Conference misery::feline_v1

    
    	Rosie was the same exact way - she was a skinny, scrawny, nine-
    	month old pregnant stray when I got her and she had med/short
    	hair. I didn't realize it until I looked back at pictures, but
    	her fur is twice as long now as when I got her. I think age
    	had more to do with it than malnutrition, but it does sound
    	like our cats were in similar situations...
    
    
    	Sherry
    

    Flea allergy will impede hair growth, once the flea problem is no
    more, the fur grows to it's full length.  Normally, a shorthaired
    cat is a shorthaired cat, and a longhaired a longhaired.  The best
    indicators that I know of are the length of the individual hairs
    on the tail, and the amount of fur in and around the ears.  If your
    kittens has those, then the chances are good it will grow to be
    a longhaired adult.  If not, the chances are good it is a shorthair.
    
    When Jesse came to us, we thought he was a shorthair, but he actually
    had flea allergy, and once the fleas were taken care of, his full,
    almost persian coat grew in.
    
    Jo

    Oh, so does this mean that Kelsey's fur will grow longer and plusher
    as he matures?!  I keep telling his breeder that she sold me a bald
    Ragdoll as his coat is nowheres near as full and lush as some of
    his half brothers and sisters.  It is starting to fill out now that
    he is a little over a year, and I'm hoping it will continue to grow as 
    he gets older.
    
    Does age make a difference in regards to coat or do some
    cats in the litter develop better coats than others?  I notice that
    Kirby's coat is thicker and longer than what Kelsey's was at that
    age.
    
    
    

    Cats coats don't always grow longer and plusher with age.  Usually,
    with my Birmans, the kittens will just have baby fuzz until they
    are about 4 months old.  The baby fuzz is all the same on the whole
    litter.  The only indicator of more coat to come is the ears.  If
    the kitten has tufts on the tips of the ears, and plenty of hair
    in the inside (we call them ear furnishings), then that kitten will
    have a nice full coat later on.  At about 4-5 months, the kitten
    fuzz starts fading out and the adult coat starts growing.  After
    the adult coat grows in, all you can expect is seasonal changes,
    shorter, thinner in summer, fuller and thicker in winter.
    
    If Kelsey has a short coat now, it may be due to the weather.  See
    if he doesn't fill out a bit during the winter.  
    
    Also, it is very possible for some kittens in the litter to have
    better coats than others.  
    
    Another thing about coat length, the longhair gene is recessive,
    the shorthair gene is dominant, so, in order for a cat to be a
    longhair, it must receive the gene for longhair from both parents.
    
    Jo

    Thanks Jo.  This may sound strange but Linda told me that during
    the summer months, she keeps her a/c up full blast and draws the
    drapes to keep the sun from heating up the house.  She also says
    that this method does wonders for her cats coats.  We visited her
    on our honeymoon and my mouth just hung open when I saw her cats,
    most around Kelsey's age, with these long, full coats while he looked
    like a bald eagle.  We have 3 full sliders in our house and although
    we have central air, I never close the drapes and the sun streams
    through daily.  Since Kelsey loves to lie in the sun, I wonder if
    this has any bearing on his short coat.
    
    I'll take your advice and see what the winter brings.  His ruff
    is getting fuller.  I'm almost determined not to turn on the heat
    until we absolutely need it!
    
    --Roberta (who will freeze so Kelsey's coat will grow)
    

    Re .4
    
    If longhair is recessive and short hair is dominant, then what is
    medium hair?  My sweetie is a medium hair cat and from what I
    understand her mom was short hair and dad was long hair (I think?)
    
    Re .5
    
    Roberta, you might want to put a few drops of good Olive oil in
    Kelsey's food.  We have done this with all of our dogs and their coats
    have been gorgeous!  For 10 years my vet has marvelled at how nice
    their fur was compared to all the other dogs he had seen.
    
    We haven't done this with the cats because they eat IAMS, which is very
    rich and oily to begin with and their coats seem really nice (except
    for Sweetie who lost a lot of fur after her last bath, but I think that
    was due to the stress of moving).  Besides, my cats are all a bit on the
    chuncky side and I don't want to add any more fat to their diets.
    
    
    Jeanne
      

    Medium hair is the same as longhair genetically.  Birmans and Ragdolls
    are both semi longhaired cats.  Basically, if it is not shorthair,
    it is longhair.  Semi longhair is still a recessive, so if your
    cat's mom was a short hair, and her dad was a longhair, the mom must
    be carrying the recessive gene for longhair.  You can also get
    longhaired kittens out of shorthaired parents if both parents are
    carrying the recessive gene for longhair.
    
