Advice on dematting shorthairedcat (rescue)

RosaBernicia

I've just adopted a little black moggie from a local shelter and she's very sweet but her coat is an absolute horror. She is shorthaired but has quite a 'wooly' feel to her fur - the shelter staff say she has quite a thick undercoat. It was matted into points and bleached gingery so I suspect it's been that way for a long time. I've started with a soft brush as I didn't want to scare her by pulling on tangles and huuuuge amounts of fluff have come off her in two days! She is at least now looking like a black cat with tangles instead of a messy tortie. And she smells a bit better - frankly she was rather stinky and I guess it's mainly due to all the old coat.

The problem is, there are quite a few bits that won't brush out at all and I'm not sure I could get a comb through them without really hurting her. They are basically lumps of really close-matted pale/ bleached hair, with a bit of an oily texture too, and seem to be a little way within the coat rather than right next to her skin.

I'm thinking of simply cutting them out with nail scissors at the 'root' rather than trying to comb them out - does anybody have any advice on other options?

She loves being brushed and is already starting to groom herself again so I think she is enjoying feeling prettier . She also has plenty of fur around the matted bits so I don't think it would be noticeable if they were taken out, but obviously I don't want to do that if it is possible to avoid it.


Rosa xx

rising_from_the_ashes

Awwwww Rosa congrats on your new arrival she sounds absolutely lovely (pic when poss please ) and so lucky to have found a new home where she'll be loved and pampered.

Re the matts, if you've managed to get most of them out - well done, not an easy task!

If the remaining ones are really horrible, I'd be tempted to cut them out - as you say not the No 1 choice but it will get rid of them and she'll be much more comfortable and also, the last thing you'd want to do would be to give her a fright if they end up hurting trying to groom them out - especially if she's loving her brushing!

Fire_Fox

Consider having a pet groomer cut or shave those sections out, she might look a bit patchy for a while but she will be a lot more comfortable without the fur pulling at her skin and it will be easier for her to groom herself. If you do it yourself using round ended scissors or a mat breaker.

RosaBernicia

Thank you Rising and FireFox :A

She was very frightened on the car journey home and I've no idea about local groomers who might visit (plus it's been an expensive month with her adoption fees, carrier, insurance, and vaccs to come). I think I'll give it a couple more days brushing and then pick up some baby scissors to trim the worst out (good point FireFox, nail scissors are a bit pointy to combine with a wriggly moggie!).

She is very patient with attempts at the matted bits - she just says 'meep!' and looks reproachful lol... but I think she'd look and feel better without them.


Rosa xx

gettingready

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I would cut out/shave the impossible to brush out bits.


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Congratulations to both you and the cat

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kara7758

Cats develop a course coat when they are living outside and it sounds like your kitty may have been, hence the state of her coat.

My 14 yr old long haired moggie has always been poor at self grooming and is getting more and more tangles as he ages.

I cut out any tangles I see or feel on him as its less painful than trying to groom them out. Its got to the point that he comes and meows at me persistently and after a feel around his coat I find he has tangles.

He saunters away once I have cut them away and given him his brush down!

So I would cut any tangles away to save your lovely new kitty and more discomfort.

RosaBernicia

You can see the tatty bits on her flanks - but she looks a whole lot better already than when she first arrived. She'll be properly pretty in a couple of months


Rosa xx


PS. she doesn't always look that suspicious, she wondered why I was faffing with the table lamp - difficult to photo black cats!

RosaBernicia

kara7758 wrote: »

Cats develop a course coat when they are living outside and it sounds like your kitty may have been, hence the state of her coat.

Ah, yes - she'll have been in a pretty much unheated shed at night, and out most of the day. They did say she loves to be outside, and she's already eying up the garden before she's bothered to explore the rest of the flat!


Rosa xx

gettingready

wowwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww she is so prettyttttttttttttttttttttttttttttyyyyyyyyyyyyy

her coat is like my Teddys I see (nightrame to brush too)

short but very dense with a lot of "undercoat"

absfabs

Reading this with interest, as we also recently adopted an abandoned cat, she had been fending for herself for 5 weeks. She is a long-haired cat, grooms herself a lot and looks fine, but has terrible matted bits in groins and armpits - if cats have armpits! - which she won't let us touch much. The mats seem really close to the skin, can't get scissors safely between skin and mat and any interference there seems to hurt her.
Vet couldn't do it either.
We have now booked her in with veterinary nurse, she is going to keep cat in for the day and try clip or shave a little bit at a time. Might need sedation, in which case it becomes really expensive.
Wouldn't be without our lovely cat now, she is so sweet tempered and loving ... At least if you leave her probably sore undercarriage alone... Keep gently brushing her back and head to get her used to it, we put her off with the comb trying to get to the tangles. Oh and she is shedding shed loads of woolly really fine undercoat fur, could be hoovering twice a day!

Jojo_the_Tightfisted

Cut them out if at all possible, get a groomer to visit if not.

I'd also use a just damp flannel with a tiny drop of baby shampoo on it and stroke her firmly with it - it's a bit like them being washed by their mum, so it doesn't get hated quite so much as a bath or shower and is gentler than always tugging and tearing at them with combs.

Dizz actually loves this and is an unholy terror in the bathroom because he wants his go.


******

She will glow red when the sun is low in the sky, and shine like a conker in a couple of months' time. Be prepared for little static sparks from her coat until she sheds the dead, dry stuff.


little black cats