Aslan, one of my soon-to-be-adopted (by me!) foster kittens, has beautiful, thick fur. I knew I'd have to start trimming his booty hair at some point, but, sheez, he's barely ten weeks old!

Yup, tonight, he got...er...stuff stuck in his fur and I had to give the poor fella his first bath, and then his first trim. ;) He fought a little, but I got the feeling he realized I wasn't trying to hurt him; his struggles weren't all panicky, you know?

Here's a pic of him grooming himself.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f288/crazy_Kimmy/MomsPics/DSCF4960-1.jpg

And another of him just being his cute self.
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f288/crazy_Kimmy/MomsPics/DSCF4862-1.jpg

Just thought I'd share! :wavey:

He's adorable!!!! :heart3: I have long haired cats...they are worth the trouble!!!

Awwwww he's adorable I have 2 long haired cats and they are worth every trim and every fur accident :lol3:

He is a cutie!!!
I have a long haired Dilute Calico girl........so far I haven't had to do the trim thing yet.

What a gorgeous little one! My kitty isn't really a long hair, but has longish fur around her ruff, her belly and a really full tail. It is super silky and soft. Luckily, no incidents yet, but I do check :blush:

Hairballs are the biggest problem. And keeping her brushed - it is good for her coat, skin and makes her looks soooooo pretty. She likes it sometimes - sometimes, not so much. But I can't stand when she starts looking ratty and have to keep her fluffy. It is so cute after she gets brushed and she struts around like a beauty queen :lol3:

I actually just took my DLH for her first grooming and it was worth EVERY PENNY!! She's got about 1/2 the fur she had when i took her in, they trimmed all those trouble places and she's bouncing around like a kitten (and smells like Mango shampoo). I think i'm going to try and keep her on a regular grooming schedule now (every 3 months or so maybe). I highly recommend it (even just every once in awhile)

He is so adorable!!! I mean really cute! I've never had a long hair cat, but if I seen him looking up at me with that precious face, I might have a hard time resisting.:)

Oh I just recently experienced this! My medium haired kitten had a poop stuck right in the fur (just like gum in your hair). I followed him around for 15 minutes trying to pull it out but no luck. Finally, took my hair cutting scissors and chopped it out. I was so afraid he would go sit on my bed or the carpet (yuck!).

So... I guess in addition to nail trimmings I have to butt fur trimming too.

:love: He's adorable!!

I have a long hair for the first time now, and she had a few matts that I had to deal with when I first got her. I found a metal comb did the best. I tried the "matt buster" but it just pulled like anything else. But now she's all silky and I don't anticipate any more problems with regular brushing. For me, grooming a long hair is half the fun.

Oh you are lucky your long haired likes being groomed. I am only allowed to brush around Lucky's neck and back...touch the backend or the tummy and I could lose my hand....hence the trip to the groomer (though the groomer said she was on her best behaviour and sweet as pie....strange! LOL)

:help: Cuteness Alert :help:

OMG look at that little cutie pie :lovegrin: and those pink pads .........aww...bless :heart2: :heart3:

Aww he's precious! I have long haired cats too and have to keep the hair trimmed up a bit around their butts. You can even request a "sanitary trim" at a groomers if you wish to go that route!

I'm partial to the red tabbys anyway - he's really cute.

But even if he's never shown you should be establishing a grooming routine of washing, combing, trimming, blow drying him (have to on a long hair or the hair will get tangled when air drying), nail trimming.

Longhair kittens should be trained for all this grooming as young as possible or you will have a fight on your hands when older!

For me, and I believe my cat, it is a bonding time while I am brushing his long hair.

It's interesting to note here that I've had my longhaired girl for almost 3 years (I think... goodness...) and this week was the first time shes EVER had poop stuck to her butt. I had to cut it out, but usually she doesn't have a problem with that.

