Excessive Shedding

gooseandbeans

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Hi! I recently adopted a 3 year old tortie back in March. She has shed excessively since I adopted her. I didn’t think much of it initially, maybe stress of moving around, but it hasn’t improved at all. Seriously, I’ll pet her and a huge clump of hair will fly into the air. It makes me feel unclean having such a hairy house. Is there anything I can do to help this shedding? Brushing doesn’t seem to help, still lots of hair clumps.
 

FeebysOwner

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Hi. Some cats just shed more than others. Not sure where you are located but this is a 'good' time of the year to see more shedding than at other times, due to seasonal changes. Daily brushing isn't going to stop the shedding, but it certainly can help to remove loose hair to reduce the overall amount.

Since this cat is 3 yo, do you have any background on her - perhaps there are notes about her shedding a lot? Nutrition can also play a role, so if she was previously eating 'not so good' food, and you have changed her to more quality food, it could take a while to see any results. Omega 3 oils in her diet could also be tried to see if that makes any difference. There still could also be some 'residual' effects happening from the changes she has gone through recently. Lint rollers are a good thing to have on hand to clean up hair on your clothes and furniture.

Maybe there is some information in this article that you might find helpful.
Why is My Cat Shedding So Much? Causes and Treatment Options (veterinarians.org)
 

LTS3

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Instead of a brush, try a fine toothed comb. That will really get the loose hair off. I recently combed one of my cats and enough hair came off his spine to make a mini cat 😮 Comb daily to keep loose hair to a minimum.
 

Robyn5678

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I have a furMinator and it is amazing. I am shocked at the amount of hair it’s able to get
 

nartyteek

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My favorite way to remove fur is to use a lightly moistened hand or glove. It works great, like a giant cat tongue.
 

nartyteek

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As for removing fur from the air, every couple weeks I make a Mad Max-looking air filter by strapping one of my filter cartridges from the wall vents onto a box fan, turn it all the way up, and the fur left in the air and on shelves and whatnot gets filtered out. It works like magic. I go from seeing cat fur motes all around the house to nothing at all in minutes. Cheaper than a HEPA!
 

Robyn5678

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As for removing fur from the air, every couple weeks I make a Mad Max-looking air filter by strapping one of my filter cartridges from the wall vents onto a box fan, turn it all the way up, and the fur left in the air and on shelves and whatnot gets filtered out. It works like magic. I go from seeing cat fur motes all around the house to nothing at all in minutes. Cheaper than a HEPA!
Waiiiit can you post a pic of this? What side is the filter on?
 

nartyteek

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Waiiiit can you post a pic of this? What side is the filter on?
I've tried it a variety of ways, and I feel like logically the filter could go on the front or the back. Actually, probably a filter on both sides would work best. If it's on the front, the intake is stronger, but also that leaves the back of the motor vulnerable to dust clogging, so I choose to put it on the back. Here's the most recent version I did. I couldn't find rope or anything since I have a broken leg, so I just used a bra I had lying around. Hey, it works, why not. A better version would have a filter the same size as the fan IMO, but we're about saving money over here lol.
 

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Robyn5678

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I've tried it a variety of ways, and I feel like logically the filter could go on the front or the back. Actually, probably a filter on both sides would work best. If it's on the front, the intake is stronger, but also that leaves the back of the motor vulnerable to dust clogging, so I choose to put it on the back. Here's the most recent version I did. I couldn't find rope or anything since I have a broken leg, so I just used a bra I had lying around. Hey, it works, why not. A better version would have a filter the same size as the fan IMO, but we're about saving money over here lol.
That is pretty smart. I’m going to have to try that!
 

tyleete

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Sounds familiar. I've got one cat who sheds so much, he leaves clumps on the floor within 10-20 min after I've vacuumed! I thought he was just a weirdo, but my vet said it has to do with his known hyperthyroid problem. We're still trying to regulate his dosage, but I'm hopeful once it is, my floors won't look so bad anymore
 
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