Expert: Tomay - 6/11/2006

Question
Hi There-My cat is part Maine Coon.  She is very sweet and is five years old.  She grooms herself well but in the last year at certain times of the year such as now she pulls out clumps and ends up with bald spots.  We do brush her often.  I thought she pulled out clumps in the winter because she lays on the register to keep warm and I thought her skin dried out.  Than she went back to just a few clumps which is her normal grooming routine until now and she is doing large amounts of clumps again.  She is eating and defecating ok. Any ideas?  Linda

Answer
Hello Linda,
Winter coat is shed in the spring and summer coat is shed in the fall.  It is possible, that in an effort to help this process along, your kitty is a bit over zealous, resulting in pulling out entire clumps of fur.  I noticed you said you brush her often, but do you use a comb as well?  I usually tell my clients and students that a brush will lie to you, but a comb tells the truth every time! Many times, there may be matting going on close to the skin that you may not be aware of, as the brush simply goes over the top of the coat.  If you can put the comb directly next to the skin and pull it thru the coat with little or no resistance, then your cat (or dog) is truly and properly 'brushed out'.  If not, then excessive undercoat is there, and will eventually lead to uncomfortable matting, which cats will attempt to remove themselves, resulting in bald spots as the matts are pulled from the skin.  Usually,  the skin under these matts will be flaky and dry.  It may  also be helpful to be sure that you are feeding her a high quality food, such as Precise, Innova or the like.  These types of food are formulated for skin and coat and can greatly improve the condition of  both.
Hope this has been helpful to you.  Thank you for your inquiry and your interest in this site.
Tomay