Grooming the crabby old lady

I have an older (about 16-18) cat who really needs some grooming. Unfortunately she also really hates to be groomed.  She tolerates subQ fluids and car rides better than a brush or comb.

She is not a long haired cat, but she does have arthritis and is not grooming herself very well these days.  She has developed clumps along her back - they are beginning to grow all the way down her spine in an odd looking version of a Mohawk.  If I pick at them while she eats she will grumble and growl, but allow it for very brief period.

When she was high on bupe for a UTI and eating I could sometimes get in a full minute.  Alas, we are out of opiates.

When she is really not in the mood she lets out a howl that sounds like she is being tortured - bad enough that I am concerned what the neighbors think is happening in the house.  As she also has high blood pressure, I get worried enough about her stress levels to not push the matter.

It can't be comfortable for her to go around like this.  I can't see taking this cat in to be groomed under sedation at her age.  Is it better to simply let it alone?  There simply no way anybody is going to be able to shave her.  She is not bluffing - she will attack with her claws and her teeth if pushed and, as I mentioned, I really am worried about her stress.

I did manage to get a comb under a few of the worst clumps to safely cut them off.  This was likewise unappreciated but nobody bled and it kept the protest down to one banshee yell and a lot of hissing.

Instead of a brush, how about one of those grooming gloves/mitts? Does she like to be petted? maybe this is a better option that way she'll feel like she's being petted instead of a brush/comb

I hate to say it, but it sounds like she may need to be shaved, or at least have the mats shaved off.  That's what we had to do with our "crabby old lady",  but her mats were mainly on her underside, so she could at least still curl up in a ball to keep herself warm. Plus afterwards I bought her a really high sided bed to help with that (keeping her warm).  She only used it until her fur grew back in.

This cat needs shaving some groomers will come to home,sounds like your vet will need to sedate vet may have groomer in shop to monitor cat. Sometimes skin breakdown under this type of matting,scissor can cut the skin so easily. Matt removal is such a relief to animal

I agree.  To let her continue to mat will only result in very, very uncomfortable skin issues for her,  She needs to be sedated for a good shave/clean up.  She may not like it . . . but she'll live.  If if were you, I'd call and speak to my vet.

Thanks

She enjoys pets around her head and neck, but not on the rest of her body.  She doesn't really like to be handled at all even under the best of circumstances.  She will sit or sleep beside you and likes to have her head or chin scratched for a bit - then will growl and let you know she is done.  Proceeding after that warning is pretty dangerous.  She likes the company, but mostly prefers to be pretty hands off.  The grooming mitts just don't get through the mats.  Her vet has been opposed to the sedation, but I can't just leave her in this state.

She normally has daily grooming sessions.  They don't go well and aren't enjoyable for anyone, but by sneaking them in while she eats her hamburger treat (her various meds are hidden in the meat) I can normally get in enough to at least get the spots she doesn't groom herself.  She was down for a long while with a nasty UTI and it was very difficult to handle her at all during that time.  After one cycle of antibiotics did nothing for her we moved onto a different medication which eventually cleared it up but this has been one of the consequences of that time.

We have an appointment with a different vet today, as the vet she has been seeing has been relatively unconcerned, and we don't seem to be getting anywhere.  Hopefully this vet will be more open to the sedation as I just don't see any other way to get it done.

I am afraid I don't have any experience in the problem of this aged cat but to me her reactions make me think the old lady is in pain when handled and touched.  More so if her behaviour has been new for a while after having been easy going and acceptIng  grooming in the past. .   Reminds me of a case I used to know of an old man ,not quite  right on his head, who refused to be touched until it was realized he was suffering from some kind of  sickness.    I was living  in England at the time many years ago so that I don't remember the details, I'm afraid,  but I do remember that it was sometime before it was realized that the problem was physical and not mental. Has the vet given her a thorough examination?

I am glad you are having her examined by a new vet. The old lady's reactions suggest she might be  in pain or feels pain when handled or touched. Good luck.

thanks - she has never, as far as I am aware (I adopted her within the last year so I have little history) been easy to handle.  She has not previously been quite this fractious, but she has always preferred contact and affection on her own terms.  She has sat on my lap one time, but she does like to sit beside me.  She will give me love bites and nose bumps and will sleep on a pillow beside mine but isn't really much of a cuddler.  I think her arthritis has been getting worse, making it more and more difficult to groom herself and I am hoping that once I get the current situation under control I will be able to get in short but frequent grooming sessions to keep it from getting this bad again.  Another UTI like the last could throw that plan to the wind though - if she is sometimes fractious now, even on the bupe she could easily have been mistaken for a feral.

She will get her grooming done under sedation this week - it was the earliest I could  get her with the vet I was most comfortable with.  Hopefully this will make her more comfortable, though I do believe we are going to need to find a better answer to her arthritis related pain.  She is a different cat when she has a buprenorphine prescription, but even then just isn't much of a cuddler.  She is affectionate but shows it more by wanting to be near or beside you than to be pet and cuddled.

I am glad she could be groomed under sedation. It does seem that she is in pain when handled that being the reason she doesn't welcome too much cuddling.  She is lucky to have you caring and doing your best to help her. I hope the vet will be able to find a way to soothe her pain.  

If the mats are so bad they are pulling at her skin, once they are shaved off, that in itself should make her feel much better.  She may even be in less pain and welcome some cuddling.  However, some cats simply don't like cuddling.  Our own crabby old lady never, ever liked to be held, and it was not until her 15th year that she even crawled onto our laps.  She always loved to be petted though, but she was always on the floor, never on our laps or in our arms, or even on the couch.  She was a silly little cat.  And I did learn as she got older when I would pet her just to avoid her spine and hips, just in case, even though she never showed any signs of arthritis.  So I would rub on either side of her spine, and stop just short of her hips.

One thing arthritic cats really enjoy is heat.  If you could get her a heated bed, I'm sure she would love it.   Are you giving her the Bup all the time?  You mentioned she is a different cat when she has it, am that made me wonder if she doesn't get it all the time?  If not, is there a reason?  Anyway, there are more than one medicines to use on arthritic cats...something obviously you can discuss with your Vet.