Matted Feral Cat

[Diane Salter]

We are not able to trap our female feral. We are thinking this is due to the trama of being traped prior to be fixed. She lives in a heated house on our property and is feed twice a day but she will not allow anyone near her. Her back is so matted and it looks like her coat is actually pulling off. I have watched her go in circles trying to get to the mat as it must be hurting her. We have tried giving her gabapentin hoping to relax her enough to get her but that has not worked. Do you have any suggestions? Thank you .

 

[Furballsmom]

Hi, welcome!

I've read that Kentucky fried chicken, or smelly sardines or mackerel can often get wily ferals into a trap.

 

[wingwalker]

This is a long term solution for feral cat maintenance: Invest in a good trap, one with a guillotine door at the bait end. Rig it up so it doesn't spring. (depending on the mechanism you'll need a tie or a stick). Start feeding in front of the trap. Move the food gradually to the back. It might take a long time, but that is okay, no rush. Mats are uncomfortable, but don't kill a cat. Once the cat goes all the way inside to eat, you CAN set the trap trap. But I would still wait until the cat has eaten inside the trap for at least several weeks. Why? Because I would make this a regular thing, not just for the dematting. And maybe wait until summer to shave her down. Mats will eventually peel off. It is not fun for the cat, but there are worse things in life. Before you set the trap, make an appointment with the vet. She will need to be sedated for the shave. Make sure she gets a good check-up and vaccines updated while she is there. It might be a good idea to have the option to proceed to a dental cleaning if needed. Discuss this with your vet, and let them know that she cannot be handled without sedation. This has to be emphasized, I had a staff member who tried to pull a feral out of a trap to get a weight and vitals... that didn't end well.

 

[Furballsmom]

Mats will eventually peel off.

I've seen cats where, (depending on the type of fur), where the mats just continue to get worse especially if it's that cottony, almost sticky type. Maybe they don't kill a cat directly but the skin conditions, sores, infections etc can.

 

[wingwalker]

Yes, not saying they are no biggy, but for a long-term solution I would do trap training and continuous trap feeding, because a single dematting is not going to permanently take care of the problem. A feral cat that is used to eating in the trap for months and years is more likely not to become trap-shy after being trapped once a year for maintenance. Conditioning will facilitate care in the long run. For a long-haired cat I recommend a full-body shave in early summer. Every year. At that occasion, other things (like vaccines or dentistry) can be addressed as needed.