matted fur

[gert452000]

My Tubby boy has become matted. I wouldn't call him a long hair but his fur isn't as short as the other kitties. He is like the Sylvester cat.
I brush him a couple of times every day. I have to do it that often because he absolutely hates to be brushed and I can only do it for a couple of minutes at a time.
The matts have not gradually come, its like all of a sudden they are there. They are on his back , by the tail. And they are down his sides.
I have been able to cut some of them out, after brushing and I get them close to the end.
My questions are these: What is maybe causing this and is there a great secret to removing the matts?

 

[hissy]

You can do several things. You can feed Royal Canin Hair & Skin 33 Blend. You can buy a Zoom Groom and brush your cat with this special brush, or you can get your cat shaved at the groomers, and start all over.

 

[sandie]

Honestly, I think the first thing I would do is take him for a vet visit. Overweight cats have a hard time grooming themselves and they matt. Even overweight short cats get matted. If your vet puts him on a diet plan, and he looses weight, you might not have to worry about brushing so often.

 

[shell]

Is the zoom groom all that it is cracked up to be? I bought one today while I was at the vets office. They told me no one had ever bought one from them, so I thought "What the heck! I'll be the first!". By the looks of it, I am a bit reluctant but from what everyone on here has said about them it looks promising.

 

[hissy]

Shell I love mine, it is the only brush I can use on all the cats that they just lean into and love being brushed with it. I usually get swatted during grooming sessions- but not since using the zoom groom.

 

[shell]

I just tried it out. It really does work great!

Tiki wasn't in the mood for a good grooming tonight (too worked up from the vet visit), but with the 5 minutes that I got with her I'm impressed. I noticed that I must have picked up the Dog zoom groom, is there a different between the cat and the dog kind? From the pack insert I got, the only thing that I noticed was the cat one was in the same of a cat.

I'm curious to try it on the other two since they are short haired. I've heard it works great for them too!

 

[gert452000]

Thanks for the helpful answers.
While Tubby is a large cat he is not over weight. He does not live up to his name, he was named for my cousin. But maybe just becaue he is so large he can't groom very well.
Where can I buy a zoom groom? My vets office carries only a very few things and I don't recall seeing that there.

 

[hissy]

Here ya go

Zoom Groom

 

[mzjazz2u]

I got a Zoom Groom a few days ago and it's great! I can't imagine it will work on mats that are already there (someone correct me if I'm wrong please) but certainly will work to prevent them. I groom Peaches daily (she's a long haired Persian) and she still got a few mats all of a sudden when she started to shed in the spring. Took a while to pick them all out but I just used a spray bottle of detangler/conditioner and a comb.

Tammie & Peaches

 

[mzjazz2u]

Opps... just saw the link for Zoom Groom. I got mine at PetSmart and it was under $4!

Tammie & Peaches

 

[hissy]

It actually does work on mats that are there, and very gently too.

 

[gert452000]

I bought a Zoom Groom yesterday. As soon as I got home I showed it to Tub and started to brush him. He wasn't much in the mood last night, probably because we were gone all day and he was in a snit. He did tolerate it reasonably well though. I used it on him again this morning while he was sleeping. I thought if I could get a head start on him before he became fully awake I stood a better chance. This worked for a couple of minutes then he ran off to his bed. But...this afternoon he climbed onto my lap and stared at the brush which was on the table next to me. I picked it up and brushed him. He immediately stretched full out and purred. He usually screams at me when I brush him. After a few minutes on that side he rolled over so I could do the other. In total I think I brushed him 15 minutes that time. He might have stayed but one of the other cats jumped up and wanted attention and Tub doesn't like to share.
I couldn't believe how much fur came off him. I do believe the Zoom Groom is a huge success! Thank you so much for telling me about this.

P.S. Tub is 1 of 5 cats in the house but the only one with a bed to call his own. The others sleep wherever they want but on top of the drier is Tub's own special domain.

 

[mzjazz2u]

Glad it's working for Tub (& you)! Happy grooming!

Tammie & Peaches