Matted cat - What can I do

cookies_and_crem

HI,

my long haired domestic cat has matting by one side of his rump. I have tried to comb it out (using the furminator), cut parts of it out and eventually gave him a bath last week to see if it would help, but nothing is.

I cannot get close enough to cut it (need time to ensure I don't hurt him) and he is fighting me when I try to comb it. I think it is uncomfortable as he lets me groom everywhere but there.

Groomers is last resort, as last time I took him he caught the flu! I can comb it out (have done this before), but he simply will not let us near and I do not want it to get worse as at the moment it is a few patches.

Any ideas? (thanks in advance)

C&C

~Chameleon~

Vet/nurse will sedate and comb or clip the area if necessary. Regular grooming will prevent it re-matting.

soupdragon10

Combing is probably very painful if the fur is very matted. Can you cut any of the matted fur off? Maybe doing a bit at a time might work, rather than trying to do the whole lot at once.

I have in the past used a ladies safety razon to carefully cut the fur near the skin when one of my cats got some awful tarry gunk on her side - wouldn't wash out, so the only solution was to get rid of the fur. If there's someone to hold the cat for you it is a bit easier - especially if they are bribing the front end with treats while you attend to the matt.

Sorry I can't be more help. Best of luck.

cookies_and_crem

Chameleon - Thanks! As above re grooming. I should be clear - My cat gets groomed every few days at a minimum, more depending on our schedules. He doesn't mind it and tends to purr while being groomed. But at the moment there are about 5/6 areas the size of a kidney bean that he will not let us near.

We know from when we first got him that he can be prone to matting so we have always groomed him (he is adverse to cleaning himself....).

Soupdragon - thanks for the advice. He is extremely greedy, but not to the point of allowing himself to be groomed in that area while bribed with food! He can be cantankerous and is being so over the grooming of his back end. He took a swipe at me, then snatched the chicken this morning.....

I'll call the vet on Monday, but his vet is a rescue centre (Celia Hammond which is how we acquired him), therefore we try to solve issues ourselves before we bring him in as they are frightfully busy.

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Is it really too hard to pin him down and just cut the clumps off with a pair of hairdressing scissors? He'll stomp off in a huff afterwards, but it'll all be forgotten soon enough.

I had to do this with my MC rescue. She growled and hissed and tried to bite, etc. After the essential clump chopping, I carried on with the nice grooming as well, along with scratching the back of her neck and cheeks, which helped calm her down during chopping - but holding her secure was the priority, not her comfort.

These days, she just falls over with her legs in the air for grooming and doesn't bat an eyelid if the scissors come out, even round the base of her tail to trim off the more unpleasant bits sticking to her wotsit or the occasional dreadlock around her ruff. If she still had for whatever reason, a large clump, and couldn't be manhandled much (eg, just had surgery) I'd get what looks like a little razor tooth comb from Pets at Home or the like, which just severs the clump.


A groomer would be able to do it pretty easily, and it would save Celia Hammond from the cost of what is really, unless you have a totally feral and unhandleable tomcat, a non essential procedure. I assume you now have him vaccinated for his own safety...

scaredy_cat

try waiting till your cat is sleeping on the other side (matt side up) then if you start by gently stroking him for a few mins to get used to being touched, then sneakily with some fine sewing scissors (they are small and have thin legs) snip at the edges of the matt. Do this over a few days and you may be able to snip it off without him knowing.

cookies_and_crem

Hi Jojo - we don't want to hurt him... or ourselves. It must be uncomfortable as he is getting the claws out pretty sharpish which is unlike him. We went to the Caribbean for a week over xmas so he missed maybe 3/4 'grooming' sessions hence where this clumping has come from.

hmmm - I'll try the tool at pets at home.

He is by my knee now - he is an older cat so while he is affectionate etc he is also bossy. The cost isn't an issue with Celia Hammond - I am sure they rubs their hands when we come in as we pay for treatment and give a decent donation (£100+) with each visit (hence why we do not go to a private vet - CH benefit from our visits). But last time I went to CH we were in with the vet while a box of kittens were delivered and the vet rightly left us as they were a priority. I felt a bit bad as I was wasting their time with his sniffle while they had more important things to do!

I'm not sure why you asked if he is vaccinated? Is matting a symptom of vaccines?

Thanks for the tips - if we feel brave we will try tonight. My research into how to bathe a cat and live informed me that if we miss with the scissors he will cut and bleed extremely easily... I've cut dried food from his fur before but only if it is far from his skin.

C&C

Mayflower10cat

Please be so careful cutting out mats with scissors - my husband has never forgiven himself for accidentally snipping too close and cutting the skin of our long haired cat years ago. Rushed her to the vets to be stitched up - our vet said it was such a common injury, many people manage to do this.

My sister has a clever piece of kit she got from her vets called a 'mat breaker'. One of her elderly cats had terrible matting round her rear end and had to be 'groomed under sedation' several times. When her health issues made this too risky, her vet showed her how to use the 'mat breaker'. It looks like an intrument of torture, I warn you! A handle with a sharp, angled blade attached at right angles (sort of like a scythe) which you gently stroke over the top of the mat. The blade doesn't touch the skin at all. The blade basically shaves off the top layer of the mat, eventually freeing it from the fur. Very clever.

cookies_and_crem

Hahaha - while posting all this I was using the furminator... I took some of the advice above, laid him on the side i need him to be on jammed between me and the sofa and stroked him back to sleep. Then pulled out the furminator on the matted part (did get rid of one). He woke, looked with a warning expression and went for me.

Repeated the above again. So he is now still against the sofa, but has rolled onto my leg so I only have access to the nice shiny side of him! He is lovely and soft on one side but looks wild on the other, as he has done for the past few weeks!

Mayflower is this the product: http://www.petsathome.com/shop/matt-breaker-grooming-tool-with-replacement-blades-by-mikki-15598?freeText=mat+breaker&msg=MSG_SEARCH_ONE_MATCHING_PRODUCT?

~Chameleon~

If they are only tiny little matts the size of a kidney bean then these should be very easy to whip off, no need for sedation. I was under the impression his whole side was matted.

Wrap him firmly in a towel to keep his claws & teeth away from you, exposing the area to be groomed. One person can hold him firmly to their body whilst another combs out the lumps of hair. Be firm and precise, it's like pulling of a sticky plaster, faffing around hurts more!!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Sounds like it's going better now - vaccination was because you said he caught flu from the groomer's.

But really, two adults should be able to deal with one fluffy so and so. One supporting the back/rear end and holding various pointy ended corners of the creature, and one moving the thrashing tail, catching escapee pointy corners and wielding the clump removal tool.

(It is possible to bathe them, but they take forever to dry, and a cold cat is a pitiful thing)


Would have replied earlier, but one of the idiot animals decided to climb out of the upstairs window and get himself stuck on the roof of the bay. Only a 12 inch drop to the garden wall, but he panicked and sat there wailing like a banshee until I climbed up and got him.

[sigh]