Domestic cat

[Traditionalist]

Domestic cat hair in various colours is often specified as dubbing. It is more trouble than it is worth, unless you can obtain brushings from a pet etc. Skinning a cat is quite difficult, compared to many other small furry mammals, and the skin is so greasy that it is extremely difficult to prepare for fly-dressing purposes. Best avoided!

Many animal furs from cats, dogs, etc, make excellent dubbing, and some make first class hair hackles, but the fur can be difficult to obtain. If you have some, use it, otherwise forget it! It can cause a whole range of other complications using fur from pets as well. In most cases one can find a substitute. Jet black cat fur does have some odd properties though, often shimmering in all the colours of the rainbow and metallics as well. This may be caused by the amount of oil in the fur, and also because a cat is constantly preening itself.

There are a number of famous fly patterns which specify certain dog hair, notably "Tups Indispensable" ( The dog hair, in this case lemon spaniel fur, is harder to obtain than the ram´s testicle hair!) and the "Dogsbody" but this too is difficult to find in the right colours ( Even if you know what those colours are!) . There are ways and means of doing this. One can ask dog trimmers and others. Once they have ascertained that you are not completely insane, they may accommodate you, if you ask nicely, or bring them a nice sea trout! Chasing appropriate coloured dogs and cats armed with a razor is liable to get you locked up!

I have used some flies with cat fur, and very good they are too, but it is difficult to obtain in a range of colours under normal circumstances. This is a tail from a very nicely "mottled moggy" which met an untimely demise on the road. I threw the skin away after trying unsuccessfully to degrease it. This tail is still extremely greasy, despite being split, deboned, degreased, and washed a number of times. It does make nice flies though!The fur is extremely soft and mobile.Some authors specified cat fur for various flies. John Kirkbride specified several using black cat fur.



I also have a small amount of fur and a few flies dressed from it, from a pet cat which was a faithful companion of mine for many years, but I don´t use them for fishing.