So, you had to take your cat in for some surgery and to perform the surgery, the veterinarian had to shave part of your cat’s fur. Having just one section of your cat shaved can look different, but how long will it take for the fur to regrow?
It will take 2 to 6 months for a cat’s hair to regrow after surgery. Cats with shorter hair will regrow hair faster than cats with longer hair. The cat’s coat will start regrowing noticeably around two weeks after the surgery.
So, you know a general timeline of how long it takes for the fur of cats to grow back, but throughout the rest of this article, I will help give you the exact timeline, so you know what to expect when your cat is regrowing its fur from surgery.
I will give a timeline for shorthair and longhair cats as they have fairly different timelines of hair growth vs short hair cats.
How long does it take shorthair cats’ fur to grow back after surgery?
Shorthair cats
are fortunate when it comes to regrowing their hair, as they require much less time than cats with longer hair, as their hair is relatively short.
To help make sure that your cat can regrow its hair quickly and ensure a healthy coat, you are going to want to make sure that you are providing a good diet, using soothing creams on their skin, and make sure that you keep their environment stress free, as stress will cause more hair loss.
2 Weeks post-shave; new hair growth can be seen
Expect the fur to reappear two weeks after the surgery or whenever your cat was shaved. You still might be able to see the skin, as the coat won’t be very long or thick, but you shouldn’t worry about this, as the hair will continue to grow and eventually cover the skin and will naturally blend into the rest of the fur.
1 Month post-shave; you will see no more skin
About one month after your cat has surgery, you should start seeing the fur on your shorthair cat regrowing and blending into the rest of the fur. There will be a noticeable length difference, but you should no longer be able to see the skin, and it should seem as though it is close to being fully regrown.
3 Months post-shave; you can’t tell where the cat was shaved
Anywhere from 2 to 3 months after your shorthair cat had surgery or when it was shaved is when you should stop being able to tell where it was shaved. At this point, the fur should be back to its normal length, and there shouldn’t be any difference between the shaved section and the rest of the cat’s fur.
6 Months post-shave; the shedding cycle will begin again
After six months, your shorthair cat’s fur should have fully regrown a few months prior. At this point, the fur from that area should have begun shedding again, as shedding is a healthy habit. Make sure that you continue to wash the cat often and continue to help keep your cat’s fur healthy.
If your cat's fur has not regrown completely at this point, contact your veterinarian, as there may be an issue with your cat's health, such as an underlying health condition.
Cat shedding can come on quickly! If you ever wondered if dogs or cats shed more, I wrote a post about it, linked below.
Read Now: Do Dogs Shed Less Than Cats? List of Top Shedders Included
How long does it take longhair cats’ fur to grow back after surgery?
If you have a longhair cat that needs surgery or needs to be shaved, you will have to wait a bit longer than shorthair cat owners for your pet’s hair to regrow fully. This is because your cat’s hair is longer and will take extra time to regrow fully, but if you take proper care of your cat and its coat, before long, its fur will have fully regrown.
With my two female ragdoll kitties, after they had their surgery to be spayed, their fur grew back quite quickly! I added some timeline photos of my ragdoll cat Margot of her shaved belly two weeks, two months and 4.5 months post-shave so you can see how her fur grew back.
Read Now: Keep Cat Hair From Sticking to Sheets: 10 Ways & Best Fabrics
2 Weeks post-shave; the 5 o’clock shadow
Like the shorthair cat, by the time two weeks have passed since your cat was shaved, you should see the start of fur growing, but there likely won’t seem like that much progress. This will seem even more extreme with longhair cats, but as long as you can see or feel some fur in the shaved area, your cat and its coat are fine.
1 month post-shave; small amount of blending
After one month, it should be clear that the hair on your longhaired cat is regrowing. You shouldn’t be able to see the skin of the cat in that area it was shaved in, and while it will still be extremely noticeable where the shaved area was, you should start to see a small amount of blending between the new regrowing hair and the hair surrounding the shaved area.
3 months post-shave; part way to full hair regrowth
At this point, the shorthair counterpart has had the fur fully regrown; however, longhair cats are still only partway through the regrowing process after three months.
The new regrowing hair should be the length of a shorthair cat’s, so if your cat looks and feels like a shorthair in the previously shaved area, it is right on track for making a full recovery when it comes to its fur. Make sure you are grooming your cat regularly to keep it clean and healthy so the coat will grow slightly faster.
6 months post-shave; almost to full regrowth with limited shedding
After about six months, your cat’s hair should be fully regrown. If it hasn’t gotten about halfway to its normal length, you will likely want to talk to your vet so you can check on the health of your cat, as stress and health issues can inhibit cat hair growth.
But, for the vast majority of longhair cats, it takes between 5 and 7 months for the hair to fully regrow and start shedding normally.
Limited shedding is a good sign, as it means the coat is healthy, but you will want to monitor your cat for increased shedding or any other signs of coat damage, as these are signs of improper diet, stress, sickness, or things like fungi and parasites.
How to make your cat’s hair regrowth healthy
One of the important factors you will want to keep in mind while a cat’s fur regrows is the health of its coat. Critical factors in promoting a healthy coat for your cat include:
- Eliminate Stress
- Brush your Cat Regularly
- Deworming & removing parasites
- Good Diet
- Bathing Regularly
I hope you found this information useful!
Holly 🙂
