Canine homeowners could be used to taking their pup to the groomer for normal haircuts, however that’s not a typical duty for many who have cats. Most felines haven’t any hassle maintaining themselves groomed and tidy. However cat fur is pretty thick, so ought to cat homeowners contemplate a feline haircut?

Why Do Cats Have Fur?

Cat fur helps regulate physique temperature. A part of that regulation comes from the best way it grows in numerous seasons. “A cat’s fur goes to be lots thicker within the wintertime than it’s within the summertime,” Kaitlyn Krebs, a veterinarian and assistant professor of medical main care on the College of Pennsylvania College of Veterinary Drugs, tells Inverse.

Throughout the winter, cats develop what Krebs dubs an undercoat of fur that’s “virtually like when you had been sporting a down jacket…it is in a position to entice that warmth nearer to your physique to maintain you heat.”

The hair really grows in another way at completely different factors of the yr. In the summertime, fur will develop extra evenly. That doesn’t imply the coat will essentially look any extra sparse, however it is going to be of a distinct high quality. One New Zealand examine of 39 cats printed within the journal Comparative Biochemistry and Physiology Half A in 1997 tracked short-haired cat fur progress. Certainly, through the winter months cats had extra fur each by way of physique weight and pores and skin floor space than in the summertime months. Within the winter, cats had almost 4 occasions as a lot fur by each physique weight and floor space.

An Australian paper printed in 1976 within the journal Analysis in Veterinary Science additionally confirmed that cat fur progress was most prolific within the winter months. This small examine tracked fur progress in 4 cats over 20 months. By the autumn equinox, two of them had totally developed an undercoat whereas shedding particular person hairs. By mid-winter, shedding stopped and the authors judged the coats had reached “peak situation.”

Then, towards the top of winter, shedding started once more in earnest. By the start of the summer season, hair progress had slowed. This cycle repeated as soon as the autumn began once more.

Along with maintaining cats heat, fur additionally helps shield pores and skin, so when you’ve got an out of doors cat, for instance, then fur will shield pores and skin from solar and bug bites.

What About Lengthy-Haired Cats?

Lengthy-haired cats are one other story, nevertheless. Krebs says that fur in long-haired cats can mat and tangle, which is one more reason impartial of temperature regulation to groom these cats recurrently. Nevertheless, Krebs additionally says there’s no must shave your long-haired cat for temperature regulation.

Relaxation assured that regardless that it’s scorching out, your cat is effectively outfitted to cope with the climate it doesn’t matter what season it’s.

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