thought more about it before adopting long-haired cats? I have the same problem in my house. We have 6 cats, 5 of them long-haired breeds, and we practically have tumbleweeds of the stuff blowing across the floor. I guess we just love them to bits and have got used to it? Maybe get some anti-allergen pills if you’re having trouble with that. =/
January 25th, 2010 at 7:39 pm
I think your best bet would be to consult with a Groomer in your area to see what they can do for you. Good Luck
January 25th, 2010 at 7:39 pm
i would talk to a vet or somethink like that cause i have had persians befor i brushed them every day and i never had hair everywhere so there could be something else going on with them