My eco solution to rat problems

[little chickadee]

I have a beautiful longhaired moggy. I said no when they brought him out at the cat rescue place, because I had a long haired cat when I was growing up and she was so vicious when we tried to groom her that my mum had to pay for her to be put under general anesthetic every so often for the vet to remove tangles from her fur.

 

The cat place said that there would be no worries because he was only "medium long haired" and as we were having him from a kitten there would be no problem with the grooming.

 

They were wrong and whenever I try to groom him I end up injured. I had to remove tangles with scissors fairly close to the skin last spring and I am just about to have to again now, so he will look pretty silly for a while.

 

He's really affectionate as long as you're not trying to groom him. If I try to groom him when he comes to see me, he doesn't come to see me for a few weeks. If I want to groom him, I need my husband with gloves to hold him down and he wriggles so much that it's virtually impossible. I can groom his back when he is feeding, but not his stomach area.

 

Anyone got any top tips for vicious long haired cats that don't involve the vets? I feel like such a bad pet owner when he gets tangles, but really don't know what the solution is

 

Cheers

[Paola]

Have you thought about taking him to a groomers? He might behave differently with a stranger.

[chrisnrob]

We find the easiest way to groom our long-haired chap is to use a long-handled back brush (like you use in the shower)! Your hands are far enough away to avoid being scratched and he treats it more like a game. Might be worth a try? If you do it regularly then you should avoid the knots forming in the first place.

 

Other than that, the suggestion to use a professional groomer is probably a good one. They have much more experience, aren't as afraid and it means he won't associate the 'nasty' grooming with you personally...

 

Rob

[Olly]

Oh dear, I had one who used to hate it. I found a brush was better than a comb, and I also learned to do what I could, when I could and then back off as soon as the tail started lashing. Some cats just hate it - and some love it.

 

When the knots got bad, I used embroidery scissors - the sort where the tips curve upwards - to cut out the worst ones. That way if there was any struggling or wriggling, I knew the point of the scissors wouldn't dig into her skin.

 

I'm afraid a lot of the time she just went around with knots in her fur though - didn't seem to bother her too much.

[Reikiranf]

My cat Lily has always hated being groomed to the extent that she's nearly 16 and until recently had only been groomed a couple of times a year at most but then I discovered the furminator! I got it from Ebay having seen it featured on QVC it's a grooming tool and it gets out all the loose undercoat but without having to tug it through her coat, the result is that Lily has lovely silky fur and doesn't mind being groomed, she is a short haired cat but I'm sure it would be equally good on a longhaired cat, try googling some reviews.

 

I wish I'd found the furminator years ago as I had another cat Holly who sadly had to be put to sleep a month short of her 19th birthday , she was longhaired and also hated being groomed and every so often I used to have to cut the mats out of her fur but to avoid cutting her skin I used to push a comb into the matted fur as close to the skin as possible and cut along the comb.

[little chickadee]

I've just bought one and will give it a go. I'm willing to try anything at the moment, but don't fancy a professional groomer just yet. I will also try putting a comb under the matts before cutting them off so I won't be worried about cutting his skin.

Thanks

[Paola]

Do let us know how you get on

[Sarah B]

I have a long haired Maine Coon Persian cross - she HATED being brushed and doesn't do a lot of self grooming so I get knots as well.

 

She had a whopper on her furry trousers that was there for 3 months but it wasn't bothering her as it was away from the skin. It worked its way away from the skin enough in that time that I was able to snip it off whilst she was asleep recently!

 

I have learnt a trick, we now make the brush a fun game. You have a tidbit handy she senses and sees but cant have and you ask the cat to come to the brush! Hold the brush out in front of you and she will come to sniff it. Then keep it still and let her rub the sides of her face on it either way of the scent glands at the sides of her mouth. All long haired cats actually enjoy the brush either side of the mouth and under the chin as long as it is on their terms! If she lets you do this and brushes and rubs her face against the brush give her the treat.

 

Do this for a couple of times over a few days and then extend the brush to the back. Same treat principle. Dont attack knots in this time and avoid those knotty areas.

 

This is just a way for getting your long haired puss to actually enjoy a brush rather than dread it. After a while she will come to the brush for her face and body as she now enjoys it - without treats! Mine does!

[Aunty e]

I'm not much help as my tiny norwegian forest actually adores being brushed, but I never never never cut mats away. A breeder told me that it's better to pull at them until they come away from the cat. I do this with both of my longhairs. With the one who enjoys grooming I pull until it comes away (although if it's a toughy I do it over a couple of days) and it's pretty easy. My big norwegian forest cross won't let me groom him on his belly either and rarely on his top, but when I'm stroking him I find mats and hang onto them. He moves away in a hurry while hissing and I'm left holding onto the mat. So much safer than pinning him down and cutting them away, and you can't see where they were, so no stoopid looking cat. Sounds odd, but it really works for both of mine.

[Olly]

I did do that sometimes with my longhair, Aunty E - I hesitated to post that on here though, as I wasn't sure if it was good practice or not!

 

Sometimes they were too tough for that to work, and then I'd use the scissors.

[Aunty e]

There were a couple where I had to seperate them out into two mats carefully over a couple of days by pulling them apart a bit, and then do each bit on its own. But mostly Dilly doesn't even seem to notice. Arthur grumbles, but then his tend to be bigger before I notice them.

 

I once manged to cut my angora rabbit removing a mat, so scissors are never going near another animal's coat. Trimming nails - Yes. Cutting out mats - NO.

[FORENSICA]

When we started brushing Obelix, he didn't like it much. But then every single time we brushed him, we took a bag of treats with us. After brushing a little, he got a treat and then we would let him go. Next day the same and now he runs towards me and purrs when he sees the brush

[Janty]

My Sausage loves being groomed but we used to have a blue Persian that was evil and ribboned anybody who went near him with a brush or comb. We ended up buying industrial arm protecting gloves so that we could comb him and it still took two people to do the job. It nearly put me off getting Sausage as I didn't want the hassle again. However, he usually falls asleep when I comb him as he just relaxes and flops.