Shedding Problems?
When to worry about your pet's excessive shedding
Very frequently, pet owners bring their pets to the hospital to assess their pet’s excessive shedding; and frequently, these pets exhibit nothing more than what would be considered normal shedding in household pets. When a cat or dog seems to suddenly shed its coat in excess, it can raise concerns about underlying disease and concern about fur collecting all over the floors and furniture in the household.
Shedding cycles and fur growth are affected by many factors including environmental temperature, day length period, hormones, genetics, nutrition, general health and numerous other factors. These various factors will cause different pets to shed different amounts at different times. Often, I have seen pets that have had routine amounts of shedding for years suddenly shed unprecedented amounts of fur, causing concern for the pet owner. Even this sudden, unusual amounts of shedding is often not of concern.
If your pet seems to be excessively shedding and you notice bald patches, or the fur coat is thinning to the point where the actual skin is visible where normally skin would not be visible, then the fur loss may be an indication of an underlying health issue. If your pet is healthy, happy, shows no signs of illness or itchiness and seems to be shedding a lot, as long as there are no signs of gross balding or visible thinning of the fur, your pet is probably experiencing an atypical - but otherwise normal - shed.
article written by:
Scott Petereit, DVM
Companion Animal Hospital Partners, LLC
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