Stuck in the molt

[perryandcalloway]

Wow it’s been a while since I posted here! My 2 and a half year old neutered Male cinnamon is Stuck in the Molt and no amount of brushing a dematting seems to help. I’ve read that temporarily increasing the protein in his diet can make him force the last of the fur out, but I don’t know what rabbit safe foods are higher in protein apart from alfalfa? Also if anyone has good brush recommendations, that would be awesome too!

 

[InspectorMorse]

Personally I would not make any major dietary changes at this stage, doing so could create more problems. Many Rabbits are having a heavy moult at the moment due to the exceptionally hot weather we have had.

Try twice a day grooming- use your hands to gently tease out the tufts of lose fur, a metal round toothed comb to remove lose undercoat and run damp hands over Bunny to remove lose surface fur. IME that method is more effective than just using any type of brush. Never use anything like a ‘Furminator’ brush on a Rabbit, they can cause serious skin damage.

 

[Shimmer]

I agree with the Inspector. Sudden dietary changes are not a good idea. Encouraging hay eating will increase his fibre intake and help to push through any fur he has ingested. As for the moult, all you can do is more grooming until it is over. Work on one area (maybe a quarter of him) at a time to get right down to skin level with a good comb and get as much loose fur out as you can. Then do another quarter, etc - maybe at a different time. Brushes rarely do more than get the surface of the coat. I find a good metal toothed dog comb and patience works wonders.