Advice needed for shaving the matted cat

[lcw579]

I have an old long haired cat that has some serious mats. She has never been particularly friendly about any kind of grooming. At best I can pull out the small mats but if you try to brush her you end up with your hands and arms in ribbons. Now that she’s older she doesn’t do so well with the personal hygiene and she looks a mess.

I have been able to ace her twice and shave her some. But there are still some thick mats I need to get to. I am getting my clipper blades sharpened before I start again. What blade size works best in heavily matted areas? The smallest I have are 10s but I would buy others if needed.

Since she is old and set in her ways I would rather take care of this at home so as not to stress her out more than the grooming already is. She is a nasty little thing but she is our nasty little thing.

Since she doesn’t like to be groomed does anyone have suggestions for keeping her hair from tangling as it grows back in?

[SquishTheBunny]

I just did my old guy. 10 blades. He hisses and carries on…but we get through it. I scruff him for the belly otherwise I just try to go fast and not worry too much how he looks he was an um…interesting lions cut at the moment.

[cowboymom]

I use a pair of human clippers, $20 from a discount store, on our old cat. It was the only way to get under some of the mats. I have my son wear gloves and help me hold her, she chews on his hands and yowls but with those clippers I’m able to work fast and get at least half a cat done at a time.

A kitty furminator is probably the best way to prevent future mats, especially if you start early in the spring when they seem to blow their coats.

[Hippolyta]

Like Squish, I do as much as I can through the hissing with a 10 (and leather work gloves). Scruff, (I sometimes hold them up a-dangle) & go as fast as you can. I usually do it in very short intervals over a period of a day or two.

My old cat (RIP ) was pretty good about it. Hated it, but laid there & took it. I have an old crab right now that used to be like a viper. She could twist and contort herself and get at anyone doing anything to her. She has amazed some veteran vets/techs. HATED brushing, so I would have to clip her

Now that she is older, she is not quite as lithe, but the funniest thing is that she can’t really repress the chew (gnaw/lick?) reflex anymore, so when I scratch her all I get is that funny reaction. Now when I clip her the same thing happens!! She wants to bite me SOOOOO bad, but she can’t stop the reflex. So I can clip her whole back half (matts) without a problem. I feel bad laughing at her.

Right now she is half clipped, scraggly, skinny & looks like she was run over by a lawn mower. We think she is at least 16. By God, she looks like hell, but seems to still be happy. Trots around, eats, etc.

[Donkaloosa]

I was going to suggest wearing a coat of armor…

If you can get one person to hold the cat — while that person is wearing
heavy welding gloves — and another person shaves, that might work. I just
don’t think it will be pleasant and blood will be shed unless the cat is tranked.

[regalace]

When I clipped my old cat, I used the same clippers as for body clipping my horse. I tried a friend’s dog clippers once and they didn’t make a dent in the fur. Do it over a period of time, short sessions, cleaning blades frequently with blade wash. I found a cordless clipper better–was always afraid she would twist around and bite the cord. My old cat was a wicked biter toward the end due to pain issues, but I scruffed her FIRMLY and could clip her myself like that. If you have to do the butt or tail, wrap the front end in a towel and tuck under your arm like a football.

You might also be able to cut some of the matts out with scissors. I used a small pair of nail scissors with the short curved blades. That’s really when you could use a helper, so you have one to hold the cat and both hands free to hold the matt while cutting.

Good luck! And if you do get bitten and it breaks the skin, go straight to the urgent care for antibiotics.

[lcw579]

Thanks everyone. I have to say the ACE was a godsend. Kept her nice and drowsy long enough to get a good start. She’s half way clipped/scissored and looks a mess but she is happier. I may spend the $20 and get some people clippers so I can finish the job before my blades are back from the sharpener. After all the horses will be next.

[candysgirl]

Don’t bother with the people clippers. The motors aren’t strong enough to take on pet hair and you’ll just burn them out.

Scissors are a bad idea. Mats can pull skin up into them and you can slice them open very easily. The safest way to remove mats is with a 10 blade.

