The Dreaded UNDERcoat :(

I'm at my wit's end with my Himalayan. I comb and brush my kitty daily, but this darn undercoat keeps getting messed up! I think it actually gets worse when she bathes herself, because the licking gets the coat tangled up into little tufts. And if I don't get them out within a few hours of forming, I have to trim them out. Her hind legs are the worst, and there seems to be undercoat only on that part of her body. I can keep the rest of her fresh and fluffy, but the hind legs seem to always somehow mat. It doesn't help that she sleeps all the time and wakes up all rumpled and wavy looking lol. I do have a furminator that I use, and I also bathe her every few weeks and this seems to help. I blow dry her fur out straight and fluffy, but the hind quarters still come out slightly wavy no matter what. It's just a weird, different texture. Plus she hates me brushing her legs so this is always a battle, even though she lays nicely for everywhere else. Is there anything I can do or am I already doing everything I can? I love how fluffy she's looking lately, and I would hate to trim her down, but geez I don't have time to do this grooming ritual every single day

I haven't a clue, but may I suggest you post the question in Showing & Ethical Breeding: breeders of Himies would no doubt have a good answer!

Are you showing this cat? I understand the frustration over mats, but the wavy hair on the hind legs sounds like it will probably always be an uphill battle. If the wavy hair is constantly matting, I would recommend a lion clip and have them take the cut a little lower on the legs. Just make sure you take your kitty to an EXPERIENCED groomer if you are going to ask them to shave their lower legs. Cats have VERY thin skin and lots of small tendons in their lower legs. It's important to have a groomer who is confident in shaving cats. If you don't want a shaved kitty, I'm afraid it sounds like you are doing the most you can with the brushing, combing and spot trims.

Sorry, I just read your post again and see that you only want to clip as a last resort. Have you ever used conditioner after shampooing her?

Ritz said:

I haven't a clue, but may I suggest you post the question in Showing & Ethical Breeding: breeders of Himies would no doubt have a good answer!

Click to expand...

Thank you! that didn't even cross my mind, I'll head over there and do some lurking!

jazzygemmy said:

 
Sorry, I just read your post again and see that you only want to clip as a last resort. Have you ever used conditioner after shampooing her?

Click to expand...

No, but is there such a thing?? I'm gonna google that. I'm not showing her, I just like how she looks when she's fluffy and soft lol. She had short hair the first year I had her, but then I decided it would be cute to grow her out. She had a bath and blow-out last night and now she's perfect and tangle free, but if I don't brush/bathe frequently the chunky mats will definitely come back. Kitty's beauty routine is just a lot more time consuming than I initially planned! I'm thinking I might have to bathe her weekly if I want to keep her like this

I feel for you! Himalayans are adorable, but their grooming requirements are among the most extensive, compared to other breeds. Daily combing with a greyhound comb (or at least combing every other day) should do the trick, so I don't know why mats are forming. I prefer using a comb because the goal is to comb not just the surface, but down to the skin.  Furminators will cut the fur -- unless the blade is dull -- so I'm not crazy about them.

It may make life easier if you find a house call cat groomer who can give your cat a belly shave and sanitary trim. This will decrease the amount of area you have to comb.

Cats shed year round, but they tend to shed more in the spring and fall. I suspect that your cat has a lot of dead/shedded fur that needs to be removed. This results in matting.

Also, when drying, it's best to be continually combing, so the dryer blows out the dead fur.

If the fur is even slightly damp, it will mat up.

Good luck!

I feel your pain. My kitty isn't a Himmi but she has very long fur especially on her ruff and britches. I have to brush her daily. If I don't she'll mat herself up bathing.

And the fur on Beans' belly and hind legs is the only place she won't let me comb or brush. These areas got so bad this past winter I took her for a sanitary shave. She still looks fluffy as ever, just no more mats.

My moo isn't pedigree has the fluffiest backside known to man and an undercoat that is very much like fine wool roving, with long smooth straight hair on top. The underside fur is also quite wavy/curly. Combing/brushing from the top does nothing; what helps is first stroking the hair backwards and brushing through the understuffs in the opposite direction.

I use the floof to make felt lol.

This is kind of an old thread, but I must say that Beans shed more this past spring than the year before. I brush her at least once a day and matts were still a problem.

Don't know if this tread is still going or not, but I have a similar problem with my Haldir.  He has a long, silky-fine upper coat and his undercoat is thick and as fine as dandelion fluff, which matts even when he's combed daily; it doesn't help that he doesn't groom himself very well.     The one thing I've found that helps to keep Hal's undercoat under control is to use an undercoat rake that I found at the feed store.  If you can't find one locally, Amazon has the same one.