Thanks, everyone, for sharing the amusement with me. *grin1* Thanks for the complements, too! I totally adore my Aslan. :heart3:

For those who mentioned it, I don't show cats, but I am already grooming the kittens in preparation for when they'll actually need it. And I, too, think it's great bonding time. :bigthumb:

Have a great day, y'all!

:love: He's a real cutie for sure, bet he will be a really Beautiful Boy when he gets big.

What an absolutly gorgeous guy! He looks like my Uno! I have 4 longhaired kitties and I have to give them a butt shave every 2-3 months to avoid "cling-ons". Uno is the worst for getting them stuck and when he does, boy he does! Melody is the worst for having it done, she is such a princess that anything that could ruin her image makes her angry. I have yet to take Dusty in for a shave, but I am hoping in the next few days' to get his accomplished, he is a pretty laid back guy so I don't forsee any trouble. Squeeker is still only 7 months old and he seems to chew the fur around his tooshie so it stays pretty short, maybe he has seen what could happen if he doesn't! :lol3: Good luck and I LOVE your kitty!

I have two long haired girls and I have never had to shave or trim their butt hair I also have never blow dried them after baths they would tear my arms off if I tried blow drying their. I have taken them in for pedicures though to get the in-between-the-toes hair trimmed!!!:lol3:

Wow, thanks, guys! Y'all are makin' me blush. :blush:

Speaking of blush...er brushing *smile*, I've been using two different brushes on Aslan and his siblings. One is a baby's brush and the other is a small kitty brush with plastic tips. All the kittens are tolerating the brushing, but none have shown any real appreciation of it yet. I kinda like using the baby brush myself.... I'm a grandmother to be and I think I could use the practice. *laugh*

Here's a more recent pic of Aslan, all sprawled out in MY chair. Don't you know I refrained from checking my email until he was done with his snooze?! *sigh*
http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f288/crazy_Kimmy/MomsPics/DSCF6106copy.jpg

http://i49.photobucket.com/albums/f288/crazy_Kimmy/MomsPics/DSCF6106copy.jpg

Oh look at that sweet fuzzy baby! He reminds me a little bit of my 6 month old boy! :heart3: :heart3: :heart3:

Oh look at that sweet fuzzy baby! He reminds me a little bit of my 6 month old boy! :heart3: :heart3: :heart3:

Thats what I thought when I saw this pic of him.

Aslan is so handsome! :heart3:

He is adorable. I had always said I would only have short haired cats and then I got picked by one that has semi-long hair and a thick undercoat. It is a little extra work but I think it is worth it.

OMG he is just too cute - we also do the 'sanitary trim' on the kitties - helps the long haired ones stay that little bit cleaner (although mine are also not adverse to a bath so either way works)

So how do you get a kitten used to bathing and brushing without them freaking out when you try to bathe them? :P

Wait till they get older. Melody and Uno used to HATE being groomed in any way, now that they are older they LOVE it. I think that for kittens it is over stimulating and that is why they freak out.

Actually, it's funny, but almost as soon as I said the kittens don't really care either way, a couple of them decided they really like the baby brush, especially little Rachel. She now purrs and purrs and stands up and turns 'round and 'round to make sure I get every part of her. When I stop brushing, she has a fit. :lol3:

Gotta love the little ones. :love:

To answer your question, I first leave the brushes out where the cats/kittens can see and smell them. Then I wait until they are quiet and half asleep and start stroking them, alternating with my hands and the brush, slowly increasing the brushing until that's all I'm doing. If they get anxious about the brush at any time, I put it down and start over later.

Good luck!

Awe he is sooooo adorable, baths arent fun! My kittie gets sick to easy so i really dont want to try it lol

How do you get them to not hate bathing?

How do you get them to not hate bathing?

Start them young and bathe them often. They'll get used to it!:bigthumb:

Thankfully Pudge, my mediumhair (who has about an inch or so of buttfuzz which seems to get thicker every day, had never had poop stuck to it. She's about 3 years old. Hopefully, she never does. I'm not sure I want to know how much blood I'd lose in that sort of "rescue" operation.