Smiffy's furr gone brown

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Looby & Smiffy

Looby & Smiffy

Member Since 2016
I noticed this a while ago but I am now wondering if it is also a symptom of Diabetes ... Smiffy has always been jet black all over but she now has a noticeable amount of brown furr and also the furr around her back teats has gone - about the size of the bottom of a small glass ... she is 14 ... I have found on line that the browning could be just due to sun and age but also could be a deficiency of an ammino acid called Tyrosine or it could be thyroid or liver problems ...Smiffy was tested for both of the later and the results came back good so I am wondering if your black kitty has browned fur and if it is part of Diabetes? The Vet didn't seem to think the balding was anything to worry about .. it is now sore at all and she doesn't over groom in that area ... what do you think?

Looby&Smiffy
 
I had a black fluffy Persian cat called Penny a few years ago. Her fur started turning brown when she was about 15. She was perfectly healthy and died when she was 19. She was a sun lover and used to follow it around the garden so she was always in the sun.
 
Sue484 said:
I had a black fluffy Persian cat called Penny a few years ago. Her fur started turning brown when she was about 15. She was perfectly healthy and died when she was 19. She was a sun lover and used to follow it around the garden so she was always in the sun.
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That is reassuring .... I think I am noticing all sorts of things that I woudn't normally notice or worry about just because she was ill before we go the diagnosis that she was Diabetic ..... I keep checking on her to see if she is OK and she is fine - just doing what cats of her age normally do when it is hot and humid outside ... thanks xxx Yes thinking about it, when Smiffy was a bit younger she used to be in the sun a lot - suppose it is a bit like us going grey as we get older
 
Bertie's fur went really red/brown - a kind of deep mahogany colour - quite recently, but has now suddenly become more black again.
I think in his case it may have coincided with his spring moult. The fur looked more red during the moult, but the new fur that's growing back seems darker...

I was beginning to think that he may have some sort of dietary deficiency (maybe due to a malabsorption problem). And I also wondered if it was the symptom of some illness, although all his recent bloodwork came back normal...
Anyway, he seems to be pretty much black again now...
cat.gif


Here's a link to an article about black fur turning brown:
http://www.cat-world.com.au/why-do-some-black-cats-coats-turn-that-reddish-brown-colour

Eliz
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
Bertie's fur went really red/brown - a kind of deep mahogany colour - quite recently, but has now suddenly become more black again.
I think in his case it may have coincided with his spring moult. The fur looked more red during the moult, but the new fur that's growing back seems darker...

I was beginning to think that he may have some sort of dietary deficiency (maybe due to a malabsorption problem). And I also wondered if it was the symptom of some illness, although all his recent bloodwork came back normal...
Anyway, he seems to be pretty much black again now...
cat.gif


Here's a link to an article about black fur turning brown:
http://www.cat-world.com.au/why-do-some-black-cats-coats-turn-that-reddish-brown-colour

Eliz
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Thank you Elizabeth ... I think I am scrutinizing everything about her!!!! Her fructosamine result came back today at 405 so right where it needs to be for a stabalised Diabetic cat the Vet said (between 350 and 450) .... now we need to get the weight off her if possible - but she doesn't do anything ...... where do you get those great emojis from? I have a very limited choice
 
my tuxedo boy got rusty too, over the past year. i thought it was just age. one doc said it can be a sign of cushings, which is extremely rare in cats, but it does not appear he has this. the reason is inconclusive and no vet seems worried about it. it started to happen the months leading up to his first high glucose test and his diabetic dx, so i associate it with a diabetes thing.
 
Looby & Smiify said:
What do you think to Smiffy's fructosamine results?
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Looby & Smiify said:
Her fructosamine result came back today at 405 so right where it needs to be for a stabalised Diabetic cat the Vet said (between 350 and 450)
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On the face of it the fructo results look good.
However, the test does have it's limitations... It gives an indication of the 'average' blood glucose levels over the preceeding couple of weeks, and any highs and lows are averaged out. So, it doesn't give detailed info.
.
 
Elizabeth and Bertie said:
On the face of it the fructo results look good.
However, the test does have it's limitations... It gives an indication of the 'average' blood glucose levels over the preceeding couple of weeks, and any highs and lows are averaged out. So, it doesn't give detailed info.
.
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Well I have to be positive and am thrilled that her average is down to within the stabalized range ... now to get her weight off a bit - if she would move - going back to the Vet in just over three weeks again ..... she was bright as a button again yesterday and purring and came for a walk with me but the day before she was flat out but then so was Pasha because of the heat ..... the Vet said that if she has several bad days in a row to bring her in for a curve for the day ..... but the main thing is to get her weight down ....... thanks for sticking with me - I would feel a bit lost without you Elizabeth
 
Looby & Smiify said:
Seems to be common then - you photo of your cat looks as jet black usually as my Smiffy :) (normally) xxx
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This picture is Witn (GA). However, Mischief is also solid black. The only spots that seem to be coming in brown is where the hair is growing back from where they shaved her to take biopsies.
 
Lisa and Witn (GA) said:
This picture is Witn (GA). However, Mischief is also solid black. The only spots that seem to be coming in brown is where the hair is growing back from where they shaved her to take biopsies.
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Sorry ... two black cats is double troulbe! Love their mischievious characters hence the name of one your cats I guess? Smiffy has just gone brown on her underbelly and legs a bit which could be due to the fact she used to lie in the sun a lot on her favourite slab in ther garden with her belly exposed!
 
Lisa and Witn (GA) said:
Plus double the love...;)
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I used to have another black cat called Tipsie and she was such a little bundle of life and inquisitiveness - I kept telling her that she was going to get into a real pickle one day .. she would try anything, fetch little pebbles for me when I threw them and jump in the air to catch them and fall on plants etc and put the pebbles in a little pile under the acer tree ...she used to fall asleep on my lap when I was blowdryiing my hair! I absolutely adored her but she went out one early evening in the dark ... usually I keep them in as soon as it gets dark and she got run over .... must have been about half an hour after she left the house .... didn't find her until the next day .... I was totally devastated and heartbroken - only two years old ... I still have her twin sister Pasha and often wonder how Tipsie would have been now .... ooops tear .. change the subject ...... I tell myself that she knew nothing about the accident and only knew happiness and love ......
 
Lisa and Witn (GA) said:
I am so sorry for your loss. Tipsie sounds like she was a wonderful cat.
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It was about seven years ago now but still pulls at my heartstrings ..... I see her every time I look at her twin Pasha ..... They were both left by the roadside when they were only a few about a month old .... Pasha was clearly the one that did the scavenging and hunting for them both and was really quite federal when we got her (a friend found them and the Vet aged them at about 5 months so they had been fending for themselves for maybe 4 months) ..... But Tipsie was cute from the start ..... It took a lot of love and patience to 'tame' Pasha (the Vets used to draw straws as to who would handle her for jabs etc!) but now she is the cutest most gentle cat ..... to begin with the two of th m were inseparable for about 18 months - Pasha always looking out for Tipsie but then Pasha suddenly detached herself and Tipsie turned to me - she really was like my little girl and was with me nearly every second of the day ........ She is waiting for me like the others .......
 
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