<p>So we have this outdoor cat who has really long fur. Used to be a real beauty (in looks - mean little bugger personality wise) but now is getting old and does not seem able to take care of his fur. It is horribly matted and I am trying to cut it. I mean massive chunks of matted mess. Anyone have any tips on how to do this? Using scissors make me nervous as it is hard to tell where the fur finishes and skin starts - the inner part of the fur is almost the same color as his skin. I have tried dog clippers which don’t work on cat fur at all. He will only let me do it for short portions of time - never has been the friendliest cat. In fact he used to be downright mean and nasty - has mellowed with age. Help me!</p>
<p>I’d take him to a vet or groomer and let them do it! Way too hard for me.</p>
<p>I can help! My old cat had that very problem and had this huge mat of hair on her back that made it hard for her to roll over. I finally figured out a way to get it out, although it took a couple days, as I did it a bit at a time as she allowed. I used a little seam ripper I had in my sewing kit. It has a curved part that is sharp on the inside of the curve. (Does that make any sense?) I would hold the cat in my lap and work at the hairs on the outside edges of the mat, a little at a time. It didn’t seem to bother my cat unless I pulled a little too hard. She looks much prettier without that mess.</p>
<p>p.s. Your cat sounds just like mine–nice-looking, but not too friendly. She, too, has mellowed in her old age.</p>
<p>DO NOT try to cut fur off your cat. It is SO easy to nick the cat, and then they get an abcess and then you have $500 in vet bills to lance it and give the cat antibiotics and then they bite you when you try to shove the pills down their mouths. (does it sound like I have some personal experience?)<br>
Take the cat to the vet and have it shaved down for the summer and then try to keep up with the brushing and de-matting.</p>
<p>It has gotten so bad I am almost embarrassed to take him to the vet or groomer :(. My daughter used to work at a cat clinic (made her realize she did not want to be a vet after all) and she said they would put them under to shave them. I may have to take him though. I’ll be the bad pet parent.</p>
<p>MomofWildChild - funnily enough he is not a friendly cat but I can give him pills more easily than I could the indoor cat we used to have - she was a sweety but turned into a demon when I tried to give her a pill - would take 2 of us wrapping her in towels then she would be biting down on our fingers and if we managed to get a pill in her mouth we would find in in the bathroom under dirty clothes. But my fear *is * that I might nick his skin.</p>
<p>Susan - interesting - I have a seam ripper. It just sounds very slow and he is not a lap cat.</p>
<p>I have managed to get some done. He lost patience and ran off. Currently watching the multiple tornadoes going through our state and heading in our direction. Hoping they miss us as we just finished dealing with insurance from a massive hailstorm 3 weeks ago.</p>
<p>I second Chedva and MomofWildChild. </p>
<p>We have a cat who fits your description, and the only thing that worked was to turn her over to the vet for grooming. Oddly enough (though kind of in line with your pill-taking story, swimcatsmom), although they do usually have to sedate the matted long-hairs to shave them down, this cat apparently LOVES IT. For a couple of years the vets got a lot of mileage out of telling us (and other clients) how she just flops, all dignity forgotten, and purrs while they shave her. We really didn’t believe it until one June they put her at the end of the schedule and were still working on her when we came to get her. There she was, all asplay, purring like a teakettle while they finished up.</p>
<p>swimcatsmom, I SO understand how you feel. We had an old cat (14) who had the same problem. I also felt the same way you did…we had let the matting get out of control and literally felt embarrassed to take her in. We did cut off some of the mats, but you are right to be worried about doing it–our kitty was very sensitive and wouldn’t sit still for very long at all. We always worried about accidentally cutting her skin. </p>
<p>Shortly after we came to the clear realization we really had to take her in, she became even more ill and died. In retrospect, I wished I had the mats taken care of by having her shaved. Even though it would have been a horrendous trip and we worried about how she’d even handle the car ride and the trauma of being at the vet’s office, we should have taken her in.</p>
<p>I have actually since heard of a friend’s elderly cat who became very reclusive when he couldn’t groom himself any longer. They had him shaved, and they said he really perked up after that. They believe that he felt very unhappy about not being able to groom himself and that the shaving made him feel better.</p>
