Anyone ever got their cat groomed/shaved??

bhaneasa

I'm just wondering have any of you had a cat shaved or groomed before? I have a long-haired cat (incidently, I had a post up here about him going missing ten days ago, we got him back last night! )

His fur was starting to get pretty matted before he went missing. It's now very bad and I'm sure his skin is suffering a little. I need to pamper him a little while before I consider getting anything done to him. He has lost a lot of weight and is pretty fragile at the moment...

Like I said, do any of ye know anything about it? Like... do they sedate your cat? Is it costly? Any info appreciated folks....

clofty

Hi there,

Glad you got your cat back
Our long haired cat gets matts in her hair regularly. Once when it got too bad for us to manage (all down one side of her) we brought her to the vet who shaved the matted part. There is a possibility they might be able to cut the matts out but our cats matts were tight to her skin.

Sometimes they have to sedate and I was sure they would have to with our cat as she would eat the arms off you if you tried to brush her but the nurse said she was as quiet as a mouse while they shaved her, gave her a bath, a good brush and wait for it....a blow dry!!:eek: Apparantely the cats are generally quieter when being groomed by someone they don't know - so you wouldn't know they might not have to sedate your cat.

Anyway, she didn't seem anyway upset by the whole process (and she's a really timid cat), the (large) bald patch is growing back slowly but surely and she smelt really good for about a week. I paid €40 for it in Kildare.

beautythebp

I just shaved my pure blooded persian do to the same problem of matting in the coat. If your cat is even tempered and will allow you to do the general care things like flea treatments, nail trimming, ear cleaning, ect then there should be no problem. I do it myself kinda like shearing a sheep......just on a smaller scale. you can take it to the vet and they will do the same, but can sedate the cat if he/she is fractious in any way, but like i said mine is so mellow i can get away with doing it myself.

Heck if you were in my area i would do it for you no charge.

Hope this helps,

Regards,
Beauty the BP

bhaneasa wrote: »

I'm just wondering have any of you had a cat shaved or groomed before? I have a long-haired cat (incidently, I had a post up here about him going missing ten days ago, we got him back last night! )

His fur was starting to get pretty matted before he went missing. It's now very bad and I'm sure his skin is suffering a little. I need to pamper him a little while before I consider getting anything done to him. He has lost a lot of weight and is pretty fragile at the moment...

Like I said, do any of ye know anything about it? Like... do they sedate your cat? Is it costly? Any info appreciated folks....

bhaneasa

Thanks for the replies. He is pretty mellow too I guess. Everytime I try brush him, he's more interested in licking my arms!:D
I can see around his back legs that its beginning to put a pull on his skin already. . . Poor little guy!

Semele

I took in a long-haired stray cat that a neighbour found a few years ago who was really badly matted. I brought him to a groomer who phoned me half an hour later to ask if it would be ok with me if she brought him to the vet to be anesthetised first as it was so bad she couldn't touch him without hurting him. He ended up being almost entirely shaved, but fortunately the vet didn't charge as it was a rescue cat and the groomer wouldn't accept full payment as she had said she could manage the job...and because he was so hideous when she returned him to me that she wanted to distance herself from it I think! I'd say definitely get a professional to do it- it must be horribly painful when the skin is being pulled and even the most good-tempered cat will lash out if hurt.

bullets

Needed to get this fella the snip snip 2-3 weeks ago, He was very
badly matted and made no attempts at cleaning himself. He was in pain
with the matting but could not let us know cos he is mute. When he tries
to me--ow he sounds like Shane McGowan laughing Vet shaved all
the mattet parts out. He looks fine from the front but he is all
gapped down to the bare skin at the back.

It looks severe and when he is out and about I reckon
poeple think there is something wrong with him ie diseased but he
is much happier now:

comongethappy

Does it look like you could get a comb through it if you took time? If the hair is matted to the skin it's best to very carefully cut it out or get the vet to shave it out.

If you think you might be able to do it yourself, but are worried the cat might get a bit anxious, you could try something like giving your cat Nurti-calm before grooming her. If it's kind of dreadlocky, seperate it with your fingers first, then try to comb thru it. You can use a kid's detangling spray on the cat provided you bath it afterwards and don't let your cat groom itself before the bath.

If your a bit worried about the cat scrathing or biting while grooming or bathing, you could try a cat bag, available at http://www.ccpdogs.ie/product_info.php?cPath=34&products_id=628301&osCsid=99db92dbeff9bc64921f5c4a96ba13af .

The website also has a good variety of animal shampoos - http://www.ccpdogs.ie/index.php?cPath=32_73&sort=2a&page=1&osCsid=99db92dbeff9bc64921f5c4a96ba13af. I'm fairly sure all the showtech brand are safe for cats - if you click on enlarging the image it says on the bottle. There is one their made especially for long haired cats and dogs, and I like the pro flea and tick one. I'm fairly sure all of these are concentrated, so if you buy the shampoo it's a good idea to get the mixing bottle. The website also has a variety of grooming supplies.

Once you get the coat sorted, it's best to give them a brush every day to every other day. Your cat might not like it at first, but it will get used to it, and generally cats will come to enjoy it.