Help with grooming an old arthritic molting cat

Kat06112

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Hello everyone,

I adopted 16 year old cat a few months ago. She's a domestic short hair breed. She has severe arthritis for which she gets monthly shots but does't like being handled. She also sheds fur all the time but hates me using any brushing equipment on her which started to accumulate knots.

Whats the best way to go about grooming her? Should I trim her few and use a special shampoo to bath her? It seems like her skin may be quite itchy.
 

di and bob

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Cats really don't need to be bathed very often unless they get diarrhea, etc. on them. It dries their skin out badly and stresses them needlessly. You might start her on a supplement to build up her immune system and to help with her skin, Amazon and pet med sites sell them. For her, I would suggest a liquid and put the drops on her food. For her, I would also suggest a grooming 'glove' with those little rubber nubs, they seem to work well and wouldn't hurt her as much and she would get used to it quicker. I keep small scissors by my recliner and cut out knots as the cats are resting on my lap.
Bless you, for adopting a senior. They need someone so badly in their lives, you are a cat's angel here on earth!
 
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Kat06112

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Cats really don't need to be bathed very often unless they get diarrhea, etc. on them. It dries their skin out badly and stresses them needlessly. You might start her on a supplement to build up her immune system and to help with her skin, Amazon and pet med sites sell them. For her, I would suggest a liquid and put the drops on her food. For her, I would also suggest a grooming 'glove' with those little rubber nubs, they seem to work well and wouldn't hurt her as much and she would get used to it quicker. I keep small scissors by my recliner and cut out knots as the cats are resting on my lap.
Bless you, for adopting a senior. They need someone so badly in their lives, you are a cat's angel here on earth!

I never bathed my cats. My other adopted cat is very fluffy and also HATES being brushed ( I tried all kinds of brushing tools, even the glove one :( ). I let her do her thing but occasionally she'll get a huge fur knot that I need to cut away.
I give the older cat Lexi NHV Trumric, Omega-3 pet oil, Green Lipped Mussell powder and Vetalogica Feline Joint Support. I try to brush her for at least a few seconds at a time when she's asleep but she quickly gets very mad at me and I'm afraid it really stresses her out. I can see little dandruff flakes in her fur and I can aslo feel little clumps of fur muttered together all over her back and some on her tummy and neck. I really dont want it to get worse. I thought Maybe of her fur was trimmed it would be a relief?
 

di and bob

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Trimming would be good, but I worry about the stress that will be involved. I would just let her go and trim any knots. Sounds like you have her supplements going, that is good, adding some pet oil might get rid of those flakes. Older cats get a lot of flakes, they are just like us, their skin loses its moisture. i wonder if there is something like coconut oil, some kind of oil you could apply to the dry spots?
 
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Kat06112

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Trimming would be good, but I worry about the stress that will be involved. I would just let her go and trim any knots. Sounds like you have her supplements going, that is good, adding some pet oil might get rid of those flakes. Older cats get a lot of flakes, they are just like us, their skin loses its moisture. i wonder if there is something like coconut oil, some kind of oil you could apply to the dry spots?

She's very specific with areas she allows you to touch like most cats except she gets aggressive very very fast :( I worry that when I constantly try to groom her is more stressful than one session with clippers (which no doubt wold be war...) She has a whole lot of small knots all over. I noticed she was itchy when I started to scratch her on a the back under the fur and she as loving it. It was a very unusual spot that cats don't usually respond do.
 

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Hi. I don't know what monthly shot she is getting for arthritis, but I would talk to the vet about them and explain how sensitive she is to being touched and brushed. Maybe the shots aren't enough - especially if they are steroids. She might need some pain meds along with that - or a change in the approach to treating her arthritis. Arthritis certainly can affect how much a cat feels like wanting to groom themselves. The dandruff is probably a result of the lack of grooming. If she is at all overweight, that exacerbates the arthritis, and of course, affects her ability to clean herself too.

