Jessica is 11 months old, a rescued moggie with long(ish) hair. Last night we found a lump under her front leg while the OH was rushing around in a panic I investigated and found it to be a matt of hair which was duly removed. I'm now paranoid and am building up the courage to fully examine her for more lumps.

We try to brush her but she is such a whinge about it, it definately is not one of her favourite things and normally at least one of us parents comes out scratched to bits.

So my question... how on earth do you brush a cat who doesn't want to be brushed? At the moment it takes one of us holding her and the other brushing madly while Jess whinges like we are torturing her.

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Proud mum to Tiffany, Bellinda and Jessica

hi maybe try treats and on the matt itself so the brush isnt tugging at it use a matt splitter which breaks up the matt so it can be removed easier and less painfully probably just try brushing every so often for the cat to get used to it but where you dont tug at every matt each time putting her off and expecting it to be painful the next time she gets brushed dont know if this info will help at all but thought id try you can also get detangling spray etc which may help to matt to become lose and come out easier

She will occasionally let us brush her for about 30 seconds before running off but she really needs a good going over.
Might have made a bit of a break through I just got her with a different brush, never seen so much hair come out her, got more done in 1 min with this one than ever before I think. She still wasn't amused though. It also looks like she might be changing her coat, not just moulting for summer but I think she might still have kitten fur (is this possible at 11 months?) as this is what seems to be coming out when we brush her. Maybe once her coat changes she won't look so scruffy.

Good idea with the treats, I'll give it a go, but not today think she has had enough.

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Proud mum to Tiffany, Bellinda and Jessica

I had a long haired cat when I was younger and he hated being groomed but we just did a little bit every day and gave treats, but we as a family often had shredded hands after a session with the cat.

By the way she is absolutely stunning

None of mine are long haired but one does have a problem with over grooming so we have to brush him dailey to stop the build up of lose hair, else he'll swallow the lot and bring up the hugest fur balls known to man.

I swear by the furminator, wouldn't be without it now and I tend to sit on the floor with him, let him walk around me and brush him as he's moving, it's a little harder to brush and takes longer but he enjoys it and purrs away, where as if I grab him and try to hold him he creates and wriggles like mad.

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The key to brushing a cat is to find a brush that agrees with them. Even if she needs a good hard brushing through, start with a soft brush like a baby's brush. It feels a lot nice & feels more like being petted than brushed.

I have 3 brushes, a soft nylon bristle one, a fine wire one and a plastic one, I had been using the wire one as the bristles just bend so it doesn't tug. Today I used the plastic one which is not at all flexible and gives the best brush, just now she's sleeping next to me and I used the soft nylon one after a minute she starts biting it and rolling over to attack it/me.

She has never been hurt she's just very independent and everything has to be on her terms. Its fine for her to keep us awake at night when she comes for cuddles and suckles our hands but its not ok for us to want to stroke or brush her

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Proud mum to Tiffany, Bellinda and Jessica

I wouldnt use a brush at all!

I have a persian rescue but ive had plenty of other fosters who have been in bad shape with their coats.


Now what i would do first is clip her claws short lol. Do this the day before you attempt any brushing as it allows the ends to fully blunt off and so less likely to damage you if she does scratch.

Then i would invest in a couple of combs. 1 x greyhound comb with fine and wide teeth and 1 x flea comb. I would then invest in a matt splitter (which cuts the matt into smaller chunks without cutting the skin).


Find her trigger food (the food that to her is like heroin to an addict). It could be chicken, it could be fish, it could be dried sausage. When you have something she REALLY loves, then hold the treat while combing. Comb the areas that are easy to get to first, slowly increasing the time. Eventually you will be able to go all over her. She will learn to associate the grooming with something pleasant.

My persian girl submits well to grooming but she complains the whole way through, you should hear her grumbling and moaning with every stroke lol, but she never reacts more than that, and munches on her pieces of dried duck!

hope it helps xx

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i have a dog brush for graycie that slips over your hand and looks like something you would use to groom a horse as she doesnt like brushes but she likes this. i think its because it looks like i am just going to pet her

Mine are all short hair....but I find a two pronged approach works best....Zoom Groom rubber brush in one hand and Furrminator in the other. Normally removes enough hair to knit a spare cat.