Huge difference between winter & summer coat...

[bigperm20]

I knew my cat Beans had shed A LOT in the past few months. I had to brush her every day for a while or I'd have furballs everywhere. I happened to look at some recent pictures today and I was tripping.

Winter:

Summer:

 

[yayi]

Beans is gorgeous! 

 

[Sa'ida Maryam]

Hi, Beans
Thanks for sharing pics. It really calms my nerves to see just how different these kitties look in summer and winter. I almost freaked when I saw my Awssul on the Internet with a full coat (pic taken in the winter). Upon her arrival in late May, I said she'd been shaved. Silly me. I now realize it was shedding season. Plus she was a resque probably well matted.
Your Bean is sooooo. Pretty in both pics
Any secrets to keeping her looking shiny ?

 

[denice]

She may have some Norwegian Forest Cat in her background.   They go through a dramatic shedding and look completely different between summer and winter.

 

[bigperm20]

Beans is gorgeous! 

Thank you.

Hi, Beans

Your Bean is sooooo. Pretty in both pics
Any secrets to keeping her looking shiny ?

I brush her often and I'm sure that keeps the oils distributed evenly. I use a basic slicker brush.

Another factor may be her diet. Both my cats eat a high protein, almost grain-free diet. I noticed a big difference in her and Oksana's fur when I started feeding Taste of the Wild. They had been on Friskies canned pate' only, now they get both. I think TOW has added Omega 3's & 6's.

She may have some Norwegian Forest Cat in her background.   They go through a dramatic shedding and look completely different between summer and winter.

She has no pedigree as she's a rescue, although I always thought she looked more Maine Coon.

Do Norwegian Forrest Cats have ear tufts?

 

[denice]

Yes they have ear tufts, paw tufts, and a deep undercoat.  They shed most of their undercoat in the spring.  The tufts on the ears are sometimes dramatically long.  They look a lot like a Maine Coon but they aren't as large.

 

[bigperm20]

Yea, she has paw tufts too. I didn't know what they were when she was a kitten. I thought she was just wierd and had hairy toes. She rarely meows
which I think is wierd. She trills, and chirps mostly-definitely the quietest cat I've ever had.

She turns a year old on Thursday. I'm going to have to get her a nice raw chicken thigh or something, and one for her sister too as she'd be jealous.

 

[maewkaew]

 Beans really has a stunning coat both winter and summer!     Beautiful red tabby girl.   I actually think her coat looks even healthier in the summer photo but maybe that is just the difference in resolution etc. in the photos.   

Many cats do have a distinct difference between summer and winter coats.  Of course it is most noticeable in longhairs , especially those who grow a lot of undercoat.  

 In some,  like Beans,  it is really dramatic ! And paw tufts and ear tufts are not uncommon features in those sort of Big Floofy Cats. 

I am  not seeing Norwegian Forest Cat ,  the head is very different,  and  not really a lot like Maine Coon either.  but  I would agree with you that that is closer.  Of the 3 northern "Forest Cat" breeds, she  looks  probably closest to Siberian ( at least from these 2 photos).  but that's not to say that it is likely she IS one,  since in the US they are still quite uncommon, and have only got here in the last couple decades.   Norwegian Forest Cats are rather rare themselves.    Maine Coons are more popular especially here in their native country where they are among the top few breeds in numbers of registrations.    But  considering that the pedigree cats, with all the breeds put together, are only around 3% of owned cats and most of those are spayed/  neutered as kittens,  most cats probably don't have ANY pedigreed breeds in their background.     

BUT --  those 3 northern  breeds I mentioned originally started out   as  'natural breeds' who at first had just developed a certain look via random breeding and adapting to their environment.  ( For ex growing a heavy thick double or triple coat,  with downy undercoat layer and almost waterproof guard hairs ,  or  getting the big furry paws for walking on snow... cats with coats that helped protect them from the elements better,  and with paws that allowed them to move more easily over snow and were better protected from it,  were more likely to catch prey and survive and reproduce).

So it is not surprising then that  other cats can turn out to resemble such breeds in one way or another,  if some of their own ancestors developed in similar environments.     and usually that is probably the explanation rather than having pedigreed NFC, MC or Siberian ancestors,   though there is really no way to know for sure.  

But since you are in the USA ,  it's possible that even if your  cat didn't have pedigreed Maine Coon ancestors,  she  may be at least share some distant ancestors with them.   

Anyway,   Beans is a very  striking cat!    And she's a bit unusual,  being a red tabby girl.  about 75% of them are males. 

 

[bigperm20]

Yeah, like I said no pedigree. It's fun to make comparisons though. Thanks for the compliments.

 

[redvelvetone]

aw Beans is so cute!

 

[leonamccauley]

Bean looks awesome!!

 

[ritz]

She is puurrty.

Ritz has been shedding like crazy, more so than I can remember.  I think she lost about a pound in hair!

If she really likes the raw chicken thigh, and since she is already eating high protein/low grain food, she'd be a good candidate for Raw feeding.

Ritz' coat is lovely, the vet remarked how silky smooth it was.  I said, "it's all due to her raw diet".  (The vet isn't crazy about my feeding raw, but that's more of being old school than anything.)

 

[MoochNNoodles]

Ooo!  She is so pretty!!  My Mom's Olivia sheds a lot and her face changes like that; but not as much on her body!  I mean it gets less fluffy; but Beans tops her!  

(I love the name Beans btw.  Not sure if I've ever commented on that.  My soul-kitty (11 years over the Rainbow Bridge now) was nicknamed Beans or Beanse.  She answered to it too.  When she was a kitten if she were startled she would fly into the air.  Mom said she was like a jumping bean; it stuck. hehe)

 

[bigperm20]

She is puurrty.


Ritz has been shedding like crazy, more so than I can remember.  I think she lost about a pound in hair!


If she really likes the raw chicken thigh, and since she is already eating high protein/low grain food, she'd be a good candidate for Raw feeding.


Ritz' coat is lovely, the vet remarked how silky smooth it was.  I said, "it's all due to her raw diet".  (The vet isn't crazy about my feeding raw, but that's more of being old school than anything.)

I'd love to feed my girls raw every meal, however the cost is prohibitive at this point. I'm currently unemployed so I have to pinch pennies. I would have to grind meat as well, as whole pieces of meat tend to get played with on my kitchen floor. I'm kind of a germ-a-phobe, so yikes!

Ooo!  She is so pretty!!  My Mom's Olivia sheds a lot and her face changes like that; but not as much on her body!  I mean it gets less fluffy; but Bean s tops her!  



(I love the name Beans btw.  Not sure if I've ever commented on that.  My soul-kitty (11 years over the Rainbow Bridge now) was nicknamed Beans or Beanse.  She answered to it too.  When she was a kitten if she were startled she would fly into the air.  Mom said she was like a jumping bean; it stuck. hehe)

Yea, your Beans sounds a lot like mine. She's not skiddish, but she's the athlete of the family.

I wasn't able to make it to the store for her Birthday chicken. However, she got a heaping helping of her favorite treat earlier-- Salmon Jerky.
I can't believe she's already a year old. It seems like yesterday she looked like this:

The past 9 months has flown by. Here's she's "assumed the position" for her belly rub.

 

[MoochNNoodles]

LOL!  Tooo cute!!  Love the fuzzy belly!