My cat has got herself into a right state.

[Fluffyscamp]

Hi, apologies in advance for the essay. I have a beautiful Mainecoon who we took in when she was about 4. She is now around 6/7. When we got her she was a bit scruffy but nothing major, she had never been properly groomed which the lady we got her from confirmed and was a very nervous cat.

Since she has lived with us we got her spayed, put her on the recommended food for her breed, provided her a nice environment and built up trust. The difference in her has been amazing, she is now a chilled out and loving cat who is amazing with our kids and she looks so much healthier.

Usually she does really well at grooming herself and gets a couple of little matted knots every now and again in places that she can’t reach like behind her ears and on her back legs which I sort out for her. I also try to give her a good brush as often as I can when she’s in the mood for it which has worked well so far until now.

For the last couple of weeks she has still very much seemed herself in most ways and been affectionate but has run off whenever I’ve gone to stroke or brush her properly. I hadn’t thought much of it as she is a bit aloof sometimes and just goes through phases but she sat on my knee this morning and she is absolutely covered in matted knots on her underside. It looks like years worth of neglect but it has literally happened in the last couple of weeks. I have a dematting brush thing with which I have managed to get out most of the knots and I’m letting her have a break and a bit of space before I sort the rest.

If you have read all that thank you what I’m actually wondering is should I be worried about why she got like that? Is it a sign that there’s something wrong that she has stopped grooming herself if she is otherwise her normal self?

Does she seem unwell? Maybe a vet check to put your mind at rest and a trip to groomers.

If she usually grooms well I would definitely see it as cause to take to the vet. I have a rag doll who also needs regular grooming so I know how I'd feel. It could be too painful for her to groom for some reason, so worth getting checked over IMO

Worth a check. Weirdly mouth issues can affect their ability to groom. As can arthritis and anything else that causes pain.
Good luck.

She doesn’t seem unwell at all, it’s literally just this one change in grooming which is totally out of character. I have managed to get rid of 90% of the knots myself so far but I’m giving her a break as she was starting to get stressed and I really don’t want to put her off being brushed through by carrying on when she’s had enough.

I will take her to the vets for a check up anyway. I just wondered if anyone had experience of similar.

Our old girl couldn’t groom when she had arthritis and I know teeth issues can affect the saliva and make it more likely they matt. If it’s very out of character then I would want it checked. If not then get it de knotted and monitor. Ideally you should run a brush over daily. If you don’t allow knots to build up then it won’t hurt and she shouldn’t object so much.

I'd get her checked over! My 12 year old long haired tabby suddenly became matted and about a year later she passed on. She had long term diabetes though.

May I also add that I groomed her everyday.

Thank you. Since I posted last she has come out of hiding under the settee and is grooming herself again at my feet so maybe the knots were stopping her from grooming. Who knows I’m baffled. Between the kids and the cat there’s always something to worry about 😖.

I do try to brush her most nights when the kids are in bed but with how long it took to build up the trust to brush her at all I don’t want to force it when she’s not in the mood. She does love it when she is in the mood.

I think I’ll give it a couple of days and see how she gets on.

One of ours needs help with grooming and we find that she gets much more matted at this time of year because she's starting to shed.

Catnip helped ours get in the mood.

Do you cut them out with a small pair of scissors?

My long haired Persian has got very matter over the last couple of weeks. She's normally ok but I think she's shedding because of the weather. She's booked into the groomers for a hair cut. (Costs more than my hair cuts)

No scissors although I was tempted before I got the proper dematting comb and a little gadget with a blade in that can’t get close enough to the skin to cut it. We’d end up with a casualty on one side or the other if she made any sudden moves with scissors. I rarely have to use them though as the odd one she gets usually pull out with a bit of teasing then just the normal cat brush.

Thanyou @wolfiefan you blooming beauty. I forgot I had catnip spray, I used to use it to get her in from the garden when she first started going out. Sprayed a bit on my sleeves and a tiny bit on the cat bed. I managed to finish getting the knots out and she still wanted a cuddle afterwards.

I managed to get rid of what looked like a whole cats worth of fur altogether and she somehow looks fluffier than ever.

I will be taking her to the vets in a couple of days anyway just for a checkup to make sure all is well but she seems to be grooming herself again now that the knots have gone... probably in the hope that I never come near her with the dematter again 😖

That’s awesome!! My girl hated being groomed so much I used to have to trap her in the smallest room possible and try and hold her tight.
We then discovered that drugs were the answer.
I’m glad it worked for you. Good luck at the vets.