matted fur

[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. 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.