Should I have my long haired cat shaved?

Hello everyone, I have a beautiful ragdoll baby with glorious long fur. He is a big boy. Lately he has been matting up pretty badly. I try my best to comb him everyday and remove the matts safely. Lately it's been hard to keep up. The hair on his chest aka his lions mane has gotten so long that he obsessively licks it and it kind of gets stuck in his mouth.

I am wondering if the best thing to do for him is to have a groomer come over and give him the lion cut. Would he be cold? I live in Florida so it's pretty warm year round.

I would love to hear opinions on shaving cats and weather it's the best thing to do here. Thank you.

My long haired cat, Forest, gets a lion cut once a year. He doesn't like being groomed but the only time this is a problem is around February ~ March when his fur gets to it's full length. We have very cold winters here, I think that is why his coat gets extra long.

He gets shaved every April. I ask the vet not to shave his tail as I've heard this takes forever to grow back. It never gets matted anyway.

As long as you live in a warm climate it should be OK to have a lion cut now.

Does your cat struggle when you try to groom him? Forest gets a mild sedative before his haircut.

Here are his before and after pictures. He always seems much happier after he's been shaved. I think those mats must be uncomfortable.

So long as it's not too cold that's fine. Agree with not shaving the tail, my friend used to shave her Persian in the summer and one year she did his tail. He couldn't work out why this strange thing was following him everywhere.

Charlies Mom said:

Hello everyone, I have a beautiful ragdoll baby with glorious long fur. He is a big boy. Lately he has been matting up pretty badly. I try my best to comb him everyday and remove the matts safely. Lately it's been hard to keep up. The hair on his chest aka his lions mane has gotten so long that he obsessively licks it and it kind of gets stuck in his mouth.

I am wondering if the best thing to do for him is to have a groomer come over and give him the lion cut. Would he be cold? I live in Florida so it's pretty warm year round.

I would love to hear opinions on shaving cats and weather it's the best thing to do here. Thank you.

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Since you're in Florida, I'd say go for it. I tried to have it done on my 2 Persian females. Key word in that sentence is TRIED. 

They were not having it. My Lilith already thinks she is a 5 pound lion. She took down 3 grown men who wanted to give her back to me the way she was. She was not matted or anything, I was looking to prevent it. After pleading from me. they managed to give her the sanitary shave and that's it. She also got us banned from that groomer. 

My Sophie was a little better but she also let them know that she was not having the lion cut. 

After you get the lion cut done, make sure that you get her used to regular grooming ASAP. She will still need it for the areas that are not shaved. 

We'd LOVE to see pictures of him!! 

Norachan said:

ForestCat56.jpg

• Norachan
• Jan 5, 2017

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  I just love Forest   He's so gorgeous.   

Thanks everyone. I just want to do what is best for him. And I feel that he's uncomfortable with matts and hair getting in his mouth. It breaks my heart to shave his beautiful coat.

He's never been to a professional groomer, and he only tolerates it when I groom him. So fingers crossed it goes well.

My mom got her cat groomed bcz he was getting dandruff really bad and it was suggested by the vet. He did really well and looked so funny bcz he's huge lol if I can find the pic I will post it

Kat0121 said:

  I just love Forest   He's so gorgeous. :love:  :9:

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Thanks for this. Makes me feel better about doing it. Forrest is so majestic. Even with the lion cut he looks great.

Norachan said:

My long haired cat, Forest, gets a lion cut once a year. He doesn't like being groomed but the only time this is a problem is around February ~ March when his fur gets to it's full length. We have very cold winters here, I think that is why his coat gets extra long.

He gets shaved every April. I ask the vet not to shave his tail as I've heard this takes forever to grow back. It never gets matted anyway.

As long as you live in a warm climate it should be OK to have a lion cut now.

Does your cat struggle when you try to groom him? Forest gets a mild sedative before his haircut.

Here are his before and after pictures. He always seems much happier after he's been shaved. I think those mats must be uncomfortable.

ForestCat50.jpg

• Norachan
• Jan 5, 2017

ForestCat56.jpg

• Norachan
• Jan 5, 2017

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Oh my goodness Forrest is so gorgeous, even looks good with the haircut. He tolerates it when I groom him, he doesn't enjoy it, but he lets it happen. So hopefully he will let the groomer do her thing.

Here you can see the exsessive licking of the mane.

He's a beautiful cat! Love that furry tummy.

If he is matted badly enough, I'd go for the shave. However, if not that bad, you could inquire about just a trim to shorten the length.

How cats were created is how cats should be, whether longhaired, shorthaired, or semi-hairless.  Grooming is essential in all hair lengths, whether with brush, comb, Furminator, or bath (for the "hairless" breeds).  Personally, I would never consider having a cat shaved except in situations where the matting is so severe as to be un-combable/un-brushable.

Charlies Mom said:

Thanks everyone. I just want to do what is best for him. And I feel that he's uncomfortable with matts and hair getting in his mouth. It breaks my heart to shave his beautiful coat.

He's never been to a professional groomer, and he only tolerates it when I groom him. So fingers crossed it goes well.

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Our outdoor cat Pixie gets shaved every summer at the groomer. She absolutely loves it. (She doesn't know she looks like ET afterwards.)

Gorgeous, both ways.

Maybe after his initial groomer shaving you can keep him Furminated and/or brushed and matt-free!  It isn't always easy with longhairs, especially if they have a cottony undercoat, I know.  But hope you can. 

I wonder if you could just take the mats out and then trim an inch or two of length off his fur instead of just a straight off shave? I have had longhaired kitties in the past and just loved all that fluff.   Sure, it's a bit of a pain in upkeep but a well kept coat is gorgeous. 

Were debating this currently as well.  Vet told us that we can just cut the mats out and a full shave isn't necessary.  We're thinking just doing a sanitary trim to prevent dingleberries

I got tired of the struggle of trying to keep the mats in check .  My cat  hates the furminator so I bought electric trimmers and plan on shaving them off this afternoon.