Kitten coat vs adult coat?

[allied]

Hi my kitten Mich is almost 4 months old. I adopted him and was told he was a long hair and his hair was very long and fluffy. He looks more like a shorthair now am wondering if he is just shedding his baby kitten coat and his adult coat will come in longer or if he is just a shorthair.

 

[Boris Diamond]

I think he will be a longhair. I've had long haired cats that were less furry than that as kittens. With those big feet, he may be a big kitty, too. Good looking kitten!

 

[allied]

I think he will be a longhair. I've had long haired cats that were less furry than that as kittens. With those big feet, he may be a big kitty, too. Good looking kitten!

Thank you! And yes I am hoping he will be a big kitty!!

 

[vyger]

I looked it up and found these comments ----

"Usually a kitten will have tufts of longer hair between the toes, also often have long tufts around the ears and face as well if it is long haired. Sometimes it's not super obvious either, usually the coats are finer, fluffier and thicker when long haired. But this isn't always true, so you will probably have to wait to find out."

So it looked from the pictures I found that most long hair cats have longer furry toe fur on the bottom of their pads. As far as changing as they get older, yes they do change, some very little and some a lot. They continue to have seasonal coat changes also. They will have a winter coat and a summer coat although a cat in climate controlled settings like inside a house doesn't show as much of a dramatic difference.
I have had kittens with lots of fluff that later lost a lot of it. So like they say without knowing its parents you mostly just have to watch and find out.

 

[allied]

I looked it up and found these comments ----

"Usually a kitten will have tufts of longer hair between the toes, also often have long tufts around the ears and face as well if it is long haired. Sometimes it's not super obvious either, usually the coats are finer, fluffier and thicker when long haired. But this isn't always true, so you will probably have to wait to find out."

So it looked from the pictures I found that most long hair cats have longer furry toe fur on the bottom of their pads. As far as changing as they get older, yes they do change, some very little and some a lot. They continue to have seasonal coat changes also. They will have a winter coat and a summer coat although a cat in climate controlled settings like inside a house doesn't show as much of a dramatic difference.
I have had kittens with lots of fluff that later lost a lot of it. So like they say without knowing its parents you mostly just have to watch and find out.

Super helpful! Thank you

 

[susanm9006]

Most definitely a longhair. Just looks like he is going through that gangly stage of kittenhood. When his growth slows down and he reaches adult hood I expect he will be a very fluffy kitty.

 

[Rooker]

I was wondering the same thing! I have seen this change with so many kittens before and always wondered why they lose so much coat when they hit 4-9 months! But then it seems to grow back? I wish someone would write a manual to kitten's coat changes and how to determine if they will be long-hair or short hair. I feel like having paw tufts and ear tufts is not a very good indicator, there's gotta be more to it than that!

 

[susanm9006]

I was wondering the same thing! I have seen this change with so many kittens before and always wondered why they lose so much coat when they hit 4-9 months! But then it seems to grow back? I wish someone would write a manual to kitten's coat changes and how to determine if they will be long-hair or short hair. I feel like having paw tufts and ear tufts is not a very good indicator, there's gotta be more to it than that!

I think it is because they start losing their kitten coat around six months and with longhairs it takes longer for the adult coat to fully grow in.

 

[Rooker]

I think it is because they start losing their kitten coat around six months and with longhairs it takes longer for the adult coat to fully grow in.

So would you say the kitten's coat at around 10 weeks determines how the coat will look in its adulthood? In other words, if the kitten looks pretty fluffy at 10 weeks, it will keep that coat, and not the shorter coat it gets around 5 ish months?

 

[susanm9006]

So would you say the kitten's coat at around 10 weeks determines how the coat will look in its adulthood? In other words, if the kitten looks pretty fluffy at 10 weeks, it will keep that coat, and not the shorter coat it gets around 5 ish months?

Yes, I would say that.