As far as the spot that you scratch on her back that you think she is itchy from, it might not be that at all. Feeby (16+ yo) has a couple of spots that I can scratch like that and it prompts her to want to scratch there as well. She lifts her back leg and make a scratching motion when I hit those spots. She doesn't do it otherwise. Feeby also has couple of other spots where she is 'short on tolerance' regarding how much petting I can do in those areas.
 
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Kat06112

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The vet sees her ones a month to examine her. She knows that Lexi is more sensitive around her lower back. She said we'll need to give her daily painkillers if it gets too bad but she hasn't mentioned starting on them yet as they will effect make her feel very dazed and high. Lexi gets so many little clumps so quickly as she sheds ALOT...like I've never seen a cat shed so much. Within 2 days her cat pillow is gonna be the colour of her fur. And she has soooo much fur...its very dense fur pattern so she has alot to shed. the only good thing is that the fur is only about 1.5cm long...
 

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She is older, but she sounds a lot like my 12 yr old Grey. He doesnt like being touched on the lower back even though thats where he gets the worst dandruff. He also sheds a lot. I think its just his fur and skin type. I groom him with one of those gloves and use burts bees cat dandruff spray for the dandruff which surprisingly really works. I just pet him on the head for awhile, do a few brushes on the back, pet on the head, brush on the back... until he he has had enough. Just a little bit every day or other day really helped him.
 
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Kat06112

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I try to brush her very gently and concentrate on places which she doesnt mind as much first while giving her heat pats and scratches on the head. This ritual last anywhere from 10 second to 1 minute or so before she growls at me. I let her rest and repeat a couple times a day. I'll have a look at Burt's bees cat dandruff spray. Did it bring him any noticeable relief like not as sensitive besides the visual lack of dandruff?
 

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No he still does not like to be touched there. In his case he has never liked being touched there but I think its different from your situation, it sounds like your kitty could have arthritis there while I think mine just dislikes it, it makes him nervous. After doing this brushing routine pretty often he has gotten a little more tolerant and I can get more done in one session but I still have to stop when I see he has had enough. Eventually his tail starts swishing all over the place, he purrs like a motorboat (over exited) and he will try to swat at me if I dont cut it out.

this is the stuff I got. I was surprised it actually worked. I spray it on the brush instead of spraying it on him.
Burt's Bees Dander Reducing Cat Spray, 10-oz bottle - Chewy.com
 

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No he still does not like to be touched there. In his case he has never liked being touched there but I think its different from your situation, it sounds like your kitty could have arthritis there while I think mine just dislikes it, it makes him nervous. After doing this brushing routine pretty often he has gotten a little more tolerant and I can get more done in one session but I still have to stop when I see he has had enough. Eventually his tail starts swishing all over the place, he purrs like a motorboat (over exited) and he will try to swat at me if I dont cut it out.

this is the stuff I got. I was surprised it actually worked. I spray it on the brush instead of spraying it on him.
Burt's Bees Dander Reducing Cat Spray, 10-oz bottle - Chewy.com



Also, this is a tool for humans and not cats, but it didnt work for my hair and I started using it on him and its very gentle and does lift the dander well. I can hide it in the palm of my hand and he tolerates it farely well.. works better than the glove I think at removing dandruff rather than moving it around. But you could also find a similar cat brush, I just happened to have this and didnt use it.

Tangle Teezer The Original Hair Brush Pink Fizz
 
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Kat06112

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Thank you for the tip. I'll try to introduce those elements to my cat and see if we can get a little better. I started to use a trimmer on the large clumps that I definitely can't comb on her back legs. We can only do 5 to 10 seconds at a time before she really freaks out but I got a bit off from about 10 sessions :D I think it makes her feel better not having her fur being pulled there.
 

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Thank you for the tip. I'll try to introduce those elements to my cat and see if we can get a little better. I started to use a trimmer on the large clumps that I definitely can't comb on her back legs. We can only do 5 to 10 seconds at a time before she really freaks out but I got a bit off from about 10 sessions :D I think it makes her feel better not having her fur being pulled there.
That sounds good! Sounds like you are being really patient with doing a little at a time. I think she will be more comfortable without the tangles. She probably wanted to get rid of them but she just cant!! All we can do is hope there is someone like that to care for us when we get old.
 
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