I adopted/was adopted a long haired cat in February, she was 18 months old.
When I got her she had a massive ruff that looked like a big scarf around her neck. It must have been uncomfortable, but it has all now fallen out for summer.
I groom her daily and end up with a lot of hair and I, too, have wondered why she isn't bald.
Her brother, from the same litter, is smooth coated and barely seems to moult at all.
The worst thing is that she is not very patient when I am grooming her - she is short tempered at the best of time. Her brother is a 'laid back surfer dude' kind of cat, but she is definitely into 'girl power'.