Domestic Longhairs in the wild...

Just an update to this delimma... I have started cutting the matts out when she is asleep in my lap. She will sometimes wake up mid snip so i stop and resume once she's asleep again.

It's obviously best to catch the matted fur before it gets too bad and too close to the skin.

It's been a much easier winter due to this technique

Please be careful and use blunt-nosed scissors as its very easy to cut a cat's delicate skin. I'm glad you're having success dematting!

Chromium Blues said:

Please be careful and use blunt-nosed scissors as its very easy to cut a cat's delicate skin. I'm glad you're having success dematting!

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Unfortunately none of the safety scissors I've tried are sharp enough to get through her fur. I use regular scissors very, very carefully. Even they sometimes take several attempts to get through the fur.

I'd venture that if i donated some of Beans' fur to science it could be woven into a space-age material that is bullet (and scissor) resistant

You could line the hulls of ships!

Chromium Blues said:

You could line the hulls of ships!

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Give it to birds to line their nests with. :-)

You would think birds would be too timid to use something that smells like a cat to build a nest with. Idk... Do birds have a decent sense of smell?

Regardless, I tell Beans all the time that if she doesn't act right i'm going to shave her and donate her fur to science

There is an online company that will weave your pet hair into yarn and make sweaters, hats, scarves, and booties from it. I have not yet threatened to shave me Sweetie. The cats with the lion cuts look so sad.

KittyMomma1122 said:

There is an online company that will weave your pet hair into yarn and make sweaters, hats, scarves, and booties from it. I have not yet threatened to shave me Sweetie. The cats with the lion cuts look so sad.

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I am debating on getting Beans a Lion Cut or just a much shorter hair style this year. Her springtime shedding is ridiculous and it would be nice to skip it this year.

I worked a spay/neuter clinic yesterday and we neutered one of my friends indoor/outdoor cats. He is a beautiful long hair lynx point of some type. He had an undecended testicle and mats so when it was all said and done he reappeared with a lion cut. Did not realize how small he was until all the fluff was gone.

bigperm20 said:

Beans is the first long hair I've ever owned. It's been an issue since she was a kitten. I had to bathe her once as she got a turd stuck in her britches. It's was awful, and since I've done my best to keep her trimmed down there.

I did try taking her to a groomer once and she was handled very rough. I won't be doing that again, needless to say.

She's inside only, I do often wonder if she were outside rubbing up against trees and such, if it would be such an issue? Just hypothetical though, she's far too curious to be let outside.

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Hi, groomer here...I read this and was just wondering what exactly you meant by handled very rough?  Did the groomer mishandle the cat in front of you?  How did you know how it was handled?

Sorry if I seem somewhat defensive...its just that I hear this often along with "they used tranquilizers" and all of the groomers that I know are very, very careful with the pets under their care and none of them use tranquilizers without the owners permission.  Law suit if something were to happen comes to mind.  Groomers aren't willing to open themselves up to that kind of risk.  If a cat is that difficult to handle we simply refuse to groom them.

Dandila said:

bigperm20 said:

Beans is the first long hair I've ever owned. It's been an issue since she was a kitten. I had to bathe her once as she got a turd stuck in her britches. It's was awful, and since I've done my best to keep her trimmed down there.

I did try taking her to a groomer once and she was handled very rough. I won't be doing that again, needless to say.

She's inside only, I do often wonder if she were outside rubbing up against trees and such, if it would be such an issue? Just hypothetical though, she's far too curious to be let outside.

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Hi, groomer here...I read this and was just wondering what exactly you meant by handled very rough?  Did the groomer mishandle the cat in front of you?  How did you know how it was handled?



Sorry if I seem somewhat defensive...its just that I hear this often along with "they used tranquilizers" and all of the groomers that I know are very, very careful with the pets under their care and none of them use tranquilizers without the owners permission.  Law suit if something were to happen comes to mind.  Groomers aren't willing to open themselves up to that kind of risk.  If a cat is that difficult to handle we simply refuse to groom them.

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I understand you apprehension to my statement as you di it as a profession. I'll tell yu what happened and let you decide:
I called a local groomer who claim to specialize in cats. I only requested a sanitary shave, and the removal of two mats between Beans' hind legs. She wouldn't let me trim it, and I was worried that it might get infected. I reiterated that i wanted someone who specializes in cats and they said no problem you can bring her now.

Beans is not terribly skittish but she is a little Leary of new places and people. I handed the groomer aka the cat specialist my cat carrier and she immediately set to work. I asked herr to please just shave between her legs as the mat is very stubborn. She stated that she could probably remove it with a comb, and if she couldn't she'd shave it out.


