Mats

[emme]

I have a 13 year old long haired cat I got when she was 10.  I brush her regularly but still miss the occasional small mat that I simply trim away.  Recently I discovered a bigger mat on her chest by her armpit area.  She detests being combed but I gave it my best shot.  After 15 min or so I gave up and decided to trim it.  I thought I got it all but last night I was rubbing her chest and found the area that had the mat is now a quarter sized area that is very hard.  No way I can trim it more closely and I don't see how it could be shaved without ripping the skin.  It's on there pretty tightly.  Will this grow out at all so I can shave it or trim it away, or does she need some other type of attention?  She doesn't seem to be bothered in the least by this but I don't want it to cause a sore and become a problem.  Thanks for any help!

Emme

 

[red top rescue]

Usually a mat like that gets worse, not better.  It gets tighter and tighter to the skin and starts pulling it and eventually she can get a sore under it.  You could keep working on it with your fingers and some short blunt nosed scissors, cutting off a little bit of the TOP of it, making sure not to get close to her skin because it's really easy to cut them.  If you keep cutting the mat a little closer to her body every day, pretty soon you can work some of the hairs out with your fingers and maybe get it to the point where you can get it all out.  If that doesn't work, you can get it shaved at the vet's office.

Most longhaired cats need to be bathed at least once a year to prevent matting, and this time of year they are shedding their undercoats and mats are more frequent as the loose hair from underneath gets tangled in the longer hair and cannot escape.  Since she hates being groomed, this would be a great time for her to get a real bath at the groomers if you can't do it yourself.  You should also have a metal comb with long round teeth that are wider apart at one end to comb her with, as that will remove that undercoat as she sheds it out.  I used to have one that actually had a cutting blade on the inside of one end, designed to be used to work out mats.  Once she is properly bathed and dried and combed out, she will be a lot less likely to get mats.  Think of it this way -- how long can you go without washing your hair before it starts to tangle and turn into dreadlocks?  Humans can't go much more than a week, but cats tongues strip off extra oil when they groom their hair.  Longhairs can't reach the undercoat with their tongues, however, so bathing is necessary from time to time.  A good rule of thumb is that if your longhair cat is starting to mat, she should be bathed.  They shed a lot after a bath so you will have to groom more diligently foor about a week and then all that undercoat will be gone.

Otherwise, you could do it the simple way and just get her a "lion cut" for the summer.  I have a friend who did this for her semi-longhaired cat because he hates being groomed.  Now you can see his flabby belly, but he's all set for the hot Georgia summer and by fall, his coat will have grown back all new and healthy.

samson_lion_cut_2015.jpg

• red top rescue
• Jun 1, 2015

 

[posiepurrs]

I agree bathing does help, but all mats must be removed before the bath or they will just dry tighter and be more difficult to remove. I would never brush a long haired cat. Combing (in my humble opinion) is the only way to get entirely down to the skin. A brush only gets the top coat.

 

[Kat0121]

I have 2 long haired cats and an arsenal of tools to groom them with. You might want to try one of these. Sophie had a stubborn mat on her and I used this to "pick" at it until I was able to remove it. 


I also have one of these. The top side is sharp and the rounded underside is not  so you'd essentially be going underneath the mat to cut it out with this


Once the mat is gone, you want to comb a long haired cat though. This is a good one 

 

[emme]

Thank you for your responses.  I have that exact comb for her but she hates it.  I usually keep her pretty mat free but she's just started her major shed and I somehow missed this one in her armpit.  I don't think I'll be able to work it out.  It's cut pretty short and it's really tight against her skin.  It's hard as a rock and feels almost like a scab.  I'm going to make an appointment with the vet for Saturday to get that part shaved.  I can't get her calm enough to spend the time required to detangle this thing.  I'm not sure what kind of home she came from but she hates being held or picked up or restrained in any way.  Combing is always an event.  Thanks again.