Norwegian forest cat: is it normal to shed this much?

[raina21]

I have a Norwegian Forest cat kitten (his name is Tesla) and over the past few weeks, I've noticed that he is shedding quite a lot and his fur isn't quite as long and poofy as it was. He still has most of his ruff, breeches, tummy fluff and his poofy tail, but that's about it. The rest of his body almost looks as if he has short hair! Now I'm wondering if this is normal???

I know that cats shed their coats sometimes, but I've never had one that shed this drastically before. I reeeeallly hope his long fluffy fur grows back

The first week we had him:

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• raina21
• Mar 13, 2016

IMG_20151211_075307.jpg

• raina21
• Mar 13, 2016

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• raina21
• Mar 13, 2016

What he looks like now:

IMG_20160301_141744.jpg

• raina21
• Mar 13, 2016

 

[catpack]

Norwegian Forest Cats are known to shed most of their "winter" coats and look like a completely different cat.

Is your kitten a purebred or known mix or was his breed a guess?

 

[catpack]

Also, how old is he?

 

[raina21]

catpack

He is 5 months old

We suspect he may have been dumped by someone (likely a backyard breeder, as unfortunately that sort of thing is common around the rural area where I live ). We are not 100% sure about his parentage, but he displays all the traits (triangular shaped head, slanted eyes, strait nose/profile, ear tufts, he has lynx tipped ears (but the hairs are white and virtually never show up on photos for some reason), his hind legs are longer than his front ones, he has a very long body, his tail is the same length as his body, long fur, tufts of fur between his paw pads, and from the looks of him now, he is going to be a very lare cat.

If he is not purebred, he certainly looks as if he's closely related to a purebred Norwegian Forest cat. I know he could never be shown as he doesn't have papers, and he's not a "Show quality" Norwegian Forest cat. But I'm very confident that that is his breed.

 

[catpack]

At 5 months of age, there is a *chance* that all the fluffiness was baby hair and he is growing into his adult coat. My parents have a cat that did the opposite. She was mostly short haired with a whispy type tail (not bushy, but slightly longer hair than the rest of her) and when she hit about a year she sprouted a mane and became very fluffy and with long hair (she looks like a minature ragdoll.)

At this point, it's kind of a wait and see thing. Come winter, if he has enough NFC in him, the long bushy hair will return.

 

[catpack]

BTW, he is soooo cute!!

 

[raina21]

catpack

I know! He's adorable isn't he? I just love him to death! He's my little buddy

I don't think it was his kitten coat though, I'm pretty sure he lost that a long time ago. Because as he grew (and trust me, he has grown A LOT, he's about 2/3 of the size of my 2 female adult cats whom are 10 and 13 lbs), he just got fluffier up until around the end of last month, when he started shedding. Plus, he's still got his super bushy tail, his ruff, his "breeches", and his fluffy tummy, so I'm hoping he's just getting his summer coat and that his long fur will return...

By the way, as I am sitting here typing this, he brought me his stuffed mouse and he wants me to throw it to him (he plays fetch, brings it back and everything).

 

[catpack]

so I'm hoping he's just getting his summer coat and that his long fur will return...

Based on your description, I would think this a likely scenario. Will be interested to hear when the temps start dropping again!

 

[GoldyCat]

If he is not purebred, he certainly looks as if he's closely related to a purebred Norwegian Forest cat. I know he could never be shown as he doesn't have papers, and he's not a "Show quality" Norwegian Forest cat. But I'm very confident that that is his breed.

You could show him as a Household Pet. And it doesn't matter whether he's longhair or shorthair, he's a gorgeous kitty either way.

 

[raina21]

You could show him as a Household Pet. And it doesn't matter whether he's longhair or shorthair, he's a gorgeous kitty either way.

GoldyCat


I've never been to a cat show (although I'd like to go to one). I've only seen pictures of purebred "show cats" online. I didn't know you could enter shows without a purebred cat with papers? If that's possible I might think about showing him or my other pretty kitties (I'll post pictures of them at the bottom of this reply).



Also, I have noticed in the past couple days that the fur on his back is still long, it just lays flat. I believe it's just his undercoat shedding, as almost all the fur that is coming off of him is white or light grey and feels very fine and soft like fleece. His top coat is still very soft as well, it's just not as fluffed up without his undercoat. I still think he's long haired, he's probably just getting his summer coat though.

Also, his ruff, tummy and tail are still fluffy as ever.

This is Zazzie:

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• raina21
• Mar 17, 2016

And this is Kiwi:

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• raina21
• Mar 17, 2016

And a recent one of Tesla:

20160307_174239-1.jpg

• raina21
• Mar 17, 2016

 

[GoldyCat]

I show in CFA. They have a section about showing Household Pets on the website. I've never shown in TICA, but I know they also have a Household Pet category. If there's a show near you it would be a good idea to attend as a spectator first before you enter your kitties, just to get an idea of how it works.