Help! Matts!

[RedHedd]

I was giving Mishi some extra loving last night and discovered a "lump" near his back-end. Turned out to be a very large matt! He's a wiggle-worm anyway and hates being brushed, so I corralled him in the bathroom and gently (I thought) worked at it. The way he was yeowling you would have thought I was murdering him! Yikes! What my neighbors must think!

I did finally get the matt out, but it took a while and lots of yeowling cries on Mishi's part and gentle coos on my part trying to calm him down. I used my fingers to try and gently pry it apart, then tried brushing and, finally, a wide-toothed comb which took what was left of it out. There must be an easier way.

I really doin't want to spend more $$ at the vets this year if I don't have to. Mishi was shaved once this year by the rescue agency when they first found him. I don't want to put him through that again if I don't have to.

What tools do y'all use? I plan to go to Petco this weekend to get them more Xmas gifts, grooming tools are on the list too.

[krazyaboutkatz]

I use flea combs, a rubber brush, a wire brush, and the shedding tool. Luckily Sunny, Cirrus, and Storm have never had mats. I have to watch out for my fluffy boy Sky because he was shaved when I adopted him due to severely matted fur. I also spray on a leave in conditioner which helps detangle their fur. It also helps dandruff flakes and makes them smell good too. Good luck.

You may want to pm Jen about this since she's a pet groomer.

[RedHedd]

Thanks, KAK - I was hoping Jen would see this. I headed for Petco, intending to get a shedding blade and to look for matting tools too. As I really didn't know what I was looking for I asked one of the sales help and really lucked out. The young man also has a red Maine Coon who mats and showed me the perfect tool that he uses - a mat removing blade. He really knew his stuff and talked me out of buying the shedding blade. The mat blade was expensive, but he said it was worth it and that I already had the other tools - the brushes and combs. I was impressed that he didn't try to sell me a whole lot of stuff I didn't need and told me not to buy the scissors at Petco but to go to the beauty supply store next door for those! He explained that the shedding blade only removes the top layer of fur and didn't really control shedding; that regular brushing was my best bet to keep the fur kids mats under control and their fur looking tip-top. So I left happy, with my new tool.

Of course now that I have it, I probably won't need it for a while -- doesn't it always work that way? Oh well, we'll see. I do know Mitzi has mats that I can't wait to get my hands on - perhaps this new tool will make it easier on her. I'm not going to do her this weekend as she just got home today from her teeth cleaning and an extraction. Poor, fluffy baby!