To Shave or not to Shave ??

[whatastart]

I have a long haired Maine Coon Boy , he is around 2 years old & is a rescue .
I have finally managed to brush his coat after months of trying and admittedly he looks much better apart from his belly which he wouldn't let me do so is a bit messy but nothing to bad .

anyway he has a completely different coat underneath iyswim
He is Charcoal Grey and the coat underneath is white I have never noticed this before so I'm unsure what to do , Should I get his coat trimmed or just leave him be ?

I'm wondering whether you've groomed off most of his old guard hairs, what , leaving the soft undercoat behind? (In which case, they should regrow.) That said, I've not had Coons myself so there are loads of possible considerations that I can think of - moulting, an adult coat coming in and so on - so maybe a Coon owner will post who knows the breed.

I assume that he's not to be a show cat, so my own temptation would be simply to sort his coat in the best way so that he's as happy as possible with it - and the colour will be what it will be.

I'd leave it, it will grow back & thier summer coat will be through soon enough.

If you shave cats they become much more prone to matting as the blunt ends of their shaved coat Matt much worse than the tapered ends of left natural fur.
I would always suggest trying to brush as much as possible and shaving minimally.

Thanks for that Lone. It ties in with my own experience of tangles in human hair, actually!

Ok thanks , Its not the colour I'm bothered about .
He isn't a show Cat either

I'll just keep brushing him then I just wasn't sure which was best for him

I have a similar problem with a rescue - very fine hair which matts easily and his belly was a no go area for brushing - he's just been to the vet and it's been shaved off, he is MUCH more comfortable. His coat is quite unlike that of my other long haired cats - never had this problem before!

Well I think that once it gets past the 'point of no return' you may have no option, cats.