Matted coat in a short-hair

[RikersBeard]

One of my rescue pusses (now about 10 yrs old) has never tolerated being groomed, despite many, many gentle attempts. The vet told us not to persevere as he got so distressed and vicious (he doesn't like being stroked anywhere other than his head, he's not a very friendly cat). All was fine for most of the 8+ years we have had him, he's shed a bit but no major problems as his coat is quite short anyway and he goes outside. He's never been the best at grooming himself though, it's a bit cursory.

In the last few weeks he's developed some big matted clumps on his back and I can't see them coming out even if he would allow us to brush him. I don't think there's anything else wrong, he's eating fine, weight ok etc. but I guess as he gets older he might be getting a bit stiff. I dont know what to do with them, I imagine they are pulling and a bit uncomfortable, and they're not going to go on their own.

He goes to the vets for annual jabs in a couple of weeks, so I can ask then and see if vet recommends clipping. But in the meantime, has anyone else dealt with this?

[cozietoesie]

Yep - and funny you should mention that. My old boy has recently got a slightly matted bit on his back - fairly high up and middle. I'm lucky in that he loves grooming so I've been dealing with it a little bit daily and it seems to be coming out although he doesn't much enjoy that one particular bit.

He had developed some arthritis fairly recently so is now on meds for that and I did notice that his grooming had gone a bit downhill before the meds - and still is not quite as good as a younger cat - so I'm putting it down to that. (Twisting around etc might be difficult.)

Might be worth while keeping an eye on him for the next couple of weeks and seeing if there are any other signs of stiffness eg when jumping, stretching etc and mentioning to the vets when you go. If he's resistant to grooming, it would be best if he took care of himself because you certainly don't want him to go down there for a shave every time a patch develops.

Good luck with him.

[tb]

We have a Maine Coon that has never really groomed herself. She used to be shaved under general anaesthetic in the UK. She's now 18 and for the last 2-3 years we've taken her to a local cat/dog grooming place and they shave her little by little to get all the mats out. However, this year, with in a week she had more - even on the top of her head, and some of them were held together by some sort of sticky stuff.

I can do 2 passes of the comb before she attacks. Even though she's 18, she's very very fast - you should have seen the vet yesterday when I took her to have her claws clipped.

[DowagersHump]

My BSH who is 18 has suddenly developed a massive stiff patch of fur on her spine. I cannot for the life of me find her usual grooming brush. If I take her to the vet will they clip her? She'd hate that :(

[RikersBeard]

Seems we're not alone then :(

Tb, how often do you have her clipped/shaved? I had thought of this but assumed a cat groomer wouldn't take him as he's so vicious when you try to groom him. How do they handle it?

[dreckly]

Give your local vets a ring, you may well find they have a vet nurse who is really into cats and takes a pride in grooming them like me!

most of the time matted fur in an older cat is down to arthritis and starting them on medications (which can just be droppered onto food - no tablets) makes a huge difference to their quality of life, and their coats.

we often have cats in our clinic for dematting, i certainly dont speak for all the nurses i work with but i LOVE cats, only sedate them if they are getting really distressed and only clip/shave if i really have to (knots so close to this skin it would be painful to groom out). I own Maine coons and go showing with them, so making every cat look beautiful is real job satistaftion for me

I may not have the skills of a groomer, but i have sedation on my side for those cats that get really upset and agressive, and once they are asleep, they get the full works - including shampoo and blow dry!

Just phone up, ask who usually does the cat dematt's and have a chat. If you are Cornwall based you might just get me

[DowagersHump]

I had success last night with a flea comb. Some of it close to her skin is still a bit manky but it's a lot better than it was.

[cozietoesie]

Thanks for the tip. I'll get one and give it a try.

[kittyatmyfoot]

my old boy (short haired) has always been matted, he is a persian x moggy and he rolls all the time lost count how many times he has come in with tarmac stuck to him, his fur mats up at the slightest touch, the best thing i found was one of those thinning out combs with the blade in it, i grab the matted bit and sort of back comb it and the clumps come out and now i use it once a month to give him a good spruce up...hth xx

[RikersBeard]

Well we went to the vet last night. Apparently I am to be a bit more robust; scruff him and have a good go with a comb, ignoring the yowling. His mats aren't too big so it's better to do this than go down the sedation and shave route yet. The vet got quite a bit out.

So I have just taken him outside to try. We lasted about 30 seconds before he wriggled out, hissing and growling. This is not going to be much fun.

[cozietoesie]

Best of luck!

[DowagersHump]

Good luck!