Recommendations for Clippers for Long Haired Cats

[TheDBYC]

One of our cats is what I call a failed barn cat conversion – was adopted out by the shelter as a barn cat yet loves people & will come into the house (up to a point). He’s a ferocious hunter & often brings home more than one rodent a day. The problem? He’s actually a purebred belonging to an extraordinary floofy breed that is uncommon in the US that was apparently dumped because he doesn’t meet show standards. And to get these rodents, he’s traipsing all through the fields and gets burrs, seed heads & lord knows what all wound up in his fur.

He is matted & needs a haircut. None of the vets locally do cat grooming. So,. I risk my life to shave the cat. The battery powered horse clippers I have can’t hack it when it comes to this cat’s impossibly floofy coat, which is almost angora-like & not normal, long-haired cat texture. Anyone have clippers they like for clipping cats? I already have to sleep with one eye open because he hates being brushed. We need something that is on the quiet side but can handle the floof!

[Weezer]

I don’t have any recommendations for clippers but I find cowboy magic does wonders at getting burrs and mats out of my Aussie shepherds’ long silky fur. If he’ll let you pat/massage him, I suggest you try that first. It may be less traumatizing for everyone involved if you can work them out with your fingers. If it works, then you can apply some every couple of days as a preventative measure. I’m sure other detanglers work just as well, Cowboy Magic just happens to be what I tried first and stuck with.

[Incantation]

Wahl ARCO was recommended to me by a groomer for long haired cats. It’s pretty quiet.

[MsM]

Another thing to try is to scissor off as much hair as possible first. You could work over time with sharp scissors, preferably with blunt tips. Or you could get it over in one go if you have help. Since you are just cutting, hair isnt being pulled and they tend to object less. So dont pull on the hair trying to cut out all the matts, just get what you can easily cut so he will tolerate it. He will look horrible, but it will make using clippers much easier!

[goodhors]

Be careful spraying on detanglers because cats ingest the stuff as they lick their hair. Had one cat get very sick after a bath using people shampoo. He was VERY well rinsed, but obviously the stuff stayed on the hair anyway. I got cat shampoo and washed him again the next day, and no after effects. Now we use only cat shampoos to prevent problems.

I have not needed to clip a cat. Good luck with that! We just clip nails before baths, scratchy posts just are not enough for keeping claws short. And they get regular baths because you know…they are covered in cat spit! Ha ha

Best of luck helping your boy. I will second the clump cutting with blunt end scissors. Doing trims with 2 people, one holding, one cutting, does help go faster. Closed room he can’t leave, so you can catch him again. Food rewards during or after grooming help sometimes. Maybe wrapping in a big towel or two, doing him in sections, one leg, cover, other leg, etc.

Such a hard worker does need the extra attention to keep him from developing skin problems. We will be doing our long haired barn cat soon. She is also matted in places at the moment, though her slippery hair is usually very neat. She gets some daily canned food, always fishy type, that I thinks helps her coat and gives her other benefits. Just a table spoon or so. Other food is dry kibble, plus her hunting trophies. I find trimming weeds around the barn area prevents weeds developing seed, which keeps seed removal to a minimum.

[MrsFitzDarcy_amp_Feliks]

I have a tabby short-haired cat, a Manx. Being a Manx comes with all sorts of problems because it is essentially a form of spina bifida. He’s extremely cow-hocked. He runs more like a bunny than a cat. He also has hypothyroidism and diabetes. He’s the biggest curmudgeon on earth.

Anyhow, he doesn’t do a good job grooming himself. I don’t know why, but perhaps arthritis? (He’s 11.) I need to shave off his matts, but they are so close to the skin. Any suggestions?

[goodhors]

I did a Google search for “clippers for cats” and found helpful information there. A couple sites down, The Persian Cat Corner, gave reviews on clippers. The Oster Turbo A5 came in 2nd, which you might already have for the horses. Getting a fine blade, 30-40, was the recommended size for cats. A Wahl model was first choice, does 5500 strokes a minute, cordless. Anyway, made interesting reading. A popup on the search site showed a “grooming bag” to put the cat into. Bag looked really interesting with a cone to prevent head turning, body enclosed with zippers to access body sections needing grooming. It was 12.95 on Amazon, probably worth investing in, because you can use it for a long time with this furry cat. Keeps you and him safe during the mat removal process.