Friend has a long hair with mats.
She scissors some out, but he gets so bad she takes him to a groomer for a Lion Cut.
I suggested a cordless trim clipper as hair gets cut w/o much pulling.
I’m thinking the groomer uses these.
Cat is tranqued at home before the appt.
If cat gets used to the buzzing - small ones are pretty quiet - she might be able to skip the meds and save $$.
Nope, she thinks mats are “too close to skin”.
Has anyone clipped mats out w/trim clippers?
I’m a big fan on the KM Cordless for all things long haired. A Happy Hoodie makes all the difference for my cats and my little dog who is a feral diva.
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Thanks.
As much as I’d like to repeat my suggestion, friend is also a self-proclaimed Expert on all things Cat.
I was curious if I was right about th clippers, thinking if my horses tolerate them in their ears, cat might benefit.
I’ve used clippers for mats many times; for the cat I had that was so badly matted and spicy about it I used a cat bag where I could work on nonlethal parts. I also made my own cat bag out of a pillow case so I could put her in it like a hammock with leg holes. She was perfectly comfortable but couldn’t get out… she seemed to enjoy the whole process there the most. It’s actually very satisfying to get under a mat and just shave it all away…
Just have to keep the clippers cool.
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Clippers are the only thing that should be used on mats. And a short blade like a 10 be used at that. If the mats are tight they could be pulling skin up in an unexpected way and using anything other than a short clipper blade could result in a nasty cut. Yes, cats can be acclimated just like any other animal. My cats hang around while I blow dry my dogs with a commercialdog dryer. I haven’t used the dryer on them yet but I have a feeling my very very rarely bathed cats would let me blow dry them. The one certainly let me shave him down to short pants and a mane with no acclimation to clippers when he got a little too chunky to groom himself. He has happily lost weight and was only shaved once while we got him in a diet.
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I have used clippers to remove mats from a cat.
Worked great.
Strangely enough, it was a barn cat that was a TNR cat that did not allow picking up or holding place, but very willingly let me clip mats off her side, more than once.
I’ve never had a longhair cat that needed to be clipped but I’ve had a number of dogs that were prone to mats and my Wahl Moser cordless are still my absolute favorite. I got them for the horse probably 20 years ago and they’re still going strong. It’s especially nice to have the variable blade head for that so that you can try the longer but just flip the lever over if it doesn’t work out and you need to go shorter.
The only thing I know about clipping cats is that you have to be very careful because their skin is so much thinner than dogs.
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We have a cat prone to mats and occasionally have to cut one out. I use an eyebrow trimmer (like this) very, very carefully to ease them out. It helps that he’s a big softie of a cat who loves having anything done to him, including nail trimming. We take him to the groomers twice a year, which seems to help. Cat skin is MUCH thinner than dog skin and very loose; I’ve seen some gnarly injuries from people trying to get mats out. I have poodles and am VERY used to clipping small areas, but I’m still super careful. Taking the cat to a groomer or vet for mats is my preference.
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Thanks, All for the validation the clippers could work
But friend (& her cat) is probably better off paying a pro 
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I have also successfully used clippers on mostly feral cats. Clippers are the only thing that should be used on feline mats. A few years ago a shelter volunteer clipper mats from some of the cats, and cut several of them.
Yes to all those above who’ve said only use clippers for matts, never scissors! We use the Andis Pulse ZRII with a 10 blade, but they are a little loud. There are also quiet ones like these is the noise is a problem. Takes longer with those but a few short sessions should do it.
