Saturday, May 23, 2020

Changing His Spots


I noticed something just recently about Tucker’s fur. In February of this year, he was given a temporary implant, a new device by which his blood-glucose values could be constantly and easily read. This involved shaving off a small patch of his fur in which to place the device. Afterward, the fur of course grew back.

But this week, I saw that the fur now there is a different colour and pattern than his surface fur elsewhere. This is what it looks like on his right flank, where the implant had been, so far as it can be interpreted by my limited photographic skills. You will note in the midst of the darker tabby markings, there is an almost blond colour streaked for some vertical length.


I looked at his opposite flank and observed that there is a similar sort of colour, but it is under the darker fur. On the unshaved side, in other words, it is under-fur (I have had to brush back the top-coat); on the once-shaved side, it is surface fur.


This is neither good nor bad, but I found it interesting that the removal of fur could result in a change of colour and pattern, when the fur re-grows. I was thinking of shaving off all of the roly poly’s fur. It might be impressive having him look like this for the next little while…


14 comments:

  1. A couple of years ago, I had to shave one of my cats (whose fur was similar to Tucker’s.) When it started growing back, it looked very like that. Created a pretty startling effect.

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  2. Hey, if he wants to do blond then we saw go fur it!

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  3. Yes! If he wants blond, then why not..?
    Like us humans l suppose..as we get older
    the hair is usually the thing to change
    first..I'm completely white on top, not
    bald, just white..!
    No spots anywhere either..! :o).

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  4. Watch out for Tucker's personality change if his fur comes in
    as a Panther! On the other hand a color change like his right now
    is interesting.

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  5. Odd...who would have generally known that?

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  6. I am sure Tucker must have days when he sees himself as a stealthy leopard!
    I know that when fur is shaved for an operation it will very often grow back a different colour along the operation scar. Maybe the implant had the same effect.

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  7. Who says "A leopard can't change his spots"??

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  8. Tucker is handsome no matter what color. It would be kind of neat to see what's under all that fur. He not appreciate the shave, though. :)

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  9. He is a good looking fellow and that is interesting that his little patch has done this. I wonder if it will hold over time?
    He would make the splash with the other cats and more with any neighbors who may spy him through the window if he went grand as that. He would argue that fellow would be grand if colored as he.

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  10. This relieves my trust in my memory a bit. I got a black and white cat in 1993. I named her "LC" (for "Little Cow") because of her individual black and white splotches that made her look like a cow. But years later, it seemed all her splotches had joined. As I didn't have many pictures (old film pictures were costly) of her as a kitten, and those didn't really show her splotches, I distrusted my recollection.

    I am glad to know that a (house) leopard CAN change its spots!

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    Replies
    1. I know aging can do it, too. My Renn has more 'rusting' in his black these days than he used to.

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  11. WHOA !!!!!!!!!!! catfather; rememburr that place we used ta conduct seekrit meetinz....get ther now buddy coz dadz gonna shave ya dood....sure it wood be kewl ta change yur spotz N end up lookin like yur grate grate grate gram paw, but what if him shavez off yur mouz stache bye mizz take.....rememburr how long it taked ta grow it ;) ♥♥☺☺☺☺

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    Replies
    1. Not to worry, guys, the rest of the Catfather's fur is safe. For now.

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