Fat Cat Hair Clumps

[moosmom]

When I lived in New Haven, the wingnut dentist next door had two cats (mama and daughter) who were supposedly feral. Mama was VERY matted. I confronted this idiot and even offered to take her to be groomed. He turned me down. Said it wasn't necessary. I told him they were very painful for her. He didn't care. He told me to stop feeding them. I told him to go to hell. That's when I decided to trim her myself. "The girls" as I referred to them as, weren't feral, just scared. They had shelter in a nearby garage. It took a while, but I think Mama was actually happy to have to cut them off. Her poor skin was raw from the mats pulling at it.

I think you're doing the right thing by having a groomer do it. Especially since she gets stressed out. The last thing you need to do is get bitten again (how many would that be????).

I'd go nuts if I had to try and get one of my cats on a diet. When you have as many as I do, it's a free-for-all!!!

[Freedom]

Thanks for the replies. My problem is I try to keep up with it starting when she has just been cleaned up - no reason at that point so I slack off. Months go by, I forget about it until the clumps are enormous.

I think you're doing the right thing by having a groomer do it. Especially since she gets stressed out. The last thing you need to do is get bitten again (how many would that be????).

LOL stopped counting after the 3rd trip to the hospital.

I'd go nuts if I had to try and get one of my cats on a diet. When you have as many as I do, it's a free-for-all!!!

Ditto!

[Taz_Zoee]

I fostered my friends XXL kitty for 5 months a couple years ago. I took him to the groomers at least once, maybe twice. Once I took him to the vet to get his nails clipped and the tech was nice enough to cut the mats from his rear for me. I was so grateful! That is the only place he matted was on his bottom. I didn't know him well enough to tackle it myself. I think my friend takes care of his fur on her own. But he loves her. LOL
I would brush him when I went in to visit him in his room. (he terrorized Paizly so he was shut in a bedroom unless under closer supervision)

Sorry I do not have any good suggestions for you. But I hope you can find a solution. I am horrible and brushing the dogs regularly. So I'm glad to have short hair thin kitties (at least for now!).

[Jessika]

Please don't use scissors I've lost track of the number of kitties we've had to stitch up after unfortunate grooming events. One cat actually had to have the end of it's tail amputated because it wouldn't heal

Maybe I missed it, but when you bring her to the vet, would it be out of line to suggest a light sedation for her to make the trip easier and less stressful on her and everyone else involved? I'd feel safer about sedating at the vet. We actually do this quite a bit for our shave-down kitties: it is absolutely not a first resort by any means, but some cats are so badly matted that it's painful. Add that on top of the stress of the trip, and they are NOT happy with us, much less compliant about us messing with them!

Some clients come in on a regular basis for shave downs, even great cats that just lay there and let us do anything to them (which I find odd - we aren't groomers by any means but we get the job done), because they are either overweight and don't groom themselves properly or are just long haired and they can't properly keep up with maintenance.

We will also regularly shave down their rears on annual visits at no charge just because it's easier on the cat and the owners, and who doesn't like a fresh, mat-free and clean bottom? hehe

[Catty1]

I have a spray-on detangler solution that is for cat grooming. I use it on Cole when I can. It's great if I can get it on his fur but if not I at least spray it on the comb. Or I mix a strong solution of it with some water in a small but tall glass so I can dip a comb in it.

Here's links to some examples:

http://www.petcetera.ca/Products/Cat...nditioner.aspx

Now THIS is different...I wonder if you have to have a Bissell vacuum to use it: http://www.petsmart.com/product/inde...uctId=11324352 Considering my cats are far away when I have the thing running, I hope the hose is long enough to attach this to! LOL - a phrase on the package says "groom your pet, then make a sweater"

Here's a whole bunch of stuff: http://www.petsmart.com/family/index...goryId=2768978