<p>Take your kitty in…I wish I had.</p>
<p>Start him on Barley Cat, it helps with fur health. Just sprinkle some on his food every day. Of course, it won’t help with the current situation, so get him to the groomer to get that taken care of, don’t do it yourself. But the Barley Cat should help in the future. </p>
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<p>Yep, we did what MOWC did. And yes, we were embarrassed at how he looked before we took him in. But I knew it had to be uncomfortable for him and I was afraid of him getting skin diseases under the matted fur.</p>
<p>My friend with a similar problem with hers said to put a comb close to the cat skin to protect it, and use scissors to cut above the comb. That way you are sure you won’t nick the cat accidentally.</p>
<p>Wow who knew so many people had mangy old long haired cats 
. I don’t feel quite so bad. I have trimmed his fur in the past but it has just been a few odd patches that got matted - now there are just a few odd patches that are *not *matted. </p>
<p>I bought a better pair of scissors and a long toothed comb to put between the scissors and the skin (thank you munchkin for that tip) and we bought these funny little combs that have razors between the teeth to try. I am going to have one more try. If I don’t succeed I will take him to the vet or the groomer. Probably will have to go to the vet anyway - I don’t normally get as close to him as I did today (as I said not very friendly but more approachable than he used to be) and he stinks especially his breath. From the view I got of his mouth when he was hissing and growling at me I think he has some tooth problems.</p>
<p>I recommend taking your cat to a professional groomer or a vet. Try to find someone who has experience. It seems to me–based on experience with many elderly cats–that they go from okay to a complete mess overnight. Your cat may well be happier–and you too–if the cat is clipped very close for the summer. If you have a good cat vet, they can put him under for the tooth work and the grooming and do his ears all at the same time. </p>
<p>Don’t try to do it yourself. If you mess it up, the cat will hate you for it, just when he most needs to have a person he loves and trusts.</p>
<p>I suggest the groomer, but make sure you take the kitty to a groomer who has experience working on cats, not just dogs. We used to have two long-haired cats, one a pure-bred silver chinchilla Persian (looked exactly like the Fancy Feast cat in the commercials) and an all-white angora. When their mats got to be too much to handle, we brought them both to the groomer. They didn’t seem to mind it and looked so much better when we picked them up. We never had to have them shaved, though both of them lived to age 15. Good luck!</p>
<p>You don’t have to cut the mat off at once. I’ve had success in cutting part of the mat off – part that isn’t close to the skin – and gradually, cutting more a little each day. Anything that I could safely cut off was a help. It also can help to cut the mat apart, as in, make vertical cuts down into it (but not so far down that you are at risk of cutting skin). </p>
<p>Signed,</p>
<p>Himalayan Owner</p>
<p>Having spent much of last Sunday brushing and cutting the mats off of our 170-lb. St. Bernard, I feel for you, swimcatsmom. I filled an entire Hefty bag with his fur. Ugh. We also have a 15-year-old cat who has pretty much stopped grooming himself and has developed matted fur. He has fairly short hair though, so it’s not as bad. Good luck with the task!</p>
<p>momof2inca, I have a 15-yr old diabetic medium-hair cat who does not groom herself either. She looked horrible until I bought a brush called The Furminator. It is expensive - $35 (ugh!), but the job it did was truly amazing. It is a de-shedding tool that takes care of the loose undercoat fir without removing the top, longer hairs. The cat feels silky and pleasant to touch again! My other cat, who hates brushing and turns into all-claws and all-teeth demon when approached with a brush, to my amazement, loved being brushed with the Furminator.</p>
<p>Thanks, BB. I will look into that brush. Sounds like what I need.</p>
<p>If you introduce brushing to kittens at an early age, and under relaxed circumstances, I wonder if it will greatly help them to willingly submit to grooming…:rolleyes:</p>
<p>Mine resisted all brushing from wire “pet” brushes but loved being brushed with a people brush. I got one designed for a boy - squarish with nylon bristles. She would roll over so you could get all sides.</p>
<p>Amazon has the cat furminator for $27 with free shipping. I am considering it. We have an indoor short haired cat who sheds a lot. he does like to be brushed but only with the brush side of the brush - not the wire side.</p>