Why does not my cat grow hair?

The main reasons that can explain why a cat does not grow his hair are: the presence of parasites, the development of skin diseases, allergies, stress or the shedding of the mantle. To determine the exact cause, it is essential to pay attention to the other symptoms and go to the veterinarian. And is that if there is something that appeals to us of felines is its beautiful coat. Whether short or long, unicolor, spotted or striped, the hair of the cats is so beautiful that it seems incredible that it is groomed mostly with its own saliva.

Sometimes, cutting the cat’s hair is necessary, due to the high temperatures or to perform some medical treatment; At other times, a disease is the culprit of hair loss. By overcoming these events, comes the imminent question “Why does not my cat grow hair?” In the following article we tell you a little about this process. Keep reading!

Can you cut a cat’s hair?

Before talking about how your cat’s hair should grow, or if it really grows, it is first necessary to know under what circumstances it will lose that hair. Apart from the usual change, that everyone with a cat recognizes in the strands left in the furniture of the house, there are reasons why the cat will also lose part of its fur. Among them, are the occasions in which the hair of the cat must be trimmed. What are these occasions? When it is necessary to make a medical exam or place a pathway for some treatment, among other health reasons. In these cases, only the area where the test is going to be performed or treatment is shaved.

It is also possible that, due to high temperatures, it is necessary to trim the fur a bit to refresh the feline. If you feel the need to do this, remember not to leave the skin exposed, as it is as sensitive to the sun’s rays as human skin and could burn. It shaves only the torso, conserving the coat of the extremities, the tail and of course the head; The feline hairdresser will advise you as to the amount that should be cut.

Another reason to shave certain areas is that when you comb it you find yourself with a impossible to undo; These knots, if you neglect them, can cause very painful skin wounds, infections, etc.

Whether it is because of the temperature, a treatment or a knot, the most recommendable thing is for the hair to be trimmed by a veterinarian or, as we have already mentioned, a specialized feline hairdresser.

Why does my cat lose its hair and not grow it?

Many are the reasons that justify the loss of hair in the cat and the non-regeneration of it, and here we mention the most common.

Coat hair

As with other mammals, home cats they shed their hair according to the seasons, to stay cooler in spring and summer, and warmer when winter comes. This type of molt is completely normal; so that your house does not fill with loose hairs, we recommend you to accustom the cat from a very young age to being brushed.

Dermatophytosis

This is when the problems begin. When the hair loss is not due to a change, there is a problem. Dermatophytosis, commonly known as tub, is a type of mycosis that affects the epidermis of the cat due to fungal infection.

When the cat suffers from ringworm, the itching on the body is very intense, especially on the face, ears and extremities. This itching desires the animal and leads to scratching and even biting frequently, which leads to the loss of fur and skin wounds.

External parasites

The fleas and ticks they are the main external parasites of the cat. As with dermatophytosis, the discomfort of itching causes the cat to scratch and lick violently, which favors alopecia. In addition, in this case you can also be allergic to the bite of the fleas, because they inject an anticoagulant with their bite.

The presence of fleas or ticks is detected when the appearance of the coat is dirty and disheveled, apart from that they concentrate their licks at the base of the tail.

Scabies

Skin disease caused by mites, scabies is another common problem in home cats, and causes hair fall in different areas. Likewise, it also prevents the fur of the affected area from growing back, so this is one of the main causes that may explain why your cat does not grow hair.

Allergy

There are two types of allergies that affect cats: environmental y food. The first has to do with allergy to various factors present in the environment of the cat, whether pollen of flowers, dust, cleaning products or hygiene with toxic components, among others; The food appears when the body of the feline reacts negatively to certain ingredients contained in their usual diet. In either case, the symptoms are diverse, and one of them is hair loss and not hair regeneration.

Stress

Triggering many health problems in cats, stress brings all kinds of consequences, from aggressive behavior and obsessive grooming behaviors to alopecia. Discovering the reason is the only way to avoid it and return the vitality to the animal’s fur, in addition to its emotional stability, which is the most important thing.

Do cats grow their hair?

If your cat has suffered any of the above mentioned problems and lost part of its fur in the process, it is normal that when you start with the right treatment you will be attacked by anxiety about how long it will take to recover your coat. However, this varies from one cat to another, and especially depending on the type of problem that has gone through.

To give you an idea about the times, in a normal situation of changes, which occurs mainly between summer and spring and is more noticeable in felines that go outside than in those who remain indoors, the change of fur may take between 2 and 3 weeks. And when we talk about the change, we refer to the total fall of the strands to change and the start of the growth of the new strands, which, obviously, requires more time to match with the rest of the coat.

In the situations described above, where not only the fur but also the skin are affected, the process takes a little more time after the cause has disappeared. When the medical and psychological recovery has been completed, the hair should grow completely between the first and third months. That is effectively cats grow their fur. In this way, when asked “if I shave my cat will the hair grow?”, The answer is yes too.

Now, if after this time you do not see an improvement in the mantle, then you should go back to the vet. There may be a problem of the hormonal type, or the alopecia suffered is for another cause than the one diagnosed.

Why does not my Persian cat grow his hair?

The Persian cat is one of the most popular in the world for its beautiful and abundant fur. Therefore, when adopting a puppy and seeing that its mantle does not grow, it is not surprising that the tutors wonder what is happening. Well, the most common causes that explain why a Persian cat does not grow their hair are the following:

The cat is mestizo

If the Persian cat is the fruit of a crossing with another race of short or medium hair, it may happen that the mantle presents characteristics of both parents, showing the texture of Persian hair and the length of the shorter haired cat, for example.

To check if your cat is pure Persian or mestizo, see our tab of the Persian cat breed. And if it is finally a mestizo cat, remember to adapt the hair care to your type of mantle, surely it is just as beautiful or more!

Is it a Persian or exotic cat with short hair?

When they are puppies, it is normal to confuse both breeds because they have very similar physical characteristics. However, as they grow, the Persian cat develops an abundant mantle, while the exotic shows a short and dense palaje, or average length, but not long. So, if your “Persian” cat begins to reach adulthood, is totally healthy, is not mestizo but still does not grow your hair, could it really be an exotic short haired?

Is it fed correctly?

A nutritional deficiency, or feed poor in omega 3 fatty acids, can be reflected in the quality of the mantle, showing a coat without shine, poor and rough. In this way, if your Persian cat presents hair with these characteristics, try to change its diet for a higher quality food, or designed especially for this breed, and see if it improves.

Skin diseases or parasites

As it happens with the rest of breeds and mestizo cats that lose their hair and do not grow back, the most common causes of this condition are those mentioned in the previous sections, related to health problems. So, if your Persian cat does not grow its hair by areas, check your skin carefully and go to the vet. And if the fall is general, keep in mind the possibility of moving.

If you want to read more articles similar to Why does not my cat grow hair?, we recommend that you enter in our hair care section.