New cat issues - shedding

[NauseousNancy]

Looking for some help with an issue with a new cat we rehomed. She is lovely, very affectionate and good natured.

I’ve had cats before so I’m aware of them shedding their fur....but this is totally on another level! She sits on me and I am covered with a thick layer of fur, it’s everywhere.

I’ve bought a brush and Have brushed her today. I’m taking off loads and loads - seems never ending! She is short haired.

She seems to have dandruff as well - lots of white flecks in what I’m taking off.

Is it stress? A deficiency? Is there anything I should be doing?

She also won’t stop licking me, or head butting me anytime I try and pick up my phone....I’ve had to shut the door tonight to get 5 mins peace! Hoping it’s a sign of affection, I’ve never had such an affectionate cat!!

Aaaaaw she sounds sweet! Do you know her backstory?
It’s unlikely she sheds like that all the time, might be the time of the year and a back log.
Keep brushing and brushing, you could also get a grooming glove if she is so affectionate. She will think you’re stroking her.
And get her the best quality of food you can afford.
If this doesn’t help after 3 or 4 weeks you could look into some supplements.
Does she groom herself? Is she fit enough that she can reach her whole body for grooming?

Is she a black cat? My black cat sheds loads, has dandruff more visible as black, won't leave me alone...
Some salmon oil can help and good quality food. My vet suggested a bath but I didn't fancy death so I vetoed that idea

She is 2, her owner died and she has been in a foster home with other cats & dogs since March.

I haven’t actually seen her groom herself, but she may do that when we aren’t around, maybe doesn’t feel confident yet!

We can afford any food, really. I got felix as good as it looks as it’s all I’ve ever bought, but happy to try something different/more expensive if it will help her.

I clipped her nails as they were so long she kept getting caught in the rug when she walked over it!

I think she will probably calm down on the intensity when she settles in (I hope!)

Where did she come from? I had a foster who had been a stray and once I was able to touch him I brushed mountains of dead fur out of him. He had been too stressed to groom himself and his coat was mostly dry, dead fur. He was a smaller, softer cat once I’d groomed it all out. He loved the wire slicker brush.

She is tortoiseshell!

Have a look at some of the grain free on zooplus
Mine loves wild freedom dry, thrive wet, Lily's kitchen, blink etc
Pets at home do a good grain free of their own brand too and I didn't realise if your cat won't eat it they give you your money back so that's a win

I've had mine 4 years and er, no. He still is completely obsessed with me and would rather be wrapped around my neck than outside

I’ve had fosters that lost their owners, they grieve just like people do, and it can also be a big adjustment to go from a home to a cattery in one of the rescues where they have a very different environment (even if they are looked after very well). So it could definitely be stress related as she has been through a lot.
You could put her on something like this until her skin improves:
www.petsathome.com/shop/en/pets/royal-canin-adult-complete-cat-food-hair-and-skin-33?weight=4kg?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=google_shopping&cm_mmc=Google--CPC--%20google_shopping-_-google_shopping&ita=1976&ito=google_shopping&istCompanyId=7255ccad-a1fc-4729-af31-478f79e5071c&istFeedId=385e6b9a-8b03-4076-a8bb-e4737df8549c&istItemId=itiwmxpxr&istBid=tzwt&gclid=Cj0KCQjwirz3BRD_ARIsAImf7LP2PiCyfGb4qmnuGHbdYCz-g3FV0L15WuYhQ2VhYIR_2H-yMBhS5wwaAkhNEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

And look for a wet food equivalent

I absolutely don’t mind her wanting attention - she just won’t sit and be petted, she is all over me

Is wet or dry food better?

There seems to be various opinions on it TBH with wet v dry. Mine has wet as his meals and then a bowl of dry which he snacks on but he's a skinny boy and can eat 24/7

I’ve got some dry I’ve been putting out, and then wet too. But she doesn’t seem to eat a full pouch at once and I’m not sure now to store the rest!

My precious cat was HUGE and ate two pouches at a time so this is new to me!

Might be dry skin. A drop of olive/vegetable oil in her food for a couple of weeks may help.

It’s quite warm, mine eat less when it’s hot.
I leave dry food out and they can have as much as they want, and two of mine like a pouch in the am and a pouch in the evening.
My foster girl is very petite and snacks on the dry food, only wants half a pouch at a time. You can store it in the fridge until she wants the other half. I have a small Tupperware and put the open sachet in the Tupperware just so it doesn’t spill juices and jelly in the fridge. You can also fold the top and clip it.

Look carefully, the white flecks may be cat flea eggs rather than dandruff.

I wouldn't give that royal canin - full of grains that cats can't digest. I leave dry out and feed wet a couple of times a day.

Oh god I hope not flea eggs!! They said she had been flea treated/wormed etc.

I give half a pouch and just pop the rest in the fridge for five mins later when he wants second breakfast

Just keep going with the brushing, she’s been through so much losing her best friend like that & then having to live with dogs.

Our cat is six and basically just drifts fur everywhere she goes - she’s white so it is very noticeable, and is quite long haired for a short haired cat. She’s in rude health, grooms herself daily, is very well cared for, has her annual checks/boosters, but is just a hairy little monster.

We use a silicon mitt on her, and can take off a tennis ball of hair in one go, then she gets fed up and wanders off in a cloud of fur. We have a Dyson, and lint rollers in every room. It’s a good job we love her so much, as I tell her when I sweep the kitchen floor for the third time each day.

Mine are black short haired with a silvery undercoat, and boy do they shed! This time of year clouds of it float up when I walk about the house, and neither of them tolerate grooming.

The Felix is OK if you feed a very good quality dry with it, but if you do change her food do it gradually or she may get an upset stomach. Mine (2, large) only eat one pouch between them for supper which they gradually work their way through during the night, and half a pouch in the morning which again they graze on for a few hours - the half pouch stores happily in the fridge. They have their dry ad lib, as they aren't greedy (except for treats!).

I second the use of an oil in her wet food and hear great things about the salmon oil, plus I understand it's VERY palatable .

I wish mine would be more pesterous for fuss! They are improving now, but it took literally years to get to the stage where we can have cuddles and neither of them sit on my lap yet.

Ah one of our boys is like that when the weather change he walks in a cloud of fur. He loves sitting on me, but oh my the fur. We’ve got one of these to deal with the trail on furniture MUDEELA Reusable Pet Hair Remover Roller for Furniture, Easy to Clean Pet Hair Removal - Remove Dogs, Cats and other Pet Hairs from Furniture, Bedding www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07LG432HY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_nDg8Eb0GX1NQ0?tag=mumsnetforu03-21. You may want to invest. but enjoy the attention I always wanted a lap cat just never realised the commitment of the hours they want to sit on you...

You do need good bladder control. Dh used to move departed boy off his lap to wee.

Cat was not impressed.

I would love her to just sit on my lap! She climbs over me, head buts my face etc - she won’t sit at peace! Like a toddler!

Aww she sounds lovely but you are breaking the rules for not providing a pic! 🐱

My black girl gets dandruff when she’s stressed. So that would fit with your new cat being rehomed and stressed as a result.
If I can remove the stressy situation all is fine. If not, then a couple of days of routine and reassurance seems to do the trick -
ie she has got used to whatever was stressing her. (Eg new hoover)

@NauseousNancy she’ll get there mine always starts with some not gentle nudges usually pushing my phone away before settling down.