Sometimes you can pick them out with a comb if the cat is tolerant. Pick at the edges with end of the comb. Its painstaking, but you can sometimes free the mats that way. Smaller ones on the top of the cat you can often just comb out. I wouldn’t recommend that on the under side though. Usually they don’t tolerate that well.

[Sooty_Tats]

Yeah, don’t use scissors. Way too much likelihood of inflicting a nasty and painful cut when you least expect it. Cat skin is like tissue paper, and it does gets pulled up into the mats. Even if you think you can tell the place where mat meets skin…you actually can’t.

But if you have a cooperative cat and you’re working with mats in somewhat accessible places, you can try a seam ripper. This is a little sewing tool. It does have a pointy end that you obviously have to keep pointed away from Catness, but if you use it to saw away at the mat edges you can be very precise and there is little to no risk of accidental injury.

[DMK]

now that the cat is clipped, I would suggest daily grooming with a “greyhound comb” before the coat grows back so you can have lots of positive grooming sessions.

I always start and finish with their favorite part (mine like to be combed along the back) and just take quick forays into the trouble spots (the britches).

I have 2 Maine Coons so I get to be up close and personal with lots and lots of cat grooming. Both came from a serious breeder/shower and I got to pick her brain about how to groom long hair cats. So far it helps, my older (7 yrs) cat has a full blown monster coat and I have staved off mats successfully, the catten (1.5 years is still in the honeymoon stage - it takes a few years for their REAL undercoat to come in). Both of these are a different challenge than an old cat though, old cats are just destined to get mats, but hopefully they can be less severe/less frequent shaving/more comfortable with the right tools.

If you have a slicker brush, toss it out. Slickers break the ends of the hair and make the coat more prone to matting

Get a greyhound comb, seriously. BUY ONE NOW. Not a detangler comb (rotating teeth) - it looks like a greyhound comb, but not as useful. Use it. With an older cat that may involve just a few strokes at a time and let it go, but if you start after they have been clipped maybe you can get ahead of the next mat cycle.

I have a furminator as well, but I have to say I get more coat off, faster with the greyhound comb. The furminator gets some add’l hair off so its useful, but for $$ spent, have I mentioned the greyhound comb? Lifesaver.

Also the greyhound comb is VERY USEFUL (and safe) to use to split minor to moderate mats, you just use the short end to get into the mat and open it up. Mine are used to being groomed but this has (shockingly enough) NEVER bothered them.

[Bicoastal]

I thought this was a very clever and cheap mat splitter. I’d try that before scissors.

I’m impressed multiple posters have been so successful clipping elderly cats, especially since it is a very infrequent occurrence so neither participant is well versed.

I read that cat skin is super thin thus easy to slice open and it slices big. Many or most cat groomers stop at the legs. Here are a couple examples in a lion trim. Start with a clean cat to protect your equipment and get a better result.

[smm20]

I used to clip my long haired cat in a lion cut. He was generally good, but when he wasn’t, there were a few things that would sometimes work:

1. a veterinary cone - like the kind that you put on kitty after surgery to keep her from licking. This functions in two ways. First, she can’t easily bite you or the cord. Second, kitty legs stop functioning when kitty is wearing an cone.

You might have to combat that “my entire body doesn’t work” thing where they flop on their sides and act like they are dying. Shave one side, then flop her onto the other one.

2. A dixie cup with holes poked in the end. Picture the kind of cup that college kids drink beer out of. Poke lots of air holes in the end. Place over kitty head.

This one works best when there is someone else keeping the cup on the cat’s head. Kitty will back up slightly, so you should position yourself directly behind her, and start clipping. This one works best for short term use - like when you need to get at the areas that she HATES. She won’t be able to bit or scratch, because she can’t see you.

[shayaalliard]

I agree with the ten blade and two people. Clip nails first makes it a lot less painful on the human. also have had luck doing a kitty burrito in a towel with just on part sticking out to shave- then rewrap for access to new places.

As far as splitting mats, for cats I like this type of comb- the blades are short and hooked- much easier to get in tight spaces, and less likely to cut me when I slip ( they are SHARP).
http://www.beowoof.com/mat-splitter-remover/