    Adding olive oil to Kelsey's diet probably won't help the length or 
    fullness of his coat, but it will help the coat texture.
    
    Jo

    I've noticed since putting the "kids" on Perform that their coats
    seem finer and softer.  Any ideas why this would be?
    

    Nancy,
    
    After switching my cats to No Ethoxyquin foods, Perform included, I
    noticed changes in both coat color and texture.  Not to mention overall
    condition and appearance.  I also had serious dandruff problems on a
    few cats that now don't have a flake.  
    
    Well, Nancy, you noticed the difference in Flames coat color from the
    first time you saw him to when you picked him up.  He had been eatting
    Iams, and I switched him to Perform, Lick Your Chops, and Blue Seal...
    He went from being dull and rusty orange to bright and shiney, and you
    know how his coat feels!!!  ;-)
    
    Do you think their coats are better or worse now??
    
    

    I like the way they feel better now.  Bumpy still has a little
    dandruff, but Isis doesn't.  They also seem to have more "spunk"
    than they used to and run around more - especially Mao who was
    10 in July.  
      I should have a good look at Mao's teeth.  she had quite a tartar
    problem that improved significantly after a year on Hills CD.  I'd
    like to see if there's any difference since she stopped eating the
    CD dry.
      Nancy DC
    

    There is a book that I have at home about a cat doctor in NYC that
    makes house calls. In the book, he states that in in 50+ years of
    practice, he observed that cats that have been spayed/neutered seem to
    have slightly longer hair than those that haven't. Much of his opinion
    was based on comparing short haired litter mates; the "fixed" ones
    usually had slightly longer coats.

    Deb

    Is this book perhaps "All my patients are under the bed"??
    Fabulous book!  Great fun.
      Nancy DC
    

    
    
    So is Perform cat food the preferred choice over Iams??
    
    I've never heard of it.
    
    F.

    Since we switched Mocha and Ming from IAMS to BILL-JAC their coat
    is now softer and silkier. Ming had more the cotton type and Mocha's
    was just sort of dry, since switching it's like different cats.
    Mocha still matts (no end of those with him) but am really pleased
    that we switched. Now if only I could put some weight on Ming. She
    is such a tiny eater and of course old Mr Pig Mocha eats her's the
    minute she backs away from the dish. If I could only get her to
    fight back.... but she could care less. Our house is not the type
    we can seperate them and their food dishes, so I don't know what
    the answer is.
    
    Barbara

    re:14
    
    Gee Barb, maybe try Perform - that might help put some weight on
    rather than the BilJac.  I think that the Perform is a much better
    quality food - also very good for coat and coat color, so I've
    found with my guys.

    Re: .14 Ming
    
    I put Holly's dish on top of the table (following a suggestion from someone else
    in here) and that works fine.
    

    Karen I appreciate the suggestion but....... you don't know Mocha.
    Even if we hung it from the ceiling light he climb up to it somehow.
    Nothing is safe from him no matter how high, huh Roberta. 
    
    Some of the first pictures I took of him he is on top of the frig.
    and not too long after we got him I noticed things were moved on
    the top shelf of our 6 foot 8 inch hutch. Yup, up, up, up I saw
    him climb one morning while eating breakfast.                
    
    I will take ET's suggestion and Mocha will just blow up someday
    from eating too much. Who ever said Ragdolls are huge they weren't
    kidding. Mocha sure is a Hunka Munka.
    
    Barbara

    re: .13 - If you're concerned about possible dangers from Ethoxyquin
    then Perform definitely is preferred over IAMS.  There are other
    foods available without Ethoxyquin too - Bill-jac, Blue Seal, Lick
    my Chops and a few others.
      Perform is made by Carnation and sold by mail.  Their number is
    1-800-858-3500.  I believe as a new customer you are entitled to
    a free sample of either dry or canned, and a special discount on
    your first 3.5 lb bag.  Satisfaction is guaranteed so if your cats
    won't eat it you get your money back.
      If you do place an order make sure you tell them that you heard
    about them from one of us - Hey Cindy, what's your customer number????
    If you give them Cindy's number, she'll get a discount on her next
    purchase.
      Perform also has an automatic replenishment plan and they'll 
    automatically deliver whatever you request of a regular basis.
      Oh and their shipping costs are very reasonable - .95 for orders
    under $15 and 1.95 for orders over $15.
      Nancy DC
    

    Boy - I must have a thing for cat food - I keep calling
    Lick YOUR chops, Lick MY chops!