Long-haired ferals -- shaving & grooming?

Hello,

I'm wondering if anyone here has had to shave their ferals. We've got some long-haired ferals, and they're pretty good about keeping their coats clean. However, with the rain / snow / dirt, etc..., this year we've had some problems with large areas of matted hair. They're losing their hair with the Spring, but the matting has become bad enough for one that she's going to need to be trapped and shaved.

I'm sure one of our vets will be willing to do the job with a general check up, shots, etc...

Anyone do this as a regular or semi-regular process?

Interested to hear other experiences...

We'd like to do this now while it's still warm, but they have time to grow their hair back for the fall & winter.

Well, bless you for trying to do this! I am surprised that someone hasn't offered you some good advice - obviously there are so many wonderful cat lovers here who do great work with ferals!

I've never done it personally but it's a great idea!!! The vet can easily do it on the next visit. The cats will need to be sedated I'm sure, but that's good because the poor kitty won't be so tramatized!!! I believe it takes about 6 months for the hair to grow back on a long haired cat so I would probably get this done sometime soon. Do the cats have somewhere warm/dry to go if they get chilly at night? Other than that, good luck! What a great, thoughtful idea!