grooming problem

I have two long haired cats. Fida is a siberian and has 3 layers of furr and Cez is a maine coon/norvegian forest mix and has two layers of furr. 

Cez is white and orange, Fida's undercoat is white. We have white hair everywhere. not just clothes, but even on the towels, where they can't reach. It just floats around. When we pick them up, they leave clumps of hair on our clothes. 

Neither of them likes to be brushed. Cez gets scared very easily, we think he was beaten before. He will let us brush him more, but will get scared after a while and hide under the bed.

Fida will only allow you to brush her back and sides for 1-2 minutes, then she will start complaining loudly. If you keep going, she will run away and hide under the bed. 

Cez doesn't get mats, but Fida does from time to time. We also found some poop on her behind a while back, so we cut some of the furr there. Hasn't happened since. 

We feed them good food, they get vitamins as well and we are growing cat grass at the moment. Fida has puked a hairball or two so far, but not a lot and not often.

We use a normal metalic tiped brush and we also got an undercoat comb, but we never get to use that one. 

Any tips on brushing ? It would be nice to not have cat hair everywhere for a change. 

Thanks

I have a very shy cat who never liked to be held or carried, brushed etc.  I just kept at it.  I set up a folded blanket and left the brush there.  Any time she went on that blanket square I would brush her.  Now she goes there and calls out to be brushed.  Her brother comes over and pushes his way into be brushed.  Just be patient and try a little at a time.  I think your cats will eventually let you brush for longer periods and over more of their coats.

I have a vey similar problem. Mine is made worse by the fact my cat is a sweetheart but when angry will lash out. I have been wiping her by standing over her, lifting her hind legs and wiping.  Of course she very vocally expresses her dislike of this practice.

How were you able to cut some of the hair from your cats backside? I am getting frustrated with trying to keep her clean.  I wish there were some way to almost sedate her and then give her a thorough cleaning and shave!!

I had a cat that hated being brushed and it was always a fight. He did tolerate the grooming mitts very well though. The one I used was for horses and was a flexible rubber mitten with rubber 'pimples' all over it. Just put it on and stroke! There are 2 disadvantages though. The first is that it doesn't get into the undercoat, although it removes a surprising amount of fur. The second is that you do tend to end up with fur all over the place which you then have to collect.

There is an upside...the same mitt is fantastic at removing fur from upholstery.

My cat actually loves being brushed. It's the cleaning of her backside that I need help with.

Have you thought of giving her treats every time you clean her? Maybe positive association will help over time. Or else try distracting her. Something like a thin coating of pate (or similar ) on a plastic lid that you stick to the floor/table/wherever with double sided tape. Might keep her still and occupy her long enough to get the job done.
Bribery can work wonders

Ha ha. She does get treats each time. But she is pretty damn smart. Now she looks at me suspiciously when I give her treats. Especially if I am holding a wash cloth at the same time. I do like the pate idea though. I am also going to get her anal glands expressed. I had to do this once before when she was younger. A new diet and some grooming also. Thank for the tip.

my boyfriend did the cleaning of the backside. how we did it was simple, our cat does the "elevator butt" when you pet her, so he simply petted her and the cleaned the fur where necessary. 

We also give them treats after brushing. Fida doesn't lash out or scratch, but she cries a lot when you brush her