My Poor Almost Naked Cat

[krazyaboutkatz]

I feel like such a bad meowmie.:( My Storm has all of a sudden decided to stop grooming himself. He was getting matted and I tried to brush him the best that I could and I also cut some of his mats out. He was just getting worse so I decided to take him to the groomers for a lion cut. They called me at work and told me that he was so badly matted that they couldn't do a lion cut because they had to shave most of his fur off. He now only has the fur on the tip of his tail,part of his paws, and on his head. He does seem to feel a lot better now. I can only imagine the pain he must've been in.:( Here are a few pictures of him.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v176/krazyaboutkatz/NakedStorm-10-14-11008-croppedresized.jpg

Alani is thinking "Hey, what's that creature?"
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v176/krazyaboutkatz/NakedStorm-10-14-11011-croppedresized.jpg

Let me get closer so I can smell him.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v176/krazyaboutkatz/NakedStorm-10-14-11012-croppedresized.jpg

He sure does smell good.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v176/krazyaboutkatz/NakedStorm-10-14-11013-croppedresized.jpg

It was kind of funny to see the reactions of Alani & Blaze. They acted like they didn't know what kind of animal Storm was. I think they still think he's a new cat.;)

[Karen]

I'm sure he feels better and more comfy now! Don't feel bad, okay?

[chocolatepuppy]

You're still a beautiful boy Storm!:love: Don't be so hard on yourself Krazy.:) My RB Sassy, who was not long haired, had to have knots shaved out by the vet twice. That doesn't include the times I worked up the courage to cut some out myself. She did not want brushed, period!

[Medusa]

The same happened w/my RB Pidge. She was 20 when I had her shaved due to so many mats. The situation w/her was that she was so old and stiff that she couldn't reach certain parts of her body in order to groom herself and she DETESTED being brushed and groomed. Like you, I kept up w/the mats as best I could until I finally relented and had her shaved. She felt so much better after that and lived almost 2 years longer. Because she was so old, her grooming/shaving was considered as surgery. She was put under anesthesia and after it was all done it cost $680.00! :eek: Lesson learned. As soon as I notice a mat, if I can't get it out, Specs will go to the groomer since he's my only longhair kitty. So don't feel bad. It happens. :)

[happylabs]

Well I think he looks quite handsome. You know bald is in these days with men. :D

As far as the other cats not recognizing him, it isn't how he looks, it is his smell. If they bathed him, he no longer had the scent they were used to. That is actually how animals recognize each other. One of my cats, I think it was Moose, went to the vet and got a bath for some reason. When he came back none of the other cats would hang out with him until he got his scent back. Tink was funny because her tail poofed out about 10 times bigger than normal.

The other kitties will love him again soon once he gets his regular smell back.

[lizbud]

I think he looks just fine.:love: He probably can really feel your hand
as you caress him now.:) I like his first picture. Very handsome.:)

[catmandu]

You should not feel bady about Storm's Lion Cut, as My Vet told me after he cut Moose's Fur that that is the best thing for a ong haired Cat to eiminate snags!
I emember Our Friend Jen who is a groomer saying the same thing.
Storm:cool::cool::cool: really looks ike a ittle Gray Lion.:love::love::love:

[moosmom]

Look at that PUFFED OUT TAIL!!!! I love the lion cut on cats!!

[Taz_Zoee]

I think he looks wonderful!! I am not a fan of the lion cut, really. But his longer area is not quite that long so I think it looks absolutely adorable! And he has to feel soo much better. Plus we are in California, so it's not like its too cold right now. :)

Please give Storm some kisses on that cute little head for me. :D

[gini]

Tracey he probably feels so much better now and thanks you for doing that for him. Don't blame yourself. He is such a lovely boy!

[kuhio98]

Sweet Storm, you're beautiful no matter what you wear.
I bet you feel better now that those bad mats are pulling your skin. :love:

[Scooter's Mom]

You know, he's probably happy with it. He'll be growing his hair back in and everyone else will be yakking up furballs, he can be laughing at them. :p

I think he's adorable. :)

[phesina]

I think you look wonderful, Stormie! I bet you feel SO much better now.

And I agree with everyone else: don't be hard on yourself, Tracy. You did your best for him all along. We live and learn.

[pomtzu]

I think he looks adorable. At first glance - he almost resembles as Meezer. :love:

[kaycountrygal]

I think your Storm looks terrific. I understand about mats and cats with long hair. I take my Luke about every 3-4 months and I just love his cut. I bet your cat feels so much better; he looks good imo.

[katladyd]

Storm looks just fine and more important, he feels much better. Sometimes when they get older they do not groom themselves very well. So, you do what you have to do. Just make sure you keep brushing him as the hair grows out to prevent more mats.:)

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks everyone.:) I know I shouldn't be so hard on myself but he's never matted before. The thing is he is able to bend and groom himself if he wants to. After he uses the litter box he always cleans his bottom. Before he was shaved, I did notice that he barely wanted to move around at all. He would eat and then go to his bed or just sit in the hallway and he looked very depressed and miserable.:( Now he's walking around much more and seems much happier. He didn't need to be sedated and the normal price is $68 but since he was very matted they had to charge me $15 extra which I didn't mind. Now I'm hoping that I'll be able to keep up with grooming him so he won't mat again.:) If it gets too cold this winter I may need to look for a small dog sweater to put on him.;)

[mrspunkysmom]

He looks beautiful either way. Does he like being brushed?

I've been lucky in that I've always had short to medium hair cats. The brushing is good but not critical.

[jenluckenbach]

He looks WONDERFUL~

And I bet he feels like a million bucks.

Don't be too hard on yourself, you are NOT a bad meowmie.

[Randi]

I think Storm looks lovely with his haircut and I'm sure he feels much better. He can move around more and also, with your weather he'll keep warm enough. :)

Give him some scritches from me, please! :love:

[mrspunkysmom]

You shouldn't feel bad. I know from experience with Sam that some cats are difficult to groom or examine. I have to take him to the vet to get examined more often than the others. He doesn't like to be touched by me or the other kitties. So his ears get dirty and I can't check his mouth for gingivitis.

It's easier for me to get someone else to groom my kitties, especially Sam.

He's beautiful now and will be back to magnificent in no time. :D

[Catlady711]

Don't be hard on yourself. Better that your kitty has a unique hair cut than have matts. The fur will grow back and I'm sure he feels better now.

[katladyd]

My mom used to have long haired dogs and they often got matted, no matter how much she brushed them. Long hair = mats sometimes. It's not your fault at all!:)

[cassiesmom]

Sweet Storm, you're beautiful no matter what you wear.
I bet you feel better now that those bad mats are pulling your skin. :love:

That's what I was thinking too. Dear sweet Storm, you are beautiful, coat or no coat! I hope you feel much better without the mats. Mum will help you to take care of your coat as it grows back in.

[krazyaboutkatz]

Thanks again everyone.:) Yes, Storm does like to be brushed so I'm hoping that this will never happen again in the future. Storm is feeling so much better that now he's trying to make everyone know that he's still the alpha cat. He's been terrorizing poor Ziggy and chasing poor Sky around.:( He even decided to also chase Pearl which he rarely does because she's usually the aggressive one towards him. Hopefully he got the message across to them so he doesn't have to be so mean to them.