My cat has rough hair – Causes and solutions

Un healthy, shiny, soft and silky coat is synonymous with good health, this is why cat caregivers can worry when our partner presents a rough hair, neglected or with a dirty look. In this article we will explain why a cat has ugly or rough hair, what are the possible causes that have caused it and how we can act to ensure that our cat always maintains a perfect, healthy and well-groomed coat.

Do you wonder why my cat has rough hair? Do you want your fur to look soft and clean? Take note of the causes and solutions to restore the natural shine that you should have to your mantle and begin to solve this problem today. Keep reading!

The hair of the cat

When we talk about fur we are not only referring to a “simple” question of beauty, since our cat’s hair is going to talk to us, also, about its health condition and for a double reason because, on the one hand, healthy hair is a reflection of good health but, at the same time, caring for the mantle helps maintain the perfect state of our cat, because the hair fulfills several important functions, How are the following:

• Thermal protection: the hair will protect our cat from both cold and excessive exposure to sunlight and heat.
• Physical insulation: the hair will also serve as protection for the skin of our cat, defending it from injuries such as wounds, scratches, abrasions, burns, etc., but also from bites or bites from insects and even other animals.
• Communicative function: cats, like other animals, use their hair also as a form of communication. For example, the ability to ruffle hair makes us understand that our cat is very angry and is going to make him look bigger in front of another cat that he wants to impress and put to flight. In addition, hair is involved in the sense of touch.

If a cat has rough hair it can tell us a health problem and, at the same time, deficiencies in the mantle can cause problems for the cat. To prevent, we will explain in the following sections which are the most common causes that can result in a harsh hair and what measures we can adopt to avoid it.

The causes of a rough hair

When a cat has rough hair, we can think, mainly, in the following aspects:

• Food: is perhaps the most common cause of hair disorders. An inadequate diet, in the sense that it does not provide the quantity or quality of the necessary nutrients for our cat, will manifest itself in an ugly, rough and dull hair. Sometimes, the nutrients that we bring to our cat are adequate but there is a problem of malabsorption. This aspect, of course, must be explored by our veterinarian.
• Pathologies: dermatological problems can also affect the appearance of our cat’s hair, so any changes we notice in the coat, not only roughness, also dandruff, alopecia (absence of hair), excess fat, wounds, etc., must be a reason for veterinary consultation. In addition, some systemic diseases can also make our cat’s hair appear rough or ugly, such as intestinal disorders or chronic diseases such as kidney failure or immunodeficiency.
• Stress: although we always have to rule out a physical cause first by going to the vet, as we have said, sometimes the problem in the mantle can be caused by a stress situation such as that which can cause a move, a change at home, the introduction of others animals, the arrival of a child, etc. Stress affects the immune system of the cat, with the consequent lowering of defenses that may begin to manifest in the fur.
• Lack of care and / or hygiene: it is true that cats groom themselves but, at least those with longer hair, will need frequent brushing, especially in areas with more risk of knots and tangles, such as under the tail and neck, in the legs or in the belly. Shorthair cats will also need our help, for example, with age, as they may present problems to groom themselves, as they will not reach all areas with the same ease. This can cause them to have bad looking fur areas.

Seen the factors that can intervene in a cat with rough hair, we will attend, then, the possible solutions.

Hair care

To avoid that our cat has ugly or rough hair we must pay attention to the following recommendations:

• Food: the food that we provide our cat should be of the highest quality possible. It is recommended to offer feed, since nowadays the wide variety of this product existing in the market guarantees that the needs of our cat are covered at any moment of its life. And this is an important aspect, since the feed that we acquire must adapt to the phase in which our cat is. For example, a kitten less than one year old should eat a specific feed, just like a pregnant female or a cat that is sick. Proteins, fatty acids and minerals are going to be very important in the appearance of hair.
• Deworming: the presence of some parasites, such as fleas, can also have effects on the coat, subtracting five years. It is therefore important to keep our cat dewormed, with the most appropriate product for its circumstances, as recommended by our veterinarian, among the wide range that is on the market. At this point it should be noted that some cats have a dermatitis due to allergy to the flea bite, which we will see manifest with alopecia, sparse hair, scales or injuries. For them it is basic to maintain the deworming protocol, because only with a bite can dermatitis be triggered.
• Hygiene: long-haired cats should be brushed frequently. Those with short hair also benefit from this care of the mantle, as it helps to eliminate dead hair and, in addition, this habit allows to detect immediately any damage to the coat or skin. As our cat is years old or if he has any disease we should be more scrupulous with this care.
• Stress: to avoid the stress of our cat we must introduce any modification or change in your routine with special care, contacting even a ethologist (specialist in animal behavior) or veterinarian with knowledge in feline psychology. In addition, we must keep it in what is known as “enriched environment“, That is, that with all the distractions that are going to prevent boredom or frustration, since this is another cause of stress.

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