>From:    Rachel Zuckerman <[log in to unmask]>
>Yesterday I was holding Illura on my shoulder when someone started a
>vacuum cleaner in the next room.  She was NOT happy about it; she climbed
>frantically all over me before running and hiding under the counter.  When
>I picked her back up I noticed that she had suddenly started shedding....
>Is it possible that the vacuum literally scared the hair off her?
 
I've seen cats shed like this.  When they feel extremely distressed or
afraid, they tend to shed handfuls of hair.  It's probably the same
mechanism working.  It may be something to do with avoiding injury from a
predator or when in a fight.  If your hair can come loose suddenly, your
enemy is more likely to end up with mouthful of fur instead of a mouthful
of something more important.
 
Karen
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Here the whole world
        (stars, water, air,
And field, and forest, as they were
Reflected in a single mind)
Like cast off clothes was left behind
In ashes, yet with hopes that she,
Re-born from holy poverty,
In lenten lands, hereafter may
Resume them on her Easter Day.
        -- epitaph of Joy Gresham, wife of C.S. Lewis
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If you love ferrets, check out:
http://www.ferretwise.org
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[Posted in FML issue 3592]