Hi All,

I had Casper castrated about 3 weeks ago and when he went in i asked that they cut out some matts that he wouldn't let me near. These matts originated from the previous owner i believe as i brush him almost every day. Then a couple of days later i picked him up to give him a cuddle and felt another one under his front leg, i have tried to get it but from what i can see it is causing him pain as it is pulling his skin. And whenever i went near it he bit me... so i asked my mum round as she has got cats and i held him and kept him calm whilst my mum attempted to cut away what she could. My problem is that the matt is so close to the skin i don't want to cut him as he gets restless when i am trying to do it so one slip and it would cut him. The matt is mostly cut out but you can still feel it.

Sorry for the rant... just wondered if anyone could advise me

Thanks in advance

__________________

My cat gets that a lot too, and I've found the only thing that helps is daily brushing under his arms/legs, and then to cut any lumps off with very small, sharp scissors while he's deeply asleep. Saves both of us a lot of grief!

__________________
Have a look at my website!

Fit for the sunshine so it followed her, a happy tempered bringer of the best, out of the worst.

Thanks for that, hes just so sensitive about me brushing his belly. He tries to bite me when i go near... What brush do you use?

Many Thanks

__________________

When you have your mum to help you, one of you scruff him [ hold him at his neck like his mother would have] firmly but gently [don't let his weight dangle or pull on him, support him underneath] if you do this right, hopefully you will have lifted his head [and teeth] up out of the way, and he might stay more still. Use small round tipped baby nail scissors if the mat is too bad to tease out.

__________________

Please Do NOT use SCISSORS on your cat!!

They make special grooming rakes and trimming/matt combs for this very thing. Cat's and rabbits have very delicate skin and should NEVER have scissors anywhere near them! Mikki makes some lovely de-matting combs. Have a search for de-matt combs and rakes online.

Please do not risk having a horrible accident with the scissors, they can do so much damage! Especially if you do it whilst they are sleeping!@!£$£@!! What if they get startled and you stab them??!?!?

it's not something i usually do believe me, i didn't like the idea either. but it was desperate and not having a long haired cat before i have got brushes for him but didn't know what to do... hes fine though don't worry...

thanks for the concern anyway

__________________

It might have been fine this time. But it makes a horrible mess when it's not fine! Please look into getting some de-matting tools for him. You could save him a very painful cut that will take ages to heal and could also scar him for life from being groomed. Not to mention if he licks it too much it could become infected and even cause him to self mutilate trying to clean it up.

Hi,

If you are really worried about these matts then possibly a visit to the vet for a trim while sedated is in order? That way you can start again with his coat and just groom him gently while the fur grows back.

I agree with the others using scissors is so very dangerous, and I know you would feel so terrible if you hurt him.

Best of luck

Izzie

__________________

Somebody on here suggested a stitch picker for unpicking hems etc.

I have used this for splitting matts. It is small and easy to manipulate.

That would be me lol, yes the stitch picker is very very good, I guess it depends on the matt though, some once you get the picker into the knot it will just break apart with the fingers.

It would be worth giving the cat some rescue remedy, a good few drops,leaving it 20 mins to take effect and then tackle the knots that way, I did this with one of my boys and it was fab. He sat there happily chilled out while I picked away and was sorted in ten mins minus the scratches and the bad language (off both of us).

Izzie

__________________