# Can you groom a cat bald, or could it be that she has really thin fur?



## Kamie (Feb 12, 2011)

Sorry I am full of questions at the moment, I just want to make sure that I'm caring for my fuzzy friend right, just so scared of doing wrong and it may have been something that I did / or didn't do that contributed to my Bob's death.

My cat really really hates to be groomed, I can get in a couple of minutes a month if she feels like humouring me, but after that I just end up with scratchers and she wouldn't come near me for days. She is mostly white with a few black patches so you can imagine how thats working out (see tumbleweeds of fur rolling throughout the house and every item for clothing covered with white hair.

I bought her the furmanator and she actually sat down with me for a whole hour, she really seemed to take to it. Now the fur kept coming and coming, which I thought was great, more fur off the better and thought that it was just the fact that she hasn't been groomed properly in absolute ages. I only thought that it would do as it saud and take the dead or lose fur so I carried on, but it does look like it's maybe taking to much (but the fur is still coming off with the brush in some areas. I have noticed that her fur has thinned out quite a lot a a part of her back and when she raisers her fur, I can see pink. I have noticed that there is no further fur coming off that area. (or very little, checked with my fingers rather than the brush) The rest of the fur is still coming off in droves in the other areas and I haven't noticed any thinness or seeing the pinkness of the skin, but maybe I need to carry on those area as the fur is still coming off in mountains.

Have I groomed cat half way to being bald? Could it be she has naturally thin fur and we have never noticed before? If she has an issue with thin fur, does this need investigating or is it normal for some cats? Or could it have been an issue with her dry food diet (changed to wet now. Or is it possible that she be actually going bald (possibly through stress). She self harms when she is stressed out sometimes, normally taking a big chuck or of her face or neck. She did this after Bob died and I'm currently looking after some very nasty self inflicted cuts.

I doubt myself with everthing I do now.


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## Sinatra-Butters (Aug 9, 2010)

Yes, you can furminate your cat bald. Her hair should grow back fine but be careful with it next time.


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## Susan (Mar 29, 2010)

Like Becky says, you can ferminate too much. In addition, stress and/or a poor diet can result in a poor quality coat (including "thin fur"), although you've changed her diet so her coat should improve over time. Just try to keep her life as stress-free as possible until it's time for your move. And try not to doubt yourself so much...what happened with Bob was a tragedy, but it wasn't your fault.


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## ibbica (Jul 28, 2010)

Yep, you can definitely over-furminate... don't worry too much though, the hair will grow back and obviously she's enjoying it  Just restrict "furminating" to 10-15 minutes, no more than once a week.

What sort of grooming tool were you using before? If she likes the feel of the furminator, you could try a regular grooming rake, with straight metal pins rather than a 'blade' like the furminator has - it can give her a similar sensation without removing excessive amounts of hair. A lot of cats love the 'zoom groom' too, it's like a massage and it won't remove any hair that isn't already loose. Our cats also like the glove we have that has rubber nubs on the palm, although it doesn't hold hair as well as the zoom groom. If she doesn't like metal slicker brushes, a nylon bristle brush or metal brush with plastic nubs might work better for both of you. It's really just a matter of trying different things and seeing what works :wink


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