Matted fur on a short haired cat

[sibohan2005]

Hey everyone I am fostering a Beautiful Brown Tabby names Audrey.

She arrived this evening with several serious matts on her back.

I have not atempted to take a brush near her but from petting her and feeling around they are quite tight and impacted.

I don't think I will be able to untangle them.

She is currently in segrigation in my room away from my other cat Jasper and my dog Kyra. I would like to make her comfortable as soon as I can so I am thinking I should leave her a day or 2 to relax and become accustom to me and the sounds of the house before approaching her to remove the matts.

Having never had a matted cat I am wondering what the best way to remove them would be. Scissors or should I look for trimmers or have her professionally shaved?

Will the fur grow back quickly? I know any of my cats that have had surgeries or needed blood work their fur grew back in a quick amount of time but this is on her back so....

Any ideas or suggestions will be welcome

 

[cat person]

Originally Posted by Sibohan2005

Hey everyone I am fostering a Beautiful Brown Tabby names Audrey.

She arrived this evening with several serious matts on her back.

I have not atempted to take a brush near her but from petting her and feeling around they are quite tight and impacted.

I don't think I will be able to untangle them.

She is currently in segrigation in my room away from my other cat Jasper and my dog Kyra. I would like to make her comfortable as soon as I can so I am thinking I should leave her a day or 2 to relax and become accustom to me and the sounds of the house before approaching her to remove the matts.

Having never had a matted cat I am wondering what the best way to remove them would be. Scissors or should I look for trimmers or have her professionally shaved?

Will the fur grow back quickly? I know any of my cats that have had surgeries or needed blood work their fur grew back in a quick amount of time but this is on her back so....

Any ideas or suggestions will be welcome

If the mats do not seem to be bothering the cat I would say you can wait a week or so before removing them.

Now if you feel comfortable enough, you could with someones help go to the end of the mat and simply cut them out. You could also just take the cat to a veterinarian or a groomer and ask them to remove the mats. Just a word to the wise, if you use a groomer make it clear you only want the two mats removed and not the cat shaved.

When a cat gets mats on its back it is normally a grooming issue. As in the cat is too fat to groom itself. Is that the case?

Lastly the hair will grow back as quickly as any other shaved area.

Hope that was helpful and made sense. If you need any clarification please let me know.

 

[fleshflowers]

I don't have any experience with fur matting, but I do think that you shouldn't use scissors to cut out the mats as I have read several stories about cat owners who have cut their cats skin while attempting to cut out matted fur. It just doesn't seem like a good idea or worth the risk. I myself would take the kitty to the groomers and have someone do it for me.

Good luck

 

[sibohan2005]

Thanks Guys,

Audrey is quite large and I do believe it is a grooming issue, I have her on a diet and am monitoring her food intake. She should probably be Half the size she is

I am also going to get her a vitamin supliment because she also has some serious dandruff and dry skin.

She allowed me to cut the matts out of her fur this morning because they seemd to be pinching her. She looks rather haggard but she is much friendlier and more affectionate since the emergency hair cut.

 

[callista]

That's great. Cutting the mats out seems to have made her much more comfortable, then. Matted fur can literally tear loose and create injury to the skin, so you did the right thing. They probably were pinching her.

She "should be half the size she is"--so she weighs, what, 16-18 pounds? Yeah, that can really interfere with a cat's grooming. If she doesn't mind, you might be able to help her keep clean. There are these "cat bath" towels--they're like baby wipes, only safe for cats--that I use on my cats when they need cleaning but don't quite need a bath. They are damp so she probably won't like them; but wiping her down isn't too invasive, especially since you probably won't have to wipe her stomach or paws, which she can likely reach just fine. She'll probably just give you a dirty look for a second and then go back to whatever she was doing.

See if you can get an appointment with a groomer and get her "shaved" (which isn't actually a shave, but a close trim). Usually people do that when the summer is hot and the cat's fur is long, but it can really help if the cat's fur is matted--it gives her skin time to heal before she has to be brushed frequently again. It sure looks odd, but the cat (after the usual "I'm not talking to you" period) doesn't seem to mind.

 

[phoebes27]

My cat gets matts in his fur. He's a short haired silver tabby. The reason he gets matted is because he's old and can't always groom. He's certainly not overweight, but 20 years old and arthritic.