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My cat sheds so much, so I can't even pet her! Then there's cat hair everywhere! Can I do a homemade cleaner, or something like that?

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4 Answers 4

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If you brush or comb the cat (which many cats enjoy, if done gently), that will gather a lot of the loose fur, and leave her looking and feeling silkier too. Of course you and the immediate surroundings are going to get rather furred in the process, though doing this often caN limit how much is scattered at a time.

But a furry pet sheds fur. Some breeds shed less, or less obviously, but realistically if you can't cope with this then keeping a pet may not be appropriate for your lifestyle.

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  • Well, she stays in my backyard and in my outdoor couch, and it's not like really my own cat, but she started shedding a little, so I can't pet her, even if she wants to.
    – Sara
    Feb 25, 2016 at 10:25
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    All creatures shed. A lot of the dust in our homes is hair we shed. Really, the best answer here is to stop being squeemish about it.
    – keshlam
    Feb 25, 2016 at 16:01
  • Note too that season-change is when animals shed most, as they change wintef coat for summef or vice versa.
    – keshlam
    Mar 2, 2016 at 0:04
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One thing that will help is bathing your cat. Some people freak out about this, but I bathe my cat a few times a year. He's an indoor/outdoor cat. He likes to roll in the dirt and most of the time he cleans it off, but sometimes he's just dirty or mangy looking. Then or when he's shedding, a good bath will help him enormously. Not only does it get a lot of loose hair off, it also seems to cause the other hair that's starting to come loose to go ahead and let go more quickly. That way most of it is gone all at once, instead of shedding a little here and there over the course of weeks. Lastly, a bath will also simulate grooming by your cat, which will further help get rid of unwanted hair.

As for the bath itself, I don't know how confident you are, but it's really not that big of a deal. The key is prep and trickery. I prep throughout the year by randomly carrying my cat into the bathroom. With the water on or off, it doesn't matter. It just makes them comfortable with the setting. If they want down, that's fine, set them down and let them run off. On the day of the bath set yourself a couple of towels and the shampoo at the edge of the tub. Get the water adjusted to the correct temp and preferably you'll have a hose sprayer, but a plastic drink cup works almost as well. A helper is useful.

Carry the cat into the bathroom and have someone or yourself shut the door in case a wet, pissed off cat gets away from you. As you get closer to the water, they'll begin to panic and want to get down. This juncture is critical. Don't try to pull the cat away from your body and force it into the tub. You'll need a blood transfusion. Instead, let the cat down in a natural manner. He'll start to shift his feet under himself to run off, instead of into your flesh. Let your hands slide under his arm pits then "swoop" him up and quickly onto the floor of the tub. Granted I've only ever had the one cat and he's not a giant butthole, but once his feet are on the bottom of the tub he's never tried to claw me. He might try to get away or jump out, but not claw. I keep one hand on his shoulder blades and rinse and soap with the other. I can have him bathed and rinsed in under 5 minutes. It seems to take the fight out of him.

After he's bathed and rinsed, drying him is another important step (important if you don't want to get shredded). Don't try to pick him up and swaddle him like a baby. I once had a family member want to do that for the poor putty-tat. I told them not to and they lost a shoulder when they didn't listen. They still want to get away. Instead, run your hands from his neck to his tail, squeegeeing him while his feet are still on the floor of the tub. Then throw a towel over his whole body and fluff him dry. While he's covered, perform the armpit swoop out of the tub onto the bathroom floor. You can probably use one more towel and fluff him again. After that, open the bathroom door and stand back. He'll take care of the rest. Prepare to be pouted at for a while, but on the bright side, he'll smell like baby shampoo or Piña colada (FURminator shampoo) for almost a week.

Once he's fully dry, I'd follow up with multiple short sessions with a FURminator deshedding tool. I use it on mine once every few weeks and strip massive amounts of hair off. The ad says that using it once a week reduces shedding by 90%. He really likes it if I do it lightly and even rolls over to get his belly and chin done. I have to use a little more pressure than he likes to do a really good job, so short light sessions on a regular basis are probably best. Good luck.

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    I don't freak about it, but I'll point out that it's unnecessary 99% of the time and will have no more effect on shedding than combing would. I really don't think it's an answer to the qurstion being asked.
    – keshlam
    Feb 26, 2016 at 2:03
  • Like I said in my post, my cat is the only one I've ever had so I can't say it's the answer for other cats, but I can tell you from personal experience that I have drastically less hair if I bath him in the spring than if I just brush him. It works with horses as well and is even a recommendation to help with spring shedding with them. I suppose you could interpret the question as a cleaner for the cat hair, but ultimately, reducing the shedding reduces the cleaning. I did a quick search and found a few sites that suggest bathing, along with diet and brushing to be the solution.
    – Dalton
    Feb 26, 2016 at 13:49
  • There are "a few sites" that suggest many things; the question is how reputable they are... If I had a cat with extremely long, extremely dense fur -- Himalayan, for example -- I'd consider it. Or if this was a show cat. I don't think bathing will do any harm if done properly and if the cat is properly introduces to the experience -- I had to give a past cat flea-shampoo treatments at one point -- and I know some cats actually learn go like playing in warm water, if you help them dry off afterward -- but I'd still say not needed under normal circumstances.
    – keshlam
    Feb 26, 2016 at 16:01
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    I did a search and found where some veterinarians agreed that there are several reasons why you might need to bathe your cat, including: not being able to self groom due to arthritis or obesity, excessive dirt in the fur, chemicals have gotten on the fur, etc.. While these don't necessarily list bathing as helping shedding, it falls in the same category and has proven useful to me in my one limited case. They do recommend not bathing if the cat is healthy and there is nothing else going on, which I agree with. This is just what worked for me. The OP will have to decide what will work for them.
    – Dalton
    Feb 26, 2016 at 16:42
  • Thank you guys! Although she sheds more on spring and summer, but not on fall and winter.... Thanks so much!!!
    – Sara
    Feb 26, 2016 at 18:47
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Google "furminator" and order that comb, it makes a load of difference but you will need to comb him or her regularly.

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  • Some cats love the furminator, some prefer other kinds of comb or brush, for some a grooming glove (part soft comb, part lint brush) is the best tool, for some a combination is best. You'll have to experiment to find out what works for the two of you.
    – keshlam
    Feb 28, 2016 at 19:28
  • @keshlam i tried everything on my white cat who sheds like a tree in autumn and there was nothing that could counter the massive hair lose around the house like the furminator did, he didn't really love it at first but now he does; o yea i tried to give him a bath once, never..again..
    – Vahx
    Feb 28, 2016 at 21:41
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There's a brand new product on the market called FurZapper. I've been using it for months and it works like I've never seen. It doesn't stop shedding but it certainly solves the nuisance of shedding.

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