Coat is the nature and quality of a

mammal A mammal () is a vertebrate animal of the Class (biology), class Mammalia (). Mammals are characterised by the presence of milk-producing mammary glands for feeding their young, a broad neocortex region of the brain, fur or hair, and three ...

's fur. In the animal fancy, coat is an attribute that reflects the quality of a specimen's breeding as well as the level of the animal's care, conditioning, and management. Coat is an integral aspect of the judging at competitions such as a conformation dog show, a

cat show A cat show is a judged event where the owners of cats compete to win titles in various cat registering organizations by entering their cats to be judged after a breed standard. Both pedigree (cat), pedigreed and companion (or moggy) cats are admi ...

, a

horse show A horse show is a judged exhibition of horses and pony, ponies. Many different horse breeds and equestrianism, equestrian disciplines hold competitions worldwide, from local to the international levels. Most horse shows run from one to three days ...

(especially showmanship classes), or a rabbit show. The pelage of a show animal may be divided into different types of

hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and ...

, fur or

wool Wool is the textile fiber obtained from sheep and other mammals, especially goats, rabbits, and camelids. The term may also refer to inorganic materials, such as mineral wool and glass wool, that have some properties similar to animal w ...

with a texture ranging from downy to spiky. In addition, the animal may be single-coated or may have a number of coats, such as an undercoat and a topcoat (also called an ''outer coat'' or, sometimes, ''overcoat''), which is made up of

guard hair Guard hair or overhair is the outer layer of hair of most mammals, which overlay the fur. Guard hairs are long and coarse and protect the rest of the pelage (fur) from abrasion and frequently from moisture. They are visible on the surface of the ...

. The state of the coat is considered an indication of the animal's breeding and health. Animals might have different coat quality for different seasons. Normally, animals with fur or hair body coats may develop a thicker and/or longer winter coat in colder times of the year, which will shed out to a shorter, sleeker, summer coat as the days lengthen into spring and summer. This process may not occur in a noticeable fashion in climates that are warm year-round, though animals may nonetheless shed their coats periodically. The process may also be minimized by artificially keeping the animal blanketed, or, in the case of small animals, housed indoors.

Pinniped Pinnipeds (pronounced ), commonly known as seals, are a widely range (biology), distributed and diverse clade of carnivorous, fin-footed, semiaquatic, mostly marine mammals. They comprise the extant taxon, extant families Odobenidae (whose onl ...

s and

polar bear The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a large bear native to the Arctic and nearby areas. It is closely related to the brown bear, and the two species can Hybrid (biology), interbreed. The polar bear is the largest extant species of bear ...

s have longer guard hairs forming the most visible fur;Annalisa Berta, James L. Sumich, Kit M. Kovacs, Pieter Arend Folkens, Peter J. Adam. 2006 polar bears' guard hairs are hollow. Some considerations in judging the quality of an animal's coat: *Colour (coat colour other than those allowed in the

breed standard In animal husbandry or animal fancy, a breed standard is a description of the characteristics of a hypothetical or ideal example of a breed. The description may include phenotype, physical or morphology (biology), morphological detail, genotype, g ...

results in disqualification) *Markings (distribution of colour, spots, and patches; for example the spotted coat of a Dalmatian and the merle coat of an Australian Shepherd are distinctive; the markings of a terrier vary.) *Pattern (specific, predictable markings; tabby, for example is a common pattern in cats) *Texture of hair (smooth, rough, curly, straight, broken) *Length of hair *Health of hair coat (shiny or dull, brittle or flexible, etc.)

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See also