Cat not cleaning his undercarriage

princess

Last summer we were lucky enough to get a rescue cat. He had been living on a dump and had been totally matted and had been completely shaved under anasthetic. He was terribly aggressive/scared for months, hissing and spitting if we even looked at him, and smacking and biting if we tried to touch him!
He's a really big cat and is (now) longhaired. He has never shown much interest in cleaning. He is now adorable on his own terms and lets us brush his back, but were not allowed near his tummy and god forbid we should touch his tail end, which as his fur has grown back, is matted aroung the butt and clarted in ...as you can imagine. He's not bothered at all:(
We tried to bath his back end, the growling had to be heard to be believed. Anyway he is booked at the vets tomorrow, but we have no idea if this is right...maybe he should be going to the groomers...or will he have to be knocked out (which we wanted to avoid) again. I also think this is going to be a reoccurring problem, hes not young about 7yrs we were told, and he just doesnt seem to be getting used to personal grooming at all.
What are we doing wrong? any advice welcome.

soay_2

When cats neglect to groom themselves its usually either bad teeth or some other mouth problem.

As you are visiting the Vets tomorrow they will be able to check his mouth for you.

juliebunny

Hello, well done for taming this hissing furball!

My friend has persians, all rescue cats - loads get handed into the shelters because of problems with their grooming/ coats. One of hers will simply not let her groom certain bits and unfortunately does have to go to the vets regularly to get groomed under sedation / anaethetic (can't spell that!). If they get matted badly, it can pull their skin and cause injury so it's best to keep on top of it.

Good luck!

pinkcandyflossprincess

are you a member of the purrsinourhearts forum? lots of advice on their for rescue/ferals.. so sure somone will have had same problem.

I used to have a shih tzu who was same about backend and would bite me:( the groomers all refused him as he would even slip the muzzle and have a go at them so in the end i had to put up with it wearing gloves , have someone hold his top end and reassure him- he would still go mad though:(

i now have a longhaired kitten and although hes not keen on his backend being done i do him daily and give him a toy whilst i do there..he falls asleep happy though when i groom his face
:rotfl:
i have a leave in shampoo which detangles and i use it neat on his furr when hes on my knee so you just comb it through as you go .
its obviously difficult with a feral though and its amazing hes come so far with you- well done:T

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

My furball was the same, but I remembered I was bigger than her, so kept on with it.

These days, if she has a 'gummy' bit (and she stops cleaning herself once they show up - lazy wotsit), I flip, pin and trim before she has time to make much fuss. Perhaps having a towel on your lap and scissors by your right hand to make it as quick as possible?

Mind you, the thought of taking her to a groomer and letting them give her a short back and sides for the summer appeals - she might even start looking like a proper cat instead of a tortoiseshell sheep

birkee

We got one from a rescue centre, and whilst he had no reported problems, he moves SO badly doing certain things, that I'm convinced he's had a lot of bones broken and mended. Only ever uses his back legs as a pair when going upstairs and down for instance.
While he cleans his backend OK, I'm wondering if a dump cat has been hit by too many missiles, and has a back problem?

(Ours used to run if we picked up the TV remote! He's fine now, but it's taken more than twelve months to settle most of his fears.)

princess

Many thanks for your ideas. I expected to be told off! Well if it has to be done under sedation we will have to go with that, for this time at least. Maybe if we start afresh so to speak we will have a better chance of managing it. As I say we can sort of groom him now, but not these bits which I guess must be quite painful if tugged. So maybe if he is shaved a bit and then we are really dedicated with the grooming whilst the fur is still short he may be used to it by the time he actually needs it.
Dont envy DH trying to get him to the vets tomorrow tho, or trying to get him to behave whilst he is there!

juliebunny

LOL, why would you expect to be told off! One of my cats has to go to the vets in a feral crush cage - hope yours isn't that bad!!

Good luck to you all for tomorrow........!:beer:

dizziblonde

We had a cat who never ever ever mastered the delicate art of cleaning his own backside. In the end we would just regularly clip it before it got out of control (but he was a placid lump of inert moggie 99.9999% of the time)... he looked daft, but it was the lesser of two evils really - had to be done!

princess

Ok he has been to the vet and had the back of him shaved, without being knocked out so that is all great. DH said he was quite placcid, though the proceedure did take three of them.
There are a couple of problems though.
Firstly he is overweight it seems, so cant reach his nethers in the vets opinion, so he is now on a diet. I think he was so scrawny when he arrived we just fed him whenever he made a fuss, and now that has got to stop.
Secondly as he was living rough he has never minded the rain. He happily goes out in the rain even sits right in puddles and is not at all delicate about sitting in mud etc. I recently found him just lying on the lawn in a storm, which I think isnt very typical for a cat. Anyway the vet suggests we keep him inside in the rain, as long hair like his gets crappy if it gets wet and isnt groomed properly, especially if he sits in muddy puddles.
He is lovely and pristine now, but looks rather exhausted by the whole experience!

cjmumto2

Long haired cats do need brushing regularly anyway even if they are fit and healthy, so it looks like it will be a regular trip to the vet for a shave if you cant brush him. Catchat has many helpful cat people who may have advice on how to get a cat to like being brushed.

Well done on adopting him though