Matted Hair

randy_ · Jan 31, 2008

Hi:

I brought home a Maine Coon Cat from the SPCA right after Christmas. Apparently, she was not well cared for as she has quite a few hair mats.....quite a few are pretty good sized. I have cut out some and combed out a few on her back and on her flanks. Problem is she still has a good number on her rump and her belly. She is a little shy and sensitive and doesn't like me messing with either area.

I need some advice on dealing with the remaining mats. Anyone have tips on what I can do to get rid of them or should I simply call in a professional groomer or a vet?

Thanks.

gingersmom · Jan 31, 2008

Please do take her to a groomer. Cat's skin is extremely thin and can be cut too easily, so it is best to take her to a groomer, then once she is cleaned up, start brushing her daily to prevent it from happening again.

goldenkitty45 · Jan 31, 2008

Depending on how matted the mats are, you might want a prof groomer to fix her up. After the fur is growing out, then start a 2-3 weekly routine of combing so she stays mat free.

jlc0606 · Feb 2, 2008

I was just going to post about this same exact thing. I too have a Maine Coon and he has some mats that I can not get out. He is such a fighter when it comes to brushing him and he's armed! What I find surprising is that I bought him from a breeder and the cat was a former show cat. He hates being brushed and his nails trimmed. I took him to the groomer once and he fought her the whole time. My other cat on the other hand has no problems getting shaved. I will call the groomer next week for my cat and hope the grommer will take him back!

abymummy · Feb 3, 2008

Originally Posted by jlc0606

I was just going to post about this same exact thing. I too have a Maine Coon and he has some mats that I can not get out. He is such a fighter when it comes to brushing him and he's armed! What I find surprising is that I bought him from a breeder and the cat was a former show cat. He hates being brushed and his nails trimmed. I took him to the groomer once and he fought her the whole time. My other cat on the other hand has no problems getting shaved. I will call the groomer next week for my cat and hope the grommer will take him back!

Hard to read the above but I did read!

If you got him from a breeder AND he's a former show cat, you should ask the breeder/exhibitor what they did to make life easier for themselves when they showed him. There's probably some tips or tricks that will make him respond better to the nail clipping/grooming.

larussa · Feb 3, 2008

I also have the same problem, I posted it under 'knots in fur'. I too had to have the vet take care of them but I do try on my own to dislodge them but it is difficult. I guess this is just something we have to try to prevent before it gets too matted, I think their grooming has a lot to do with getting the mats and knots.

randy_ · Feb 3, 2008

Originally Posted by Abymummy

Hard to read the above but I did read!

If you got him from a breeder AND he's a former show cat, you should ask the breeder/exhibitor what they did to make life easier for themselves when they showed him. There's probably some tips or tricks that will make him respond better to the nail clipping/grooming.

Maybe there isn't any trick? Maybe that is the reason the cat is no longer a show cat??

mzjazz2u · Feb 3, 2008

I'm so glad you were able to take your girl in! I would suggest you take her to a groomer and ask them to shave the belly and back of the legs. After that, you can establish a regular grooming routine to prevent it from happening again. I have to comb my cats out daily. Use combs rather then brushes. Or even invest in the Furminator. It's a deshedding tool that gently pulls out the loose, dead undercoat so mats don't develop. You'll still need combs for the belly and legs though. I use Medium and fine tooth combs on my Persians.

jlc0606 · Feb 5, 2008

After reading about the Furminator, I bought one off of eBay and hopefully will get it in a few days. I no longer have contact with the breeder so I don't know how he was as a show cat. After the conversation with the groomer last summer it made me too think maybe that is why he was no longer a show cat. He just turned 3 y/o. I don't don't the longivity of a show cat though either.

vegasrob · Feb 7, 2008

my ragdoll had a few bad matts and we tried to get them out ourselves and i almost cut her skin, so i took her to the groomer and she came back beautiful and the matts that were pretty bad were gone, so take your cat to the groomer, it only was 40 dollars and the best 40 id ever spent!

angelyco · Feb 8, 2008

Someone actually showed me how to pull mats out without scissors. You have to hold the base of the hair that's still attached to the skin, then you can actually just PULL the mat off. It takes some tugging and time, but it works! The thing to remember is that it's just dead hair that you're pulling out of the mat and it doesn't hurt your cat to tug a little harder on it. If you're not comfortable doing it, go to a groomer. The cat I had was entirely matted, we pulled some of the smaller clumps out but his sides and belly were just one big mat. We had to take him to the vet to get shaved because it was so bad, but it sounds a groomer could handle this.

georgiagirl8 · Feb 8, 2008

I was coming in to post with the same problem. Thumper is a maine coon mix. She has a lot of matts on her too but she has a major attitude issue and she's very strong. If she gets you into the "thumpie lock", you ain't getting out! lol. And she doesn't like it when we start messing with her too much, which is why she hasn't been brushed well enough to keep them off of her. We don't want to take her to a groomer because she has such an attitude that she may have to be put to sleep in order for them to do it and I don't want to take that chance because thumpie is old. A friend of ours had to do that and her cat almost didn't wake back up. So I don't know what to do. Is there anything we can use to get them out ourselves that won't upset her too much?

Matted Hair

randy_

TCS Member

Thread starter

gingersmom

TCS Member

goldenkitty45

TCS Member

jlc0606

TCS Member

abymummy

TCS Member

larussa

TCS Member

randy_

TCS Member

Thread starter

mzjazz2u

TCS Member

jlc0606

TCS Member

vegasrob

TCS Member

angelyco

TCS Member

georgiagirl8

TCS Member

Latest Posts

Connect with us