Need help trimming cats knickers

[Soubriquet]

Toots hates being groomed so she's got knots.

More specifically around her bottom area. There is one that needs to come out but I can't get her still enough to do it

Tried towel wrapping her and she just fights and thrashes and scratches

Tried pinning her by her neck and she still manages to donkey kick

Short of a vet, what else could I try?

[steppemum]

you need two people to start with, one to hold and one to trim.

You also need some reliable way of quick trimming that won't end up in her getting stabbed if she wriggles.
Blunt nosed scissors could do it. But sometimes you need the sharp end to get under the knot.

How close to the skin is it? Is it going to be easy to do if you can hold her still? When I was a teenager, our cat got very matted and he let me trim them off, but some were so close to the skin it was scary.

2 thick towels, wrap up head end then second towel wraps from bum end, just catching back legs and leaving bum free. Put her on high surface, so one person can stand and gently lean over her to keep her down, and her bum is easy to access at eye height, not chair/sofa height.

Not great but works.

[Soubriquet]

We have two the people but Dh is not brilliant at doing it

It's close enough so that it bothers her but not that close that it's impossible to get out. It's just getting her still enough

[Secretspillernamechange]

Could one person bribe the face end with dreamies or similar while the other does a quick scissor job at the back?! It's the only way we manage to comb our cat's back legs!

[Soubriquet]

No. She's too stubborn to fall for that... Damn it's going to have to be a vet job

[steppemum]

You need someone more efficient!

me and Mum - no problem
Mum and dad, or me and dad - hopeless.

dh - hmm working on him, he at least does as instructed, even if not very experienced in holding down cats. (to be fair, current cat is softy)

[Soubriquet]

We will give it a go again tomorrow before giving up and letting the vets do it

Least they have the thick gloves to protect them

[TondelayaDellaVentamiglia]

yes..you need two no-nonsense people....idiotcat occasionally gets knotted/grubby knickers, so I have to wait for dd or ds1 to be here

dh and ds2 are rubbish at Cat Restraint and Snipping.

I have to wrap the cat completely in the dog towel ( only tail and knickers showing!) and then pass him to dd or ds1 and then snip....we are getting to the stage where idiotcat is almost resigned to it, but still a bit too fighty for it to be a single person operation!

[twilightcafe]

I can't the only person who is at this thread.

What area is a cat's 'knickers'?

[Toddlerteaplease]

I take mine too the vets for that as she won't let me touch it. Now it's off I'm making sure I stroke her all the way down and over the area so she gets used to it being touched. I use a metal comb and grooming rake every few days and we have managed to stay fairly knot free. The groomer taught me how to do it properly. Ruminators are crap.

[Toddlerteaplease]

Use clippers not scissors. I cut a hole in my girls neck

[Soubriquet]

Oh sounds awful toddler

Knickers is the bum and bits area of the cat. So back of legs, front of legs, round the bottom, bottom of the tail and the lower part of the tummy.

If I shaved the area she would look like she was wearing a pair of knickers

[OrangeSquashTallGlass]

When we got our cat she was a recue and incredibly timid. She had so many matts but as she was so timid we booked a professional groomer to come here rather than take her there. It was a disaster. (I had a thread about it at the time.)

Anyway, I then called the vets and asked if I could book her in instead. They explained how they groom and I thought "well I could do that."

What they said was: they would just sit in a small calm space with her and gently brush her and clip her in tiny little stages. They'd stop when she got stressed and just continue doing this over the day/s in tiny little calm spurts.

So I tried it and it worked! I think it took about a week but she was matt free and a few years down the line with a bit more training she completely let's us brush her.

[OrangeSquashTallGlass]

Also, I used a little comb with a razor built in at the base (anti matt comb?). It sounds fierce but it's safe. When it meets resistance from a knot it just cuts it out.

[Soubriquet]

She won't let me do anything

She allows me to fuss and stroke her head and ears but hates having her back touchedz

[FancyPuffin]

I solved your problem

[Soubriquet]

That might work

We managed the towel thing and it did work...apart from the fact j couldn't get to her bum

[Papergirl1968]

Can you do it when she's asleep?

[Lancelottie]

We have a sort of razor trimming rake too (meant to be for dogs but does the job on a semi-longhaired cat). I sweep at her behind with it, she flounces off, and the bits stuck in the comb get razored off.

I think it's this one

[Soubriquet]

Worth a go lottie

Might try that. I'll give her a go when she's asleep too but I can't see that working either

[OrangeSquashTallGlass]

I don't think cats sleep deeply enough. She'll likely wake up and sink into your arm!

[Toddlerteaplease]

Lance, I've got one of those. It works really well. If they will sit still!

[RubbishMantra]

I may be wrong, but I thought you shouldn't trim the knots/matts with scissors, because a cat's skin is very delicate (so easy to cut into without realising), and they hide pain very well.

Would an animal groomer be an option?

[Soubriquet]

It's finding one nearby that will do cats.. I don't drive.

Going to get her in with the vet. Don't think she will need putting under but the big thick gloves they use will certainly come in handy plus two no nonsense people who are used to animals kicking off

[RubbishMantra]

There are mobile pet groomers, like mobile hairdressers.

I don't know what their charges would be, surely less than a bricks and mortar one I'd have thought?

[Soubriquet]

That would actually be worth considering. Get her properly groomed altogether and get rid of all the dead hair that is coming out in clumps.

She's not majorly knotty. She's semi long hair as opposed to full on floof, but her bottom does get rather knotty.

I shall have a gander on google and see what comes up