Just LOOK at this!! OMG! I just love my Clover XD

[ShylanHal]

Whoa My God!!! Clover has SO MUCH FUR!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I was brushing Clover from... 10:00 to nearly 12:00 and SHE JUST WOULDN'T STOP LOOSING HAIR!!! And it's still as thick as ever!!! I even took some pictures to prove my point!

http://img443.imageshack.us/img443/8804/dsc00002pg1.jpg
It just wouldn't stop. This was like... ten or so minutes ago when I finally finished and had a HUGE wad (it's dense there, folks, I think I have enough to give a whole other cat a new coat of fur!) of fur!

http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/1979/dsc00003ft4.jpg
"Oohh... what's this? Did this come from me?"

http://img67.imageshack.us/img67/8806/dsc00004sw0.jpg
She's still beautiful, and if I kept brushing her (my arm went numb before she ran out of fur) I would still be getting wads of fur in the brush!!!

I was inspired...

"This is the fur that never ends!
It will go on and on my friends!
Some people
started brushing it not knowing what it was,
and now they'll keep on brushing it forever just because

This is the fur that never ends!
It will go on and on my friends!
Some people
Started brushing it not knowing what it was,
And now they'll keep on brushing it forever just because...

This is the fur that never ends....."

Do your kitties go through this? Is it just because she's shedding her winter coat? That was my guess, and still is, but GAWD! She has enough fur on her for THREE cats!

As a parting note, and so that Echo gets some limelight too (she's not shedding nearly as much, but that could be because she's a short-hair) here's another pic of my babies cuddling!

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/2813/cloverandechobo9.jpg

[momcat]

Isn't it amazing what comes up from our kitties with a good brushing? Groucho has always hated to be brushed so recently I tried a shedding blade for cats. He tolerates that a bit better though not for long. The blade really gets a lot of loose fur, more than enough for another Groucho or two. I just wish he'd be better about being groomed. Even telling him that his lovely Inka will find him even more handsome doesn't seem to help.

[ShylanHal]

The crazy thing is, I already groom Clover for at least half an hour almost every day, and never less than fifteen minutes. And what's a shedding blade? Maybe that would help with me and Clover :P

Thanks for the comment, Momcat!

[catmandu]

Wow That Is A Whole Lotta Clover You Have There.
Maybe You Could Knit Clover A Clover Sweater With All That Fur!!!

[columbine]

And what's a shedding blade? Maybe that would help with me and Clover :PIt's a brush made of a loop of metal, with a zigzag edge along one side of the metal, instead of bristles. It really loosens shed fur nicely, and some cats adore the feel of it! I use it in tandem with a slicker brush, so that I can gather up the loose fur with the slicker instead of just have it fly around and land in my eyes (Smudge's fluff is so fine that if I get a bit in my eye, it can be stuck there for days.)

Love, Columbine

[lvpets2002]

;) I know sometimes I can brush forever & still brush hair off my babies.. Clover still looks to have thick hair & adorable with it..

[ShylanHal]

Catmandu, I would be so tempted to do that if I even knew how to knit! XD
I think I actually have enough to knit MYSELF a Clover Sweater!!!! :eek: :rolleyes:

And thank you, Columbine, for clarifying that for me. I'll have to keep an eye out for that. I just brushed another big gigantic glob of fur out of Clover today (it's either the same size or even bigger than the one in the pic) and she still doesn't look any different!!

Clover's fur is incredibly fine, and thick, and slightly crimped, so unless you're running your hand through her fur, stray bits don't just fall out randomly. It's so soft and silky and pretty but GAWD it's annoying when she's loving on your lap and when she gets off you're suddenly wearing a blanket!!!

Oh I love my babies :rolleyes: ;) :p

[ShylanHal]

:D I gave my babies a bath today, about an hour ago, and I spent an extra half hour getting the tub unclogged because of all the cat hair! :eek:

But maybe this means that they'll stop shedding quite so much for a little while, since I've been brushing them both obsessively (Clover mostly, Echo sheds very little, since it mainly comes off whenever she runs), and now the water and extra brushing may be making it a bit better.

