Cat hates being brushed/combed

[HelloCheekyCat]

She actually went for me this morning when I was combing her 😔
We've tried various brushes, the flea comb gets the most hair out but she still hates it.
She's short haired but it's all the fluffy under fur which we get out.
Do we kid keep persevering? I only try it when she's on my lap so when it was really hot she wasn't brushed at all because she was too hot to sleep on me

You’re brushing your short haired cat?
I’d say leave it, surely?
I have a short haired black cat and she’d have my eyes out if I approached her with a brush.
I have a medium haired cat whose hair comes out as I’m stroking him at the moment and it hasn’t crossed my mind to brush him.

Depends how long you want to spend stroking every day. I was stroking Girlcat off & on last night and probably at least an hour of actual stroking spread out over a few sessions. There was still fur coming out, then first stroke this morning a nice big whoosh of fur again.

Every cat is different, some shed more than others, some have finer hairs, some have more or less undercoat. Same as every person has different hair - mine is very fine and has always been a little on the thin side, whereas a friend of mine has so much & so thick hair that she has problems getting a scrunchy round it. Tobias has very little undercoat, whereas with Girlcat it's mostly undercoat I'm getting out (black cat, silver undercoat so can't mistake that).

mostly undercoat I'm getting out (black cat, silver undercoat

This is what comes out when we brush/comb her

I guess to answer @legoplaybook I don't know if it is causing her an issue but to reiterate that the vet told us to comb her.

She's our first cat so following the vet's advice seems like a good idea! She is an adult rather than a kitten and we don't know if she was brushed by her previous owners, but for the first few weeks/months she did let us brush her but then suddenly changed her mind

Mine will only tolerate small amounts of brushing so I have to do it regularly or she has loads of hairballs. I have recently bought an Equigroomer, really expensive but the amount it gets out in a short time is staggering.

I've had short haired cats that didn't need brushing but my current cat has really thick, dense fur and benefits from brushing in shedding season.

Did you not ask the vet why you needed to brush her then?

Because it can stimulate the oil production in the coat for one thing. Brushing or grooming most pets is good for their health in general, similar to the positive health effects of having a good massage like improved circulation.

It's also a good opportunity to check the animal all over for any injuries or lumps and bumps, and to discover any tender places on the body.

And of course remove loose hair especially the undercoat which can mat easily even on a short coated cat which has a double coat which mine has, and from the sound of it so does the OP's cat.

It was because he got loads of undercoat fur out with just a couple of brushes

I've just conned her about 3/4 times and got this much hair out so i do think she needs grooming

And thank you to the PP who suggested salmon oil, she does have some with her dinner

My cat likes being brushed with my hair brush - a tangle tamer.

Fish skin/oily fish is great for preventing catdruff.

Longish post sorry.
I'm rather desperate for an answer to my problem.
Two wonderful male cats I adore. One short haired who lets me groom him in this hot weather to check for signs of fleas. No problem.

Other cat is medium haired and had a broken back leg fixed 4 years ago but seems to have sensitivity on his back since then. I observe him washing his paws/head and chest areas but he ignores his back or maybe finds it difficult to reach.

Earlier this year I noticed several tufts of matted fur developing on his back. Attempts to clip them out or shave them got me nowhere except bitten and scratched so I took him to the vet and without a whimper he let the vet use electric razor to get rid of the matting.

Vet told me they aren't groomers so that was a hint to manage the problem myself in future. The matted tufts are growing again and cat attacks me if I go anywhere near his back. I've even thought of asking dog groomers if they'd accept a cat or is that a silly idea?

Food treats etc are futile. Help!

Too late to edit my post but I've even considered buying some extra thick gardening gloves to wear when trying to shave him but that might terrify him.

Many yrs ago i worked @ a dog groomers & we would do other creatures! such as cats & longhaired guinea pigs ☺️.
I think that as it’s not their home ground cats will put up with having some of this sort of thing from strangers? Also we did use big garden gloves occasionally even for dogs.
Might b an idea to discuss with any local groomers & make sure they have a member of staff who (like me) was used to dealing with cats as well as being happy to do the particular ‘job’.
may i suggest once you’ve had kitty clipped this time, start a little gentle combing in the affected areas fairly soon afterwards, like literally just a couple of brushes every day poss even with a treat after too. Then you might be able to keep it under control forever.

Haribo loves a comb and a brush, he even loves his stomach being rubbed. He lets me check his teeth, ears and paws and sits still whilst I remove the gunk from his eyes. He plays with soft paws (no claws). I don't think he as read the Pussycat Rule book.

@Catwalking

Thank you so much for your very helpful reply. I will contact one or two dog groomers in my area and see if they will help.
It's only to shave the matted tufts (approx 5 of them) so not a full body shave.

I saw a cat on tiktok who just laid on their back while their owner brushed them, cleaned their paws, brushed their whiskers with a mascara brush 😻 sounds like your Haribo!

I've never thought of using a mascara brush on his whiskers. Thanks for the idea 😀

Thank you @Ahsheeit for the glove recommendation. I bought this: amzn.eu/d/fhtcUKE for DCat last week and she is definitely enjoying that way more than other brushing, and the hairballs have reduced accordingly.

Cat groomers do exist if you search on the web. We have had to use them for ours sometimes.

I also wonder if you misunderstood the vet. Ours have been happy to occasionally shave some really troublesome mats for the appropriate charge but have said ‘we aren’t groomers’ meaning ‘don’t expect it to look fancy but we’ll get the mats out’.
So it might be worth explaining that he really can’t groom the relevant bits due to injury and you really can’t do it because he attacks you, and see what the vet says.

I found 3 dog grooming salons. First which is very near to me don't groom cats. Second one a bit further away do cats but the man on the phone kept interrupting me and said if they get bitten they could develop sepsis. His customer service skills were appalling so I said thanks and goodbye. Third salon said no cats.

I'll contact the vet again as yes I may have misunderstood so there's hope yet.
Cat's fur isn't quite at the bad matted stage as last time but it will need shaving. I checked my vet records and it was last November he was shaved, not earlier this year 🙄

Is this your cat 😻 this isn’t the one I saw originally but is very similar 🤩
www.tiktok.com/t/ZT62Wm87p/

No one has mentioned this yet so perhaps it’s just my silly cat, but he used to hate brushing so we tried a sticky lint roller and he absolutely ADORES it, makes him purr his little head off 😁
He is a shorthair but he moults like crazy and it gets everywhere.
We tried all sorts of cat brushes and gloves and he hated them all. Then he started to tap me while I was brushing my hair. So he started to like a human hairbrush. But it didn’t get much of the loose hair out.
Then I found this brush on Amazon and it’s astounding how much comes out after only a few strokes, and he really likes it.
https://amzn.eu/d/innSXgg

Quick update! I called in to the surgery to enquire rather than phone them.

The vet who did the job last time said yes to a repeat shave so that's a relief.

👍