Grooming Schedule

[gusandjohn]

Hi i have 2 cats both make one himayalan/siamese and the other is a medium fur length black cat. The him/sia cat has been having issues with matting on his behind lately he has had it happen before when he was having loose stools from eating the wrong food but i removed that myself and has been on the right food since so up until now he was fine but suddenly he had so many huge egg sized tight matts all on his butt. So i called his vet they wanted over $200 and said he would need a lion cut and sedation i found a groomer that charged $55 for the lion cut took him in and he's a new cat he loves it so much he's prancing around showing off and so happy. It's really made him so happy plus it helps out his friend who did all his cleaning for him, the other cat would get hair balls from cleaning his friend, so now i'm wondering is this okay to keep him in a lion cut all the time or is just for when they get matted up? The rest of his fur was fine i brush him but he won't let me touch his back end, do i still need to bath him with his haircut? Both are indoor only.

 

[FeebysOwner]

Hi! I am not a fan of these haircuts, but a lot of folks on this web site would disagree with me - and they will let us know so. However, I also have not had a huge issue with matting on my cat's behinds, even those who were at least medium to long haired. If it did happen, I would cut them out myself - never close to the skin - and then work the rest of the mats out by hand/moist wipes.

Feeby will get them now, because she is older and has decreased her cleaning back there. So, I clean for her - daily with hypoallergenic wipes. And, now her mats are next to nothing, and easy to remove by the cleaning motion and the little amount of moisture that is in the wipes.

All of my cats were indoor only, and I never bathed any of them - except the one who got fleas because we lived in an apartment. Feeby, if she continues to slow down her cleaning, may have to end up getting a bath. She's pretty laid back, so I am sure I could do it myself.

You'll get a whole lot more support about the cuts and bathing from others on this site, I am sure! And, it's probably the way you'll need to go since your one cat is not too appreciative of having his back end messed with!!

 

[gusandjohn]

Thanks for your reply, this boy is so lazy he never cleans himself i have only seen him do his head and front arms lol my medium haired cat takes care of his cleaning and the other cat i would never bath him. I did try to get the matts out but they were so tight to the skin i couldn't use scissors and he freaked out when i got clippers and than i saw a massive amount of them and gave up thinking either he's gonna be traumatized by me or injured. He had beautiful fur and was a puff ball, this is the first long haired cat i have so i'm not sure what people do with this butt matting issue do you think the lion cut is bad for them? I am worried about him getting cold in winter so i bought him a sweater but he won't walk in it lol he just walks really low to the ground so i took it off

 

[lutece]

The lion cut isn't bad for them. A lot of Persian cat owners keep their cats' coats clipped short for convenience. It's better for the cat than having mats, so if you have trouble keeping the coat mat free, it's better to have it clipped. Also, you don't have to do the full lion cut, if it's just his back end that you have trouble with. You can keep that area clipped, and let the rest of the coat grow out.

 

[gusandjohn]

Sounds good i'll see how it goes with the matts i know definitely he's gonna get that back end all matted up again. He really seems to love having the fur gone and i must admit it's nice not having cat fur stuck in my eyes and all over the carpet lol

 

[susanm9006]

I had a long haired bad tempered Siamese that I had shaved a couple times a year. She seemed to love her short fur and groomed herself much better afterward. There is nothing adverse about the cut itself but if it is done at the vet they are sedated which requires good kidneys. Getting shaved without sedation can be very stressful for your cat so if you have a groomer do it, you want to be there so you can see how your cat is reacting to the shave so you can decide if this is something you wish to continue