I hope so!!!

Plus I just had to say... Clover looks so funny with a rat-tail... I wish I had a camera. They both looked like drowned rats when I was through! (and yes, I was sure not to get their ears and faces wet; I'm a good mommy!)

Wow.... I look at them now and they're all clean and sparkly... and I just gotta say... they really needed that bath :eek: :rolleyes:

[jennielynn1970]

My foster Furbee sheds like a beast as well. She's shorthaired, but she's just got tons of it, and she sheds and sheds! She's also a large voluptuous kitty, so it's hard for her to groom her backend area, so I'm constantly brushing her there and getting all the dander to break up and come off. She absolutely loves to be brushed, but only on HER time schedule. If she's not in the mood, she hisses and nips at me. Such a brat! :p

[ShylanHal]

Jen, I know what you mean by their own tiem schedule! Though usually when Clover and/or Echo even think about considering beign brushed, it's in the middle of the night when they're beign cuddly and I'm sleeping.
Clover hates the brush, but she's too nice to even growl, which is really sweet. She just gets this hopeless resigned look whenever you catch her to brush her, and then tries to run whenever she gets the chance.
I've been brushing her for like fifteen-twenty minutes a day, and the hair still hasn't died down. Today I brushed off a baseball sized clump overall!

Oh my babies fur is SO FRIGGIN SOFT now that they're both dry after the bath last night! it's like... SILK!

[momcat]

And what's a shedding blade? Maybe that would help with me and Clover :P Thanks for the comment, Momcat!
A shedding blade isn't like a regular brush or comb. It's on an easy to hold onto handle with a round metal thing at the end. One side has little grooves that really get down to all the shed fur at the skin line. Doesn't hurt the kitties but you'd be amazed at what this thing gets up. I found it at PetSmart in the cat section and it wasn't much more than maybe $5 or so, not expensive. If you're looking to find one, check your local pet shop. Just be sure it's for cats as they're made for dogs, horses, all our furry pals. Should you get one, I'd be interested to know what you think.

I do use it on Groucho every night hoping he'll get used to it and come to like being groomed. I talk to him softly telling him it will make him even more handsome and try to make our grooming time as pleasant as possible. Would you give sweet Clover some scritchies, tummy rubs, and smoochies from me? He is so adorable!!!!!

[Freedom]

Vita is long haired, and she has always shedded like that in the Spring. I normally brush her twice per week, but from Mar 1 to May 31, daily is just about required. Yes, I get enough to make another Vita EVERY day! I wonder where it all comes from, he he. Vita is the reason / source for my definition of cat: a purring machine inside a fur factory.

Ruffles is also long haired, but she never shed like Vita. all my others are short hair, so the dust bunnies develop thick, and fast this time of year.

Isn't it nice after the bath? I LOVE snuggling my nose in their coats after they dry. Like you said, so SILKY!

[ShylanHal]

I'll be sure to give Clover plenty of smooches and scritches from you, Momcat, and I'm sure she'll love it! She hardly gets enough from me, after all, since I only spend 20 hours a day with her :P
And Freedom, I'm thinking my situation will probably be abotu the same with Clover as it is with your Vita. I've never actually had a long-haired cat before. My first cat was my mom's demon, Fritty, who had actually succeeded in making many cat-haters out of former cat-lovers, but he never shed so much. And he was shorthaired, and his fur matched the carpets, so I suppose it would be harder to tell.
Clover I've only had since summer, too, so I never knew a kitty could shed SO MUCH! :eek: I'll be glad when her shedding season is over!
Thanks for the comments!

[Barbara]

I have sometimes thought of filling pillows with cat hair ;) I would have dozens by now.
I have such a plastic brush, I think they are called Zig zag and Tigris sheds and sheds and sheds.
Love your poem about the fur that never ends :)

[ShylanHal]

Teehee, thanks, Barbara! I kinda based it off the "Song that Never Ends" in Lambchop! Now I sing it whenever I brush Clover and Echo. :P

[Lori Jordan]

Beautiful Kitty,My Cally is the same way you can brush her for hours,and not understand how she has any hair left,And she is not a long haired cat.