Long haired cat hates being brushed

[Theincidental]

I have a very large long haired house cat that refuses to be brushed. It's been going on for ages and my current tactic is a few quick brushes and then retreat, before I get scratched to bits.

He's overweight because he's an indoor cat and extremely lazy, but he's on a diet! Poor boy!

But because he's a tubby boy, he can't groom efficiently.

I keep having cut out little clumps that he can't reach and he just won't let me brush him properly.

Does anyone have any ideas how I can groom him without being used as a scratch post?

I used to bribe my long-haired mog with treats - those whiskers ones filled with cheese were her faves

Thanks ripping yarns.

He thinks he's being starved at the moment, so he'd be thrilled with treats. Wonder if they might undermine his diet though.

How old is he by the way?

Is he on a restricted diet then? Didn't realise

Maybe do it as he's eating a meal then?

I also found the type of brush made a difference as to how long she would sit - a soft rubber with flexible bed and rounded metal teeth was most successful.

He's between 12 and 15. He was a stray with FIV. I've had him about 8 years now. He's lovely, but still quite bitey and scratchy.

Yes, he's on a restricted special diet for the weight and his kidney function.

If I try when he's eating he just legs it.

Perseverance is probably key!

No! That sounds like a good idea.

Didn't know they existed! Brilliant!

Definitely worth trying out a variety of grooming implements to see if he'll tolerate one better than he does others. Furminators do an excellent & thorough job of stopping shedding which should help prevent matts from developing in the first place. The idea of a grooming glove is a very good one - this one has lots of very good reviews. Lots of cats (including mine) like a massage brush like this - a friend's cat goes into a kind of trance when they get brushed with it!

It might be worth giving this detangler a try, too - perhaps bribe him with some treats to persuade him to let you apply it then massage it in while making a huge fuss...

Thanks for the links zebra owl.

Looking at them, I fancy I might get away with the glove and protect my hand too! Also very cheap.

The furninator looks a tad scary!

He's had a massage brush before - it made him furious.

I love the idea of detangler! He's such a butch cat - two ild be hilarious to be spraying him with hair products.

Poor love.

You're welcome

I think the glove is a very good place to start. Furminator does look a bit scary but does an excellent job - between that & the malt lick we're impressively hairball-free (& less allergy-provoking than would otherwise be the case) in Castle Zebra. Although my cats are short-haired they've very thick, full, long-haired-for-shorthairs coats, so they need some human care & attention...

Detangler might be a bit of an affront to his machismo dignity but at least as a housecat he wouldn't get picked on by local cats for using fur products...

My cat rolls over for me to do his tum when we use the furminator, we had 4 Persians and they all hated grooming but the choice of brushes was very limited back then.