Twitchy Cat

My cat Baby is 3 years old, she is mostly white with black patches. She had a really matted hair on her lower back, a few inches (3-4") from the base of her tail. This matted part is about 2" x 2".

Because I couldn't brush or cut it out, I took her to a grooming salon yesterday and they just shaved off that part.

So now she has a patch of bare skin about 2 x 3" with really short hair and the skin underneath is a bit pink.

I noticed now she is twitching a lot, especially that area that is shaved. She also develops some neurotic behavior, like twitchy jumps and runs.

Did I do something wrong when we cut that matted hair off? The skin is not broken but is it possible we screwed something up?

I would guess that it feels very different and her skin is irritated from the matting. She's probably getting used to not having a big knot pulling on her skin 24/7. 

Well, she was twitching and not herself at all today, not talking and not wanting to go out
I just checked her again and I saw broken skin on the top most part of where she was shaved. Not much at all but I'm sure it might hurt her.

Totally kicking myself.

I'm going to put an antibiotic ointment on it, hopefully she can't lick it.

Or maybe I should bandage her after I put the ointment on.

Don't use any human medications on your cat without speaking to the vet. Even if she can't lick it, which she probably can, it will be absorbing through her skin.

filomali said:

My cat Baby is 3 years old, she is mostly white with black patches. She had a really matted hair on her lower back, a few inches (3-4") from the base of her tail. This matted part is about 2" x 2".
Because I couldn't brush or cut it out, I took her to a grooming salon yesterday and they just shaved off that part.
So now she has a patch of bare skin about 2 x 3" with really short hair and the skin underneath is a bit pink.

I noticed now she is twitching a lot, especially that area that is shaved. She also develops some neurotic behavior, like twitchy jumps and runs.
Did I do something wrong when we cut that matted hair off? The skin is not broken but is it possible we screwed something up?

Click to expand...

filomali said:

Well, she was twitching and not herself at all today, not talking and not wanting to go out

I just checked her again and I saw broken skin on the top most part of where she was shaved. Not much at all but I'm sure it might hurt her.
Totally kicking myself.
I'm going to put an antibiotic ointment on it, hopefully she can't lick it.
Or maybe I should bandage her after I put the ointment on.

Click to expand...

Don't kick yourself! Probably because it was hard to determine how matted the hair was on her back, she likely got some 'razor burn' during the grooming process (as the pink skin, broken skin shows). Razor burn stings a bit; you'll need to make sure (1) it doesn't get infected inadvertently (check with your vet-- I agree with talkingpeanut), and (2) she doesn't lick it a lot, messing with the broken, irritated skin. Her skin should feel better in a few days. If you keep up with those things, and with combing her more(?), it will all work out for the best!
:heart3: