Hair Mat

[Roya]

Hello,

I have adopted an old cat last year. she is temperamental. I recently noticed she has hair mats on all her stomach and some parts of her tail. It is not easy to hold her and comb her hair. She bites and hisses.

Do you have any suggestion? I know these hair mats might painful for her and might ended up to sore and infection.

 

[FelisCatus]

Brushing them out is beyond painful (coming from someone who has a LOUD Maine Coon).

My wife and I hold her down and cut the matted hair clumps as close to her body as we can.

Use safety scissors with rounded fronts so she doesn’t get hurt. Then lots of treats so she can assosiate it with a good time.

I see rescue organizations do the same thing all the time too (where I got the idea from).

 

[DreamerRose]

The best thing to do is to use fingernail scissors and carefully cut them off. When the new fur grows in, you can gently use a brush to keep out the mats.

 

[Roya]

I can not use scissor, since she is moving so fast and bites. I might hurt her by using scissor.
She has been abused by her first owner so, she is not even happy to be touched or hugged.

 

[FelisCatus]

Can you please post pictures so we can see the matted hair? Maybe we can see an alternative then.

 

[DreamerRose]

Try wrapping her in a towel like a burrito and let her calm down a bit. She will grow to trust you, but it take a long time. Don't chase her with a brush. The brush is very painful.

 

[FelisCatus]

I do have a few other ideas of what could be done but I would like to see the situation first before I suggest them, so that they aren’t bad suggestions...

 

[Roya]

It is too hard to take picture from her belly. When I touched her belly it was full of hair mat .I tried to brush once but it did not go very well.

 

[FelisCatus]

It is too hard to take picture from her belly. When I touched her belly it was full of hair mat .I tried to brush once but it did not go very well.

Here she is.

She’s certainly gorgeous !

But yeah, definitely don’t brush. Imagine when you get a tangled hair and try and brush it out... now transform that into a thick ball of hair pulling from your scalp at the same time.

Although scissors would be the best option (you could wear gloves and hold her down no matter the screaming)....

Some alternatives based on her nature:

1) Does she like water? If so wet the matted hair and the base at the skin so it loosens them up a bit and see what you can do then... brush I guess? Wouldn’t be as painful with the skin moist

2) If she doesn’t like water then waterless shampoo from any pet store/Walmart, costs only approx $3-5

3) not sure how well this would work but steam up the washroom with insanely hot bathtub water or shower and go in there with her for 5-10 minutes, this might have the same effect as the above 2

Again these are just suggestions... most situations you could just use scissors but you need to think outside of the box since she was abused.

Thank you for looking out for her though, you’re a wonderful person!

 

[Roya]

She’s certainly gorgeous !

But yeah, definitely don’t brush. Imagine when you get a tangled hair and try and brush it out... now transform that into a thick ball of hair pulling from your scalp at the same time.

Although scissors would be the best option (you could wear gloves and hold her down no matter the screaming)....

Some alternatives based on her nature:

1) Does she like water? If so wet the matted hair and the base at the skin so it loosens them up a bit and see what you can do then... brush I guess? Wouldn’t be as painful with the skin moist

2) If she doesn’t like water then waterless shampoo from any pet store/Walmart, costs only approx $3-5

3) not sure how well this would work but steam up the washroom with insanely hot bathtub water or shower and go in there with her for 5-10 minutes, this might have the same effect as the above 2

Again these are just suggestions... most situations you could just use scissors but you need to think outside of the box since she was abused.

Thank you for looking out for her though, you’re a wonderful person!

Thanks for your help. I will try your suggestions.

 

[FelisCatus]

Thanks for your help. I will try your suggestions.

Let us know how it goes... maybe someone else will pop in here and have better suggestions or I’ll come up with something if it doesn’t go well.

Best of luck!

 

[FelisCatus]

I was thinking that if none of the above work you could go to a groomer who specializes in cats, they would most likely have knowledge in dealing with matted fur and non-compliant kitties.

If you provide your zip/postal code or city I could look online to try and find one near you. Also check Kijiji/Craigslist.

I have no idea how much grooming a cat costs as I have never been to one but I imagine it can’t be that much...

 

[FelisCatus]

Hi, how did it go? Any updates?

 

[ArchyCat]

Any updates? One thing to try is to cut the mats with scissors, but not next to the skin. Since she struggles so. But you can cut the mats from the top down bait. Just not close to the skin. This will let some of the mat eventually work lose.

You do want to get rid of the may=ts. The skin under the mats can become irrupted and sore. Let us know how things are going.

 

[jcat]

How old is she, and how is her health? We've had a few cats like that at the shelter and had to resort to taking them to the vet, who gave them anesthesia and removed the mats.