long hair grooming help

I rescued today from the shelter a brother and sister long hair pair. They are Norwegian forest cats I was told. They had been at the shelter for almost 4 months and were about to be euthanised. Thats what happens to 4 year old mangy looking kitties i guess

Long story short, I have these 2 incredibly sweet but incredibly manged kitties. Almost all of their lovely locks are matted against their body and soiled terribly. They are currently very stressed, sickly, and depressed so I don't want to do any harm to them but I feel they need to be cleaned in order to help on the road to recovery. They have vet appointments scheduled for 2 weeks but Im sure the grooming should be done asap.

Ive never had a long hair before let alone 2 in such bad condition. Any help and advice on how to help them back to their pretty coats or should I seek a professional groomer?

Thanks from me, Mittens and Storm.

If they are that badly matted its better to take them to a groomer and have them shaved down. With winter coming, you'll have to be sure to keep them warm till the coat regrows.

Then as it grows out, establish a grooming routine and comb (not brush) them every day. By the time they have full coats, they should be used to this grooming routine and not give you a hard time.

Then, you can probably groom them a few times a week after the coat comes back. But now is the time to start combing - even if they have short coats.

The poor little sweeties.

It really depends on the extent of the matting on whether or not you do it yourself. I personally have no experience with it, so of I were in that situation I would most likely take them to a groomer so I wouldn't inadvertently hurt them.

I agree. If they are badly matted then you may want to take them in to be shaved. I don't usually recommend that in the cooler seasons but it's all you can do if the mats are bad. You'll just have to keep them indoors and give them lots of warm places to curl up. And after the fur grows out you will be able to prevent it from happening again by regular grooming (as mentioned above).

Please don't try to do it yourself. Usually you can find a groomer to do it for between $30-40. They know how to handle a squirmy cat and have the tools to do it right.

Ok thanks so much. After their vet checkup in a few days i'll find a groomer to take care of them then start over with a good routine when it starts to grow back. Gotplenty of fleece beds for them to snuggle in while they grow out and i keep my cats inside anyways.

Originally Posted by hannya

Ok thanks so much. After their vet checkup in a few days i'll find a groomer to take care of them then start over with a good routine when it starts to grow back. Gotplenty of fleece beds for them to snuggle in while they grow out and i keep my cats inside anyways.

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Sounds great! Keep us posted!