matted fur

[lucysmom]

I have Major who is about 16 years old and all of a sudden has lots of matted fur at his hindquarters. I tried combing it out, but that does not work very well. I tried cutting it with a scissors a little at a time, but can't really get close enough, I don't want to cut him! I would like to have that area shaved but when I called the vet, they said they have to anesthetize a cat for that and it would cost $100.00. Can anyone give me anymore suggestions? He doesn't mind being brushed, in fact he likes it. When you show him the brush, he jumps in your lap so he can be combed! Thanks in advance for any suggestions you can give me!

[Medusa]

Anesthesia and a hundred bucks to shave a cat's hindquarters???? Good grief!!! My Specs has that problem and he, too, likes to be brushed. So you can probably get at that part after you've brushed him elsewhere for a few minutes. When he's calm, he may even let you cut them out. Specs does. Not very helpful, am I? But that's what works for me.

Blessings,
Mary

[jenluckenbach]

Please be aware that you are much too likely to cut skin when you cut mats from a cat's fur!

Call a pet groomer. Ask if they do cats. The cat should not need tranquilizers nor should it cost $100.

[Medusa]

Yes, this is true if you cut down to the skin. Guess I should've said something about that. I pull the fur away from the skin a little and cut through the mat itself, not underneath it. Then the rest is fairly easy to brush out.

Blessings,
Mary

[jenluckenbach]

Originally posted by Medusa
Yes, this is true if you cut down to the skin. Guess I should've said something about that. I pull the fur away from the skin a little and cut through the mat itself, not underneath it. Then the rest is fairly easy to brush out.

Blessings,
Mary
The reason cutting a mat is dangerous is because the mat can actually pull the skin up with it. (take a wad of your own hair and pull it up slightly, pretend this it trhe mat, you can feel how your skin raises too......and a cat's skin is paper thin at spots, which makes this more pronounced)

Even a grromer who uses a clipper blade has to be super careful that a piece of skin does not get caught in the teeth.

[RedHedd]

Have you tried a mat-breaker? Great little tool I picked up at Petco. The M's hate it but it works very well .... they don't like brushing at all, so anything I try doing to them, they think I'm trying to kill them .... I'm gentle and careful and the mats do come out easily with that tool. I wouldn't be without it.

[Medusa]

I'm going to look for that myself. Specs, Pigeon and Puddy are long hairs and I'm sure they would appreciate it.

Blessings,
M

[lucysmom]

I just wanted to let everyone know that I have been removing the mats myself! I trimmed them very carefully and then worked them out with my fingers. He tolerated this very well as he likes to be groomed. Some of the larger ones, I had to spend a little more time on and he purred throughout the whole ordeal! He looks much better. I do a little at a time until he lets me know he has had enough. I never had a problem with pulling his skin our cutting his skin. Slow and easy is the way to do it! I guess I saved myself some money! Thanks everyone! :D

[Medusa]

Atta girl!

Blessings,
Mary

[lucysmom]

I just wanted to let you all know that Major died last Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. He had been diagnosed with cancer three weeks earlier. We were going to bring him to the vet that day to be put to sleep, but he died before we were able to get him there. Even though we had him for so many years, this hurt terribly. I miss him very much. Thanks for everyones advice. Kiss your kitties tonight! Nancy :(

[jenluckenbach]

I am so sorry about your loss. RIP Major. :(

[Medusa]

Oh, I'm so sorry to hear this. Be comforted in knowing that he's safe now and all is well.

Blessings to all....
Mary

[smokey the elder]

I'm sorry about Major. He's stylin' at the Rainbow Bridge, begging for hairdos!

[RedHedd]

Oh! I'm so sorry for your loss! I know the pain as I still miss my Goldie desperately. She, too, died from kitty cancer. :(

[Siva's mom]

My long-haired tortoise shell had that problem about a year and a half ago. I did opt to cut the mats out a little at a time. The vet gave me some sedatives for her but that only slowed her down - didn't put her out. Did managed to get a little bit of it done that day. Each day after that we had a routine of brushing her and then getting the scissors to cut the mats out. It took about a week to get them all out. You must be very careful but it can be done. I figured the risk of cutting them out outweighed the risk of having her put out with anesthesia. It worked for me but I wouldn't recommend it for everyone. One must have a very steady hand and even then it's risky to cut them out, especially on hind quarters where one slip of the scissors could be disastrous. Since then, my feline, who thinks she's a goddess, gets a healthy brushing every day and she has grown to absolutely love it. We bond, she purrs, the job gets done, we're all happy.

Good luck!

[jenluckenbach]

I really want to warn people again about cutting mats out of a cat with scissors. Today at the gooming salon where I work a matted cat came in who had a large chunk of fur cut out of its side and TWO cuts in its skin. :eek: I cringed just looking at them. :(

Cat's skin is just SO fragile. I have been a professional groomer for 21 years and I would never dream of cutting a mat from a cat in the same way I might on a dog's coat.