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Why is my cat shedding, biting fur, matting, and meowing strangely?

Updated On September 23rd, 2025

Pet's info: Cat | Domestic Mediumhair | Male | neutered | 18 lbs

My cat is solid white and sheds all the time and his hair is really thick and is matted up and he bites at it how do I get him to stop shedding so bad and stop bitting at his fir? He also meows like the cat out of Pet Cemetery no I'm not kidding he has been neutered and I don't know what he wants or why he does it, how can I get him to stop doing this? My cat is also not a domestic house cat he is a Cymric

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2 Answers

Most Helpful Answer

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Answered By Stacey Anstaett, DVM

Veterinarian

Published on July 31st, 2018

Ideally, take Buddy in to see your vet, so they can do a general physical exam and determine if there is suspicion for a problem with his skin itself such as an allergy, or if he seems to have any health issues that may be causing him discomfort (since he is meowing strangely). Cymric cats by nature have thick hair and a thick undercoat, so shedding is going to be more dramatic than in other cat breeds. It is sometimes difficult or impossible for these cats to groom themselves (lick their fur) well enough to prevent matting. Additionally, if he is painful anywhere (arthritis, etc) it is more difficult to groom. If his hair is matted, that can very uncomfortable because the matts pull on the skin. I suspect that is probably why he is biting at his hair. This discomfort could also be the cause of the pained "meowing." It may be helpful to get Buddy in to a groomer. He may need to be shaved to get the matts off, and often this may require sedation. Therefore a groomer that works at a veterinarian's office would be ideal. You can try to gently brush out the matts at home if he will let you, but if it causes him a great deal of discomfort or stress, don't overdo it at home. Again, my first recommendation is to take him to the vet--if no reason for this behavior is found, I would recommend getting him groomed. In the future to try to prevent the hair from becoming matted, brush him regularly at home (at least once a week), and you can try a product such as this: https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/well-and-good-shed-reducing-cat-wipes Thanks for asking PetCoach!

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    Answered By Ricardo Fernandez, DVM

    Veterinarian, Veterinary Oncology Resident

    Published on

    Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! It is hard to know exactly what is going on without examining him. This is possibly due to allergies. It really comes down to figuring out what is causing his allergies so that they can be treated or the specific allergen avoided. A secondary infection is likely and also needs to be addressed. There are many things that can cause allergies though in most cases they can be broken down into 3 big categories: flea, food and environmental allergies. Allergies are usually worked up in a stepwise fashion starting with flea allergies as this is the easiest and cheapest to take care of. If not on a flea preventative, then it would be a good idea to get started on one. If already on one then it would be a good idea to change to something else (there are many new products out in the market). If not improved in 1-3 months then it is time to move on and check for food allergies by switching to a novel diet (new protein and new carbohydrate). If that does not seem to be the issue then you are left out having to check for environmental allergies which require blood and/or skin tests. Allergies can be very frustrating to deal with at first but so rewarding at the end when we are able to treat them effectively!

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