Aggressive While Grooming?

Graceful-Lily

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Felix has been having major problems with his fur lately. He had a really sore anus because a lot of his fur didn't come back up in a hair ball. It was swollen, red, and bleeding. Thankfully, that passed and he healed. But he's been having hairballs almost everyday. Smokey rarely does because she enjoys being groomed so I do it often with her. She barely sheds because of this. Felix on the other hand, becomes very aggressive when I pull out the brush or the nail clippers. He has a brush of his own but I can only brush him for about 10 seconds before he latches onto my hand and draws blood. I just bought a deFurminator at Pet Smart because they were on sale and I had a coupon so that's extra money off. I figured it would work faster than a brush and it does. I definitely got more fur out with one go vs using a regular old cat brush. But he's still so aggressive. He started growling and hissing. He grabbed my hand and bit me really hard. Why is this? He's been getting groomed since he was a little kitten. It's nothing new. He's in good health otherwise but I haven't groomed him as often as I should.
 

red top rescue

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Most cats shed more at this time of year because it is spring and they have an undercoat to shed. That also means that grooming may be more painful if the undercoat tends to get caught in the guard hairs and pulls. Pain will definitely make a cat aggressive about being groomed. You may want to look at his diet if he is having excess shedding or any matting. In the wild, cats manage to shed and not have problems, but they are eating a simple diet of mostly animal meat, fat, and very little vegetable matter. Domestic cats often don't get all the animal protein and fat they need -- vegetable protein doesn't do the same for their coat as animal protein and fat. If he is longhaired and resistant to grooming, you may want to have him clipped for summer. Then as the hair grows out, you can groom him gently with no pain involved and that may reset his experience so he won't be aggressive any more.
 
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Graceful-Lily

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Most cats shed more at this time of year because it is spring and they have an undercoat to shed. That also means that grooming may be more painful if the undercoat tends to get caught in the guard hairs and pulls. Pain will definitely make a cat aggressive about being groomed. You may want to look at his diet if he is having excess shedding or any matting. In the wild, cats manage to shed and not have problems, but they are eating a simple diet of mostly animal meat, fat, and very little vegetable matter. Domestic cats often don't get all the animal protein and fat they need -- vegetable protein doesn't do the same for their coat as animal protein and fat. If he is longhaired and resistant to grooming, you may want to have him clipped for summer. Then as the hair grows out, you can groom him gently with no pain involved and that may reset his experience so he won't be aggressive any more.
He's on a raw diet because he has a reoccurring struvite crystal problem. Raw meat is the only food he can consume without problem. Dry and wet bother him and I prefer raw for all my cats. It's not so much excessive shedding, it's just that I can never brush him without a bad reaction so I don't bother. He seems to like the Furminator because while using it on him, he purred and I got about 3 minutes of good grooming in before he told me that he had enough. Felix is just a very sensitive cat overall. It's just his personality. He likes things clean and in order, organized and consistent. He's also very much in charge so what he says goes. Maybe me pinning him down to groom him makes him feel less dominant. That's why I try to do it on his terms. But with all these hairballs and bowel scares, I've had no choice but to hold him down.
 
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