I've had to cut off most of my cat's fur........

[kamboozled]

I've got a maine coon (just 1.5 years old) and she's a real sweetheart - but for the want of trying she will not let us cut her claws or brush her. She absolutely hates anything to do with grooming - grooms herself to the minimal level.

I've had cats before and this is my first time encountering so much resistance (and she has no interest in food beyond what is necessary - so we can't distract her or bribe her).

She lets us touch her when she wants (she might jump on me and force my phone out of my hand to stroke her etc) so while fussing over her, I've noticed the inevitable matting starting.......and it's grown into what must be an uncomfortable mess for her.

As matting can pull the skin and cause actual problems, and a regular groomer can't handle her (she's scared of strangers) we called vets requesting that she be mildly tranquilized and shaven - they all rejected saying that until she's got an actually injury or infection from the matting that it's not important.

My hubby and I didn't want it to progress to that, so for the last month I've been stealthily following behind my cat on my hands and knees with some scissors, cutting the hair back until we got to the matted layer, and between her licking and my cutting we've got almost all off and her skin looks fine.

So now she's got a little hair on her body (but not a lot) and, in short, as it grows back, any advice on how to not arrive at the same situation again?

The little furbomb

I have no advice at all, but wow, she is gorgeous.

One of our cats has started to develop mats. (She's ageing, and obviously doesn't groom quite as effectively as she used to). We called the vet and they gave us gabapentin to give her before we took her in, that calmed her down sufficiently for them to shave the mats off without an anaesthetic.
I'd change your vet.

Our cat was the same. Absolutely hated being groomed and ended up with a lot of mats. We tried everything, buying special combs, shampoo (which we never used as he would have clawed us to shreds if we tried) and in the end we got a pet shaver. Then as he was having any treats or food my husband quickly got behind and shaved the area. We had to be patient and do it over a long period but it worked. Wished we had done that in the beginning rather than trying all the other stuff first! I admit he did have patches of no fur for abit but he seemed so much happier as it was obviously causing him discomfort. Make sure if you do go down this route you get a pet one and not a normal one. It's safer and quieter

I'm in the same situation with my semi longhair, she 14 and just doesn't bother grooming enough anymore but hates being brushed. I've done the sneaking up behind her while eating thing but have progressed to using DHs beard trimmer ( he wasn't happy!) While someone else distracts her with headrubs ( the only touch she likes). The beard trimmer seems to cause the least amount of tugging and discomfort and it's pretty quiet.

@chello123 Just mentioned it to my husband, and we'll give it a go, thank you.

You say she loves a fuss, would she tolerate a grooming mitt? Daily use should be enough to prevent matting.

@WetBandits ohhh, well I can't say no as I've not tried. That goes on the trying list, thank you.

@Wbeezer I love how many of us are chasing behind our cats desperately trying to sort this problem😂

I bought a dog-grooming comb from Pets st Home (or whatever it's called now). It's got blades in the teeth part (they don't harm an animal's skin, obviously. It was the best £10 I've ever spent on a pet. You could comb, the stroke, alternately, so that hopefully your cat won't notice you doing it.

One of mine is also a brush hater and fairly lazy with her own grooming! She had a couple of knots earlier in the year so I bought a special cat detangling spray (bit like a leave-in conditioner!) and it set in her fur like cement. She ended up thoroughly matted from her chest to her belly and hips ☹️ I had to take her to a groomer and beg them to help me, I got her back an hour later with a lion cut 😭😭 they were so lovely and explained that the lion cut was less stressful for my poor girl than having them try to get the individual mats out, but she looked like a tiny, skinny little old lady and I cried when I saw her😖

Now we have daily grooming mitt fusses and a weekly go with a metal, wide-tooth comb (which she actually really enjoys!), her coat still isn’t quite back to normal and she looks a bit odd 6 months down the line, but no more mats!

One of our Maine Coons (sadly now dead 😭) was dreadful for matting. Her tummy would go from nothing to solid mats overnight. The solution, recommended by the vets, was a Lion cut in early spring.

There's clearly something genetic though, as her litter-mate barely mats at all.

There is another main coone owner on here that has to book her cat in for twice yearly lion cuts at the vet under GA. (He's a completely faithless beast who has moved in with the neighbour) can't remember her user name. She may have been able to advise!

I found a dog grooming rake useful with my long haired girls. A grooming mitt is no good on long hair.

Watching this thread carefully. We're about to add a Maine Coon to the household and huge numbers of grooming products are on my shopping list! and another mortgage

Yes I'll pay the kitten tax when we collect. 😁

@Heronatemygoldfish

Haha go for it! They're a really good breed. 🙂

There is another main coone owner on here that has to book her cat in for twice yearly lion cuts at the vet under GA. (He's a completely faithless beast who has moved in with the neighbour) can't remember her user name. She may have been able to advise!

StillMedusa and Obie - although Obie lives with Thelma now.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/the_litter_tray/4760498-today-i-spent-ps350