Long hair cats

[Apogee]

Do long haired cats have short hair on their backs, top side along the spine? My cat has a lot of fur around her neck, looks like Shakespeare and long fur on her chests and belly and rear legs. Every where else her hair is like a short haired cat. She has fur on the feet and lynx tips. She only a 1 year old and weighs 11.9 pounds. How can a female cat get this big so quickly, she nice and round like Gizmo but I wouldn’t say she’s a little fatty, just plump! I can post pics later. Her hair is quit long for summer, I guessing she will have longer hair in the fall/winter?

 

[Furballsmom]

Do long haired cats have short hair on their backs, top side along the spine?

My boy has long hairs on his back also. Your baby sounds wonderful! Keep an eye on those areas of long hair for mats

 

[Apogee]

So my cat isn’t a ‘full’ long hair? What are. Handed that the short hairs will become long like her chest, n class and belly?

 

[Apogee]

She is the first one in the video.

 

[amethyst]

Sounds and looks like she could be a Maine coon, mix, or at least a look alike, she looks a lot like one of my Maine Coon mixes. They have more shorter hair over the back and shoulders but a mane of fur as well as a fuffy belly "snowshoe" feet and long "pants" on the back legs. At a year old most cats are full grown, and 12lb is pretty average weight for a female Maine coon, if she is part Maine coon she isn't done growing yet though and her fur isn't done maturing yet. They are medium to long hair, but are considered long hair cats.

 

[Furballsmom]

 

[Apogee]

They have more shorter hair over the back and shoulders

So there no chance for her fur to fluff up where its short now, even in the winter? This winter will be her first winter as an adult I'm guessing I took her off kitten food at 11 months, and she,s been eating Hills adult weight control dry food for 2 months now and just recently she started to lick all the edges and corners of my furniture. I switched back to kitten food thinking she could be part Maine coon and is still growing.

 

[Furballsmom]

I switched back to kitten food thinking she could be part Maine coon and is still growing.

Good for you

 

[amethyst]

So there no chance for her fur to fluff up where its short now, even in the winter? This winter will be her first winter as an adult I'm guessing I took her off kitten food at 11 months, and she,s been eating Hills adult weight control dry food for 2 months now and just recently she started to lick all the edges and corners of my furniture. I switched back to kitten food thinking she could be part Maine coon and is still growing.

Well it's unlikely to get a long as the rest of her fur if that is what you are wondering, the fur will likely mostly just get thicker over the winter, assuming you live somewhere that gets cold (subzero) winters. The shorter fur on the back and shoulder area is a maine coon (and similar breeds) trait not a long haired cats in general trait, some long haired cats have long fur all over.

Switching back to kitten food just keep an eye on her weight, kitten food is higher in fat and calories so she could end up getting fat if she isn't active enough especially if she has been spayed, I don't feed kitten food past a year. At a year old even if she is a coon mix I meant "still growing" as in over the next few years her healthy adult weight could end up being a pound or two more then she is now and she could end up a inch or so bigger, not still growing like when she was younger.

 

[Furballsmom]

You could eventually switch to an All Life Stages food.

 

[Apogee]

Well it's unlikely to get a long as the rest of her fur if that is what you are wondering, the fur will likely mostly just get thicker over the winter, assuming you live somewhere that gets cold (subzero) winters. The shorter fur on the back and shoulder area is a maine coon (and similar breeds) trait not a long haired cats in general trait, some long haired cats have long fur all over.

Switching back to kitten food just keep an eye on her weight, kitten food is higher in fat and calories so she could end up getting fat if she isn't active enough especially if she has been spayed, I don't feed kitten food past a year. At a year old even if she is a coon mix I meant "still growing" as in over the next few years her healthy adult weight could end up being a pound or two more then she is now and she could end up a inch or so bigger, not still growing like when she was younger.

She was left in someone else’s Care for about 5 weeks, from 7 to about 8 months old. She gain almost 2.5 pounds in that time and I suspect that she was in a cage most of that time and was free feed because of the enormous weight gain. Once she was home, I regulated her diet and made her jump around. Actually in the beginning, she was to big that it was hard for her to jump. What scared me was the constant licking of the edges and corners of my furniture. I’ve read that this could be from malnutrition, which is why I went back to baby food.

 

[Apogee]

You could eventually switch to an All Life Stages food.

When should I do that? I’m having a hard time feeding her wet food. She won’t touch it.

 

[Furballsmom]

I’m having a hard time feeding her wet food. She won’t touch it.

Have you had a chance to try different varieties?

At her age (You said she's a year old, am I correct?) you can switch from kitten food at any time.
This is from a TCS Article on Kitten Nutrition;
Keep feeding the kittens with kitten/growth cat food until they are one year old. At that stage, gradually change their diet into regular maintenance cat food. Although many cats keep on growing after they are a year old, the accelerated growth of kittenhood is usually complete and the cats can adjust to adult cat food and regular eating habits.

This might be of use;
Canned Cat food Spreadsheets

 

[Apogee]

Canned Cat food Spreadsheets

Wow! Thanks for the link. I’ve tried mixing the wet food into the dry but she only eats the dry food. Also she can eat a very small amount of tuna and then stops. It’s very odd.

 

[Furballsmom]

You're very welcome
Are you weighing her to make sure she's not losing weight?

 

[Apogee]

You're very welcome
Are you weighing her to make sure she's not losing weight?

Is there a cat food that has the ‘best taste’?

You're very welcome
Are you weighing her to make sure she's not losing weight?

She lost a little bit of weight a few months ago, but now she doesn't appear to be over weight anymore.

 

[Furballsmom]

Is there a cat food that has the ‘best taste’?

This is a challenging question - people have commented that Purina foods (Fancy Feast, Friskies) have animal digest added, or something, that is nearly irresistible to cats. However, other than their pate' style foods these aren't necessarily the best quality available, although I feed both along with several other brands so that Poppycat is getting a variety of nutrients/ingredients.

This can be helpful;
CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat

 

[Apogee]

A few pictures of her..

 

[Apogee]

This is a challenging question - people have commented that Purina foods (Fancy Feast, Friskies) have animal digest added, or something, that is nearly irresistible to cats. However, other than their pate' style foods these aren't necessarily the best quality available, although I feed both along with several other brands so that Poppycat is getting a variety of nutrients/ingredients.

This can be helpful;
CatFoodDB - Cat Food Reviews to help you find the best cat food for your cat

I will take her to the vet if doesn't stop licking everything. Thanks for the info on the food, hopefully she will start to eat more wet food.

 

[Furballsmom]