Hi there,

We have a 1.5 year old male exotic shorthair that we recently adopted (about three weeks ago) from his previous owner. The previous owner said he doesn't shed too much, but since we've gotten him home the shedding has been incredible.

It's recently gotten very hot here, so I'm not sure how much of this is due to the sudden change in temperature. We're experiencing some issues with him and our first cat (which I posted about in another forum) so I'm not sure how much is due to normal shedding at this time of year, and how much might be stress-related.

He leaves little white tufts of fur everywhere, and obviously there's a storm of hairs when we pet him. I've started grooming him daily, which gets out a lot, but there are spots on his body (particularly on his sides, closer to his belly, and around his throat and scruff) where you can literally pull out fur by the handful -- no pulling required.

It's an almost orgasmic experience for him -- he enjoys being combed, and when you pull out the fur around his throat he twists and turns to make it easier for you, and at one point was purring and grooming my hands in return. But so much fur has come out that his neck is now almost completely bald -- there's literally a huge ring of no fur around his throat.

Is this normal? My husband and I talked about taking him to get a lion cut when he was a little more "settled in", and I don't mind the grooming / fur cleanup. I'm just concerned that the fur loss is due to stress rather than a normal shedding cycle.

Does anyone have any experience with this breed?

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