Little-Known Facts About Cats' Fur Are Downright Fascinating
I am a newcomer to the world of cats and cat parenting, so I’m always discovering little facts about cat biology and behavior I never heard before. When I first adopted my cat, a tabby-calico longhair fresh from weaning a litter of multi-colored kittens, I was fascinated by the complex realities of cat-color genetics which meant that she and the unknown father (or fathers) had produced a tuxedo, a gray tabby, a siamese, and a flame-point ginger.
But despite all the stuff I learned about cat fur colors, I didn’t know anything about different cat fur types. Sure, I knew that cats came with different-length coats (I got the long-haired variety) and sometimes they are even hairless. But I didn’t know that cats actually grow several different types of hair, and each has its own specific function.
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When it comes to cat hair, most people’s thoughts don’t go much farther than, “Great. Now how do I keep it off my sofa?” I know that ever since moving into a carpeted apartment, cat hair and I have been in a protracted war. I’m also always curious about how the cat hair that lands in little tumbleweeds on my floor looks so different in color to the stuff that’s still attached to my cat. But maybe looking into the type of hair they have helps solve this mystery.
Related: Cat Gets Toy Made Out of Its Own Fur and It's Actually Brilliant
The Three Types of Cat Hair
Cats have three types of fur on their bodies, and the ratio and length of these types varies with the breed of cat and the type of hair of each individual.
The first type of fur that every cat has is the down fur. This tends to be the innermost layer of cat fur, which helps keep the cat warm. This is also the hair that causes the most trouble when it comes to keeping your cat’s coat mat-free, as it’s least likely to be groomed by your cat’s tongue, and more prone to matting. If you find matts in your cat’s coat, it’s probably the soft, fine hair of the down fur that are to blame.
Additionally, down fur has less of the pigment that makes up a cat’s color. If you, like me, have a black cat, but when you brush it, you see gray or even white discarded hair on your brush, it’s because it’s the down coat you are brushing out.
The second kind of hair cats have is called awn hair. Awn hair is coarser and can be darker at the tips. It is most of what we think of as the visible hair on a cat.
The final type of hair on a cat is called guard hairs. These are the longest hairs on a cat (and on some cats, they can be quite long) as well as the most strongly pigmented. It’s also the hair that “reacts” to a cat’s situation, like standing on end. Guard hair is more water resistant, and you will see water “beading up” on their fur if they get splattered.
But Wait, There’s Four!
Some cats have more down hair than other kinds, and so feel softer to the touch. Other cats have different ratios or guard and awn hair. And some cats, like so-called hairless breeds, have an entirely different type of hair, known as vellus hairs. (This is also, by the way, the type of hair that humans have.)
And there’s one more type of hair that all cat owners are very familiar with: vibrissae. You probably know these as whiskers. Whiskers are present not only on the cheeks and eyebrows of cats, but also along their muzzle and even the outside of their lower legs.
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