Beans did hiss at her but she didn't try to scratch or bite her. She grabbed her very rough by her scruff and pulled her out of the carrier. Beans howled in protest. She then plopped her down on the table and held her against the table by the back of jer neck which caused her hind end to stick up. She then used a big metal comb to rip out the huge matt in between her legs. She didn't even try to work it loose, she just ripped the hair out- a huge clump of it.

Beans obviously was pissed so she wriggled loose and hissed at her then tryed to jump off the table. Before she could, the lady grabbed grabbed her by her tail and yanked her back onto the table. This was not delicate in any way it was forceful. When Beans turned around and hissed again she mumbled under her breath "You better not bite me B...".

She then proceeded to hold her head against the table while she shaved her hind end.

The whole thing took less than 5 minutes. I was partly in shock and partly FURIOUS. I literally took her right back home and she was angry with me for days.

I don't understand why she felt the need to be so rough? She's just a little cat. Aside from hissing she showed no signs of aggression. She just wanted to get away.

I know your skeptical as some people blow things out of proportion, but it happened exactly like that. I actually posted about it on this forum right after as i wanted to get some feedback from other members.

Thank you for replying.  I offer this from a professional viewpoint as well as a fellow cat lover.

Many of the things vets and groomers must do to protect the animal and ourselves look "rough" to loving owners.  The scruff of the neck maneuver while pressing down at the same time immobilizes the cat so it cannot claw or bite the stranger.  We do not allow an animal to bite or claw us first before we use this maneuver.  Prevention is key.  It does not cause pain to the animal.

It would be so much easier if we could just have a heart to heart discussion with our clients...

I say..."Fluffy, I want to shave your little butthole and genitalia, sweetie.  It looks a little matted so it might pull a little, okay?"

Fluffy says..."Buzz off!  No way, lady!  I'm perfectly capable of grooming myself!"

Anyway, we can't so we don't really know if they'll accept our help or not.  My own personal vet physically takes my cat to another room to do any and all procedures on her and I don't protest because I know that some things might look like she's hurting my beloved pet.  And some things may actually hurt her but are done for her own good.

But ripping wads of fur out with a comb and grabbing a cat by the tail is not acceptable.  I agree that this was "rough handling".  Unforgivable.

I'm sure the handling is the safest way to do it. That being said I think her demeanor had a lot to do with it as well. I'm hmm ot saying she needed to be all sunshine and rainbows, but a few kind words will go a long way.

When she ripped Beans fur out another lady was standing there watching with me. She was having her dog bathed. We both just looked at each other in shock.

I still haven't taken her to the groomer yet. I spoke with a more professional one the other day about getting her a spring-time lion cut. She needs one as i'm inundated with fur.

Ask for the shop owner or manager.  If they are not there have them return your call.  Explain the bad experience you had with the other groomer and I'm sure they will make sure to be extra careful with your Beans.  Lion clips can be tricky to execute properly.

Dandila said:

Ask for the shop owner or manager.  If they are not there have them return your call.  Explain the bad experience you had with the other groomer and I'm sure they will make sure to be extra careful with your Beans.  Lion clips can be tricky to execute properly.

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I'm not really sold on the idea of the Lion Cut. Mostly b/c i love the way she looks with her winter coat, i just can't stand the shedding. What would you recommend for Beans besides a good bath, gland expression, and sanitary shave?

For some reason i can't upload a better pic of her right now.

Here's a few pics of Beans

Beans is gorgeous! I'm sorry to hear she's had such a terrible time at the groomers. I have to take one of my cats in for a lion cut next week. I've asked the vet to sedate him and do it as there are no cat groomers in this area. I live in rural Japan, there's not much of anything around here.

It's almost spring and all my cats are starting to shed, I'm thinking of felting all the loose fur together and seeing if I have enough to make a Mongolian Ger in the backyard.

Beans looks like a cool cat!

Tis the season for fur everywhere.   Even my short hair has me scrambling!  The only thing other than a Lion Clip is a good bath and brushing/combing.  The bath will loosen a lot of the fur and as long as it's not matted it should comb out easily afterward.  

My cat is 19 years old and I don't want to stress her with a bath...she absolutely hates them...screams the entire time but I would be giving her a good bath if she wasn't such an old wuss.

bigperm20 said:

Here's a few pics of Beans

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The first picture is exquisite. He's a beautiful kitty.

Norachan said:

Beans is gorgeous! I'm sorry to hear she's had such a terrible time at the groomers. I have to take one of my cats in for a lion cut next week. I've asked the vet to sedate him and do it as there are no cat groomers in this area. I live in rural Japan, there's not much of anything around here.

It's almost spring and all my cats are starting to shed, I'm thinking of felting all the loose fur together and seeing if I have enough to make a Mongolian Ger in the backyard.

:lol3:

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What's a mongolian her norachan?
you know people do knit or weave or whatever the moulted fur?