Over the years, our Persians and I visited an out-of-town friend, Syd, whose home had brown rugs. The cat’s four-inch-long fur is white. (Persians purr-pet-ually shed like Douglas Fir trees do needles. Is this why they are called FUR trees?!)

 

After a few hours his dark rugs looked like a cat-a-gory five snowstorm had blown through!  

 

Syd declared, “You’d think they’d be bald by now!” He was right! How can pets produce so much fur?  Seriously! Persian fur gets up your nose, on your clothes, between your toes and hangs on lamp shades. If you look up, you can also see it twirling on ceiling fan blades!”

 

This is the reason long-haired pets end up in shelters.  Their owners are not paw-pared for the hours of housecleaning and grooming that natural shedding creates.

 

As cats’ barbed tongues “wash” their coats they swallow the dead fur.  For this reason, there are products to help them flush the impacting fur out of their bodies, to paw-vent life threatening internal blockages. Our cats like the petro-chemical-free hairball products.

 

"Tips 'n' Tales is an inspiration,” said Penny in Goodyear, Arizona.  “I’ve learned so much from reading it.  We rescued a beautiful long-haired Tuxedo cat, Fuzzy, from a shelter and he constantly sheds.  His fur-bunnies hide all over our house. We had his fur purr-fessionally clipped into a Poodle cut.  It solved the shedding and dander problems! He looks adorable, loves his ‘new do’ and we do too!  Fuzzy is no longer Fuzzy, but we are all happy!"

 

“In the spirit of optimism, we renamed our dog and cats’ massive shedding to ‘magical fibers of joy and love’,” said Terri.

- “We use the Furminator grooming tool to thin our cat’s and dog’s coats,” said Peter in Eugene.  “We also freeze a can of pumpkin in an ice cube tray and add a thawed square of it to their meal to help them eliminate consumed fur.”

 

- "My mother raised dogs," said Rae. "She told me that, ‘Flax seed oil is anti-inflammatory and helps them internally.’ She’d read that it was helpful on some kinds of cancer when mixed with cottage cheese. Her dogs didn’t shed as much when she started them on it and their coats became beautiful!"

 

- "Our dog’s hobby is shedding,” declared Donna. “We removed the carpeting for easier maintenance. In summer, his hair is trimmed for his comfort, but he still loves cooling down in his little-round blue pool."

 

- “Slide a comb or your fingers under a matted hairball and cut on top of the comb/fingers,” suggested Mary in Seattle. “Groom kittens with a toothbrush.”

 

- “Rubber kitchen gloves remove fur from FUR-niture,” said Erin in Texas.

 

- “I use a comb with rotating teeth,” said Dawn. “Dry winter air gives our Persian static, so I spray him with a pet oatmeal conditioning spray.”

 

- "A rubber broom picks up my dogs’ fur-dust-bunnies, or they’ll grow into RABBITS!" laughs Adrienne in Connecticut.  "The broom's static electricity works like a fur magnet. I then use a SHARK and have to empty it after every room!"
 
“Our cats purr-fur being combed with the black comb I carry in my back pocket,” said Mr. Angel Scribe. “It does not hurt their skin. This is the only grooming tool they LOVE and don’t wrestle me over. We also use a fur-minator. It cat-ches 80% of the fur before it hits the floor and breeds! In November we trim their arm pit and tummy fur to 3/4" preventing mats from forming from the heat of their bodies.”

 

- “I brush my cats every single day,” said Lisa. “It keeps the shedding down.” 

 

- “I saw tossed-out fur at the dog park,” said Doug. “Birds were flying away with it to fluff their nests.”

 

- “Our robotic vacuum collects Burley's prolific shedding," said Barb.

 

- “On hot days we wipe our cats’ fur with a wet cloth to help cool them,” said Nicki.

 

- "Thanks for all the wonderful pet tips,” said Elda in New Jersey.  “Our cat loves being brushed with a lint-roller. The sticky tape picks up her loose fur.  She purrs, stretches and turns over, so I can do her underside, and she gets upset with me if I forget!”

 

- Margaret's time saving advice, "I always color coordinate my decor and clothes with the dominant cat fur in the house.  This saves on lint rollers."
 
* What is your fur-avorite pet memory/adventure?
angelscribe@msn.com

 

Mary Ellen's Silver Persians swam their way into readers and viewer's hearts! They have appeared in magazines and newspapers around the world. (France, England, Canada, China, Germany, USA, etc.)

They are mentioned in Chicken Soup for the Soul books.

Also, several National and International TV shows featured the swimming felines teaching pet-water-safety. And their furry faces appeared on a line of shirts and on Animal Planet.