What Cats Shed The Most?

While there aren’t any hypoallergenic cat breeds out there per se, there are some that shed less hair than others. The coat of cats differs from one animal to the next and that’s something that we will also address in today’s article.

So, to find out what cat breeds shed the most, keep on reading!

What cats shed the most?

Here is a list to begin with:

• Siberian
• Russian Blue
• Maine Coon
• American Curl
• American Bobtail
• Himalayan
• Persian
• Norwegian Forest Cat
• Chartreux

Shedding is a completely natural process for most animals. Wild and domesticated cats do it just as much, and that’s because in the great outdoors, they have to constantly regenerate their coat in order for it to be able to keep them warm. 

The breeds that we have mentioned tend to shed year-long, but there are some periods when they tend to do it even more. 

I have personally noticed that my feline buddy tends to shed more from mid-spring to mid-autumn, so during the warm season. This happens because cats need to be prepared for the winter, so they’ll get rid of the older coat to make room for the new and healthy one. 

Are there low-shedding cat breeds?

The short answer to this question is yes, there are. These are some of the cats that don’t shed at all, or just a little:

• Bombay
• Burmese
• Turkish Angora
• Turkish Van
• Devon Rex
• Sphynx
• Bengal
• Siamese

Type of coats

Cats that have little to no fur on their bodies don’t shed a lot, but there are no breeds that have no hair at all. 

That means that for some people who have allergies, even owning and caring for a Sphynx cat can be difficult or even impossible, especially since she tends to develop dander just as much as any other cat. 

What some pet parents might not be aware of, though, is that cats have different types of coats. There are single-coat, double-coat, and even three-coat cats. 

For instance, a Turkish Angora is a single-coat cat, so if you groom her on a regular basis, you aren’t going to notice a lot of shedding. 

The Siberian is a triple-coat cat, by comparison, so while they are perfectly adapted to withstanding harsh weather and lower temperatures, they also tend to shed more. 

What if my cat is sick?

Cats can shed more than usual also because they have an illness. As you probably know by now, they aren’t the best pets when it comes to showing signs of disease, so you might not even be able to tell that something is wrong.

Most cats tend to shed more when they have allergies, a ringworm infection, or anxiety. 

I was the owner of a beautiful cat (from no particular breed) who shed like crazy whenever I took him to the vet. The shedding stopped after a few hours of getting back home, so it was clearly the result of stress. 

Thyroid disease can be another reason for excessive shedding in cats, whether they suffer from hyperthyroidism or hypothyroidism. The first is more common in cats that are older than the age of 8.