I have a beautiful black smoke neutered boy Maine Coon who just turned one year old. Buster was kind of scraggly as a small kitten but over the months developed a decent coat with a huge ruff. Then he seemed to shed it all at once. Now it is growing back, except for his tail which has a lot of very long hair on it but the thickness of the undercoat which the rest of his body has is not there. So Buster's tail looks more like a horse's. He is a very tall rangy cat with long legs and his tail is longer than his body. Will he fill out eventually?

-- Anonymous, February 23, 2001

Answers

It'n not usual for Maine Coons to "shed" all of their coat. Have you had him checked by your vet? Does he go outside? Does he have fleas? Have you changed his diet recently? Has he been neutered?

-- Anonymous, February 26, 2001

Hi Cyndi Thank you for your response. Buster is neutered, doesn't go outside except on a leash, has no fleas, and has had the same diet for quite a while(Nutre and Sensible Choice dry food) and he is due to have yearly vaccinations in a couple of months but I should take him before then, just to check this out. His coat thinned out over about a month's time. It seems to be growing back but it is spring now when a cat is supposed to shed. Maybe I comb him too often. Is once every day or two too often? He gets a bath once a month or so and is rinsed thoroughly(he likes the bath) and his coat is shiny and tends to look greasy. I'm sure it is obvious that he is my first Maine Coon and I want to do everything right because he is such a personable, loving cat.

-- Anonymous, March 05, 2001