This Cat Is The Devil!

[ldeluca]

I'm at a loss as to how to remove a mat from my 10 month old Tortoise/Maine Coon mix. She is the sweetest, loviest little girl, she doesn't mind brushing (most of the time) but she will not let me remove a mat under her chest between her front paws. I've tried bringing her to different groomers (she was severely abused prior to us adopting her) and none could get her to calm down, even the groomer we've been using for years with our other cats. She turns into a savage beast, and it's impossible to restrain her without hurting her. She can't be sedated (had a VERY bad reaction to it once, will never do it again) so I'm clueless. I read about putting olive oil on the mat but I don't know if it really works and I don't want to stress or injure her. Please help, I have furminators, combs, brushes, clippers, everything, but she FREAKS OUT and I already received stitches trying to gently pull it apart by hand.

 

[littlesoprano]

Can you make her into a “cat burrito”? My Possy (dilute tortie) cops an attitude when it comes to nail trimming, brushing, flea meds, anything of that nature. With her I end up wrapping her fairly snug into a fleece blanket. It immobilizes her and she tends to just give up when I do this. I just expose the portion of her I need and keep the rest in the “burrito”

 

[ldeluca]

Thank you so much, we have tried the "burrito" towel wrapping thing and oh boy was that a mistake, haha! She absolutely lost it, she started screeching and fighting, it was awful. The mat is in a spot where it's super easy for her to bite unless we wrap her whole head/face, and it sucks bc she's so sweet normally, she just doesn't like being swaddled and wrapped up.

 

[littlesoprano]

That’s a bummer! Possy will sit their and growl a bit but she won’t fight.

 

[ldeluca]

I wish, growling I could deal with, I would love it if she just growled, but she literally goes nuts, and I'm afraid she'll hurt herself or my husband and I if we keep pushing her with trying to wrap her.

 

[ldeluca]

Still interested in the olive oil thing, have you ever heard about it? Supposedly the mat falls off after a few applications. I got a tiny bit of it out by pulling with my fingers and using a comb, but then of course came the 8 stitches incident.

 

[Elphaba09]

The cat burrito does not work on any of our cats either. Thankfully, most are pretty good about nail trimming and combing. Our Freya, however, is a beast when having anything done. She is a little, adorable, black and white hell beast.

Three of our cats need scruffed using clips to get them to hold still so I can clip their back nails. We tried it with Freya and she went crazy.

So, how do we trim her nails and brush her? One person stands and holds her so that she is on her back with her paws in the air. They scruff her with their hand and I quickly go to work snipping and combing. If she starts getting too angry, I stop for a minute and talk gently while petting under her chin. The first few times we did it, we only got some of her claws cut and had to let her go before we were finished. Now, I can cut all of them with a lot less stress. That is not to say that Freya is not difficult still.

 

[ldeluca]

You have a hell beast, too! I'll have to try your method on our beastie tonight. She's a terror as far as this mat, and I know it's from her past abuse that she doesn't like being touched there, but still... I keep checking to make sure it's not getting worse or anything, it's only been a few days since I noticed it (she gets a regular brushing daily) and it seems ok but it has to go. I've spent so much $ and time bringing her to the vet, 4 different groomers, etc. the past few days so now she's super sensitive about me trying to groom her there. Hopefully she'll let us try the method you said, thank you so much.

 

[Elphaba09]

You are welcome! I hope it works! Like I said, it took a few attempts to get it to the point that she lets me finish clipping her, but it is soooooooooo much better than before. Maybe you could try rubbing some oil into the mat beforehand. It will act as a detangler.

This is our beast.

 

[ldeluca]

She's adorable!!! It's funny how they look so peaceful and sweet but turn into maniacs so quickly. What kind of oil? I read about the olive oil thing but I'm not crazy about greasing her up, and I'd love to know if anyone's tried it and if it worked. This is my beast girl.

 

[ldeluca]

She's adorable!!! It's funny how they look so peaceful and sweet but turn into maniacs so quickly. What kind of oil? I read about the olive oil thing but I'm not crazy about greasing her up, and I'd love to know if anyone's tried it and if it worked. Trying to post pics of my beast but it doesn't seem to work

 

[ldeluca]

Whoops sorry it posted 2x

 

[Elphaba09]

Aw! Who would think she is a beast!

Olive oil would be fine. You do not need a lot/ You can put some on a cotton ball and rub it into the base of the mat. It will not get too oily and what does remain does not last long.

 

[ldeluca]

Oh she is!
Awesome, thank you soooo much, was wondering if the olive oil gets all over, too. Definitely attempting this when I get home, hopefully I can at least get some oil on it without losing a finger! Will let you know how it goes

 

[susanm9006]

Look online for a cat grooming bag. It is just that, a bag with zippers in various places on it so once the cat, except for their head, is contained inside it and relatively helpless you can unzip the area you need to groom and take care of it. It is just a little easier to maneuver than a towel. There are also bags you can use to blindfold your cat which really calms them down.

 

[ldeluca]

Thank you! She's not a fan of having her eyes covered or of being put in the restraining bag, she freaks out about going in the carrier, too. She definitely likes space, she does NOT like being confined, I noticed. 2 groomers tried with the papoose/bag and the results were awful. I do appreciate it though, I'm definitely trying a few new things tonight, hopefully something will work. I don't want to traumatize her anymore than I have to but this mat needs to come out.

 

[littlesoprano]

Can you desensitize her to the bag? The blanket I use is my cats absolute favorite blanket to sleep on. If I used something she isn’t used to she’s smart enough that she’d know when that item comes out something bad is going to happen.

I had to desensitize her to her cat carrier too. I put her favorite treat (whipped cream-she’s naughty) in the front of the bag. Then when she ate that I praised her. Every day I moved it further back in the bag until she was completely inside the bag. Now she sleeps in it.

 

[susanm9006]

If you have someone who can help, one can wrap her upper body and head in a large towel and hold that end while the second works on the mat. She isn’t going to be happy but it should work.

 

[1 bruce 1]

If you have someone who can help, one can wrap her upper body and head in a large towel and hold that end while the second works on the mat. She isn’t going to be happy but it should work.

^Done it.
And no they're not happy. But they do forgive.
A big no no is getting upset yourself (the owner) when they freak out, or going into it on your tiptoes, thinking "oh, I just KNOW she's going to lose her mind". Battle lost right there (and yep, I'm guilty. As charged. Multiples times.)
Approach it like you'd approach a kid throwing a tantrum over going to the dentist. You don't like hauling a kid off to something they consider their possible death chair, but you know it's for their own good and you stay calm, act cool and happy, and stay quiet.
(I'll repeat, STAY QUIET and keep your voice down! No shouting or squeaking "IT'S OK IT'S OK GOOD GIRL CALM DOWN NO DON'T BITE" and tensing up. I learned that one from a horse, he started acting spooky, I panicked and got all jumpy and made him MORE nervous... which gave me a nice hoof print on my ass.)

 

[1 bruce 1]

And I'll agree to the others...once the mat is out, working with her a bit on being held, confined, handled like she'd be handled at the vets etc. will pay off. It's ot instant but it can be done, and it's so awesome to have a cat ready to flip their lid because of something the vet is doing and be able to just say "you're fiiine, dear" and have them stop and give you a blink as if to say "yeah, I know. But why are you allowing this?"