Feral Cat With Matted Fur

Norachan

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One of the cats I feed has got quite long fur but has always managed to keep herself clean. Lately I've noticed she's started to get a lot of mats in her fur. She'll let me pet her but will only stand being brushed for a second or two. I've managed to cut some of the worse mats out with scissors but some of them are too close to her skin, I don't want to risk cutting her.

I think the best thing to do is take her to the vet and have her sedated and shaved.

Here's the thing; at the moment she is outdoor all the time. By the end of May she'll have a new shed with a bed, toilet, cat tree etc and I'll be able to keep her in there while her fur grows back.

Should I wait until I can keep her in before I have her shaved? It's pretty cold at night and I think she's going to need a big patch shaved off each flank. Is it worse for her to be walking around all matted up or walking around half bald?


This is a picture I took of her last winter, so you can see just how fluffy she is.

Thanks for any advice.
 

Anne

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Wow, she is fluffy indeed. Beautiful cat!

I would wait with the haircut until the weather gets warmer and she has her new spot. I would consider taking her to the vet before that, if it's not too stressful for her, to have the current matts cut off and for the vet to check out her mouth. If she could handle the coat until now and only recently started getting matted, I wonder what the underlying cause may be. Could be soreness in the mouth area which should be looked at.
 
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Norachan

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Thanks Anne,

Yes, I wondered why she was suddenly having trouble with her coat. She managed to stay spotless even while she was pregnant and I couldn't find any burrs of grass seeds in the mats. Just lots of fur.

I've got an appointment to have another feral cat neutered on Friday so I'll try and take her along to the vets too.
 

susank521

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I have a beautiful, long-haired girl that's about 11 years old now who has always been a meticulous groomer but still manages to work mats into the hair on her hip/flank area. No mouth or health issues with her, other than a propensity for UTIs.

Then there's Crooner, a super-duper long-haired guy (I've never seen hair as long as this fellow's) who had severe jaw damage and was a  walking mat-mass when he showed up a 1-1/2 years ago. It was a few months before I could handle him and by then it was the beginning of spring and the mats were releasing with the shedding. With the combination of that extremely long hair and jaw deformity he generates mats constantly and even daily brushing can't keep them at bay.

It seems that once they create a small knot then their grooming just gets more hair knotted into the mat. Hopefully, that's what happened with your beautiful girl. I agree with Anne, best to wait until warm weather on the shaving. The good news is that those mats probably provide an unbelievable amount of insulation.
 

Pbuell

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One of the cats I feed has got quite long fur but has always managed to keep herself clean. Lately I've noticed she's started to get a lot of mats in her fur. She'll let me pet her but will only stand being brushed for a second or two. I've managed to cut some of the worse mats out with scissors but some of them are too close to her skin, I don't want to risk cutting her.

I think the best thing to do is take her to the vet and have her sedated and shaved.

Here's the thing; at the moment she is outdoor all the time. By the end of May she'll have a new shed with a bed, toilet, cat tree etc and I'll be able to keep her in there while her fur grows back.

Should I wait until I can keep her in before I have her shaved? It's pretty cold at night and I think she's going to need a big patch shaved off each flank. Is it worse for her to be walking around all matted up or walking around half bald?


This is a picture I took of her last winter, so you can see just how fluffy she is.

Thanks for any advice.
Hi I think your cat could Mrs by my house please let me
Know if you live in chesterland the cat is matted but looks like hair fell out around its neck. Thanks patti
 

Pbuell

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Hi is this your cat she comes to my house to eat and badly matted the fur around neck fell out. Thanks patti
One of the cats I feed has got quite long fur but has always managed to keep herself clean. Lately I've noticed she's started to get a lot of mats in her fur. She'll let me pet her but will only stand being brushed for a second or two. I've managed to cut some of the worse mats out with scissors but some of them are too close to her skin, I don't want to risk cutting her.

I think the best thing to do is take her to the vet and have her sedated and shaved.

Here's the thing; at the moment she is outdoor all the time. By the end of May she'll have a new shed with a bed, toilet, cat tree etc and I'll be able to keep her in there while her fur grows back.

Should I wait until I can keep her in before I have her shaved? It's pretty cold at night and I think she's going to need a big patch shaved off each flank. Is it worse for her to be walking around all matted up or walking around half bald?


This is a picture I took of her last winter, so you can see just how fluffy she is.

Thanks for any advice.
 

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Pbuell

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Hi is this your cat we live in chesterland and feed it.
 
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Norachan

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Hi P Pbuell No, I don't think that can be the same cat. I live in Japan.

I took the cat to the vet and they gave her a Lion Cut. I think the one you are feeding probably needs to see a vet. Are you able to touch her at all?
 
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