Fur matting / questions about kitten vs adult coat

[ReggieAndHinata420]

Hello all! I apologize if I post incorrectly or if there are problems with my post, first time on here.


My 7-8 month old kitten, Sir Reginald Meowington (he is a rescue so we don't know exact age) has poofed up quite a bit within the last couple months and I just found his first mat under his armpit, I was curious if anyone had any recommendations for working it out gently? It feels as if it goes down to his skin but his coat is so thick i can't see the skin so I don't know for sure, I also tried to take a picture but its not noticeable on camera. I am trying to get him on a consistent brushing schedule but he is very difficult about it, thinking the brush is a toy, so realistically i brush him lightly maybe once a week if he's extra calm.

He is around 9lbs, as a rescue I don't know his breed and he has started shedding enough that I can't wear black lol. I am not sure if that info is relevant, just thought I'd include it in case! I will also attach a recent picture of him for reference.

Thank you to anyone who can help!

 

[ReggieAndHinata420]

Oops! Glad I apologized, I do not know how to edit posts lol but I forgot to ask about his coat. He has been shedding for months, little by little but I was curious if this looks like it is still his kitten coat or a mixture between them. It feels kitten soft and fluffy but he is generally very fluffy so i have no clue

Thanks again to anyone that can help out!

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi! (you'll be able to edit after a certain amount of time and posts as a member )

Gracious sakes, he's gorgeous! I don't know but that looks like it might be mostly adult fur.

My angel Poppycat would get those armpit mats, and also would mat at the insides of his back legs and his tummy fur since he had the cottony type of fur there. I had gotten Wahl clippers but never used them, instead I got a snub-nosed, really sharp pair of scissors. I know a lot of people hate the idea of using scissors (and yes, absolutely, a person needs to be extremely careful not to cut skin).

I'm not recommending to use them, but in my experience with the cottony, literally almost sticky type of fur, these aren't mats that can be combed/brushed or worked out without really pulling on the skin a lot, and I just won't do that. I would typically start at the outer end of the mat and gradually cut bits of it away until it would sometimes even separate into several smaller mats (incredible, this type of fur, how fast it can mat) and then eventually sometimes I'd be able to pull it apart.

Anyway, I found that if I kept his belly fur shorter overall, I could avoid the matting "feature" to a large degree.

If you can, try distracting him with another brush or toy so that you can get some serious grooming done. It'll help him to ingest less of that fur.

I've read that corn starch can help with getting the hairs to separate, but I haven't used this method.

 

[Peaches&Mango]

He is gorgeous! My aunt owns a dog groomers and whilst working there we used a tool for matted dogs that was incredibly helpful that I can recommend. I’m sure it can be of the same use to cats. I’ll add an image below, these were so useful and I found that you could be more precise with the amount going into the bladed area and so not to cut the skin
They’re available on Amazon for fairly cheap also!

 

[Furballsmom]

That's terrific, thank you for sharing this !

 

[sivyaleah]

You can also use a regular seam ripper. A professional groomer gave me that tip.

 

[posiepurrs]

If you use a seam ripper, point it away from the skin. If you use scissors, put a comb between the mat and the skin( slide it under the mat). A friend who works as a vet tech has told me many horror stories about pets coming in needing multiple stitches because these precautions were not followed. I would suggest using a comb to groom rather than a brush. The brush does not get down to the skin and that can result in mats.

 

[GranolaLouise]

Can't help, but just wanted to say "What a Gorgeous Kitty!"

 

[Smarl]

This kind of undercoat rake might be useful in the future. My ragdoll gets mats easily, and brushing with this has helped a lot.

One of my cats likes to play with the brush too, so I like to give him his own brush he can play with. A toy is good one too. I got him used to being brushed by brushing him really short periods, but several times per day. He still likes to play when brushing him, but is much better already.

 

[Furballsmom]

I would suggest using a comb to groom rather than a brush. The brush does not get down to the skin and that can result in mats.

This is a great thread, and thank you for this suggestion

 

[tavery313]

I was looking for the same advice. Oliver is getting the arm pit mats and hates being brushed. I have trimmed them off this time. I'm going to try 2 things. I may use cornstarch every couple days to prevent them and/or try using a glove brush. Maybe it won't seem like brushing and the attack from him won't be so brutal. He is mean when it comes to brushing. This one from tractor supply has longer teeth than the regular glove brush.

https://www.tractorsupply.com/tsc/p...E5gBdEuqcAiGDwGe94L9BaGq-B7J5nTBoCyX8QAvD_BwE