Cat coat needs sorting

[Sargan]

Just taken in my parents adult cat ... long haired version.
Not been groomed in many months - if ever.
Loads of dead undercoat ... slowly brushing it out, masses of the stuff coming out .... but lots of hard matted balls of hair.
Especially on belly and on rear legs where hair is really long.

What is best way to sort these out .... I could cut them out ... not easy and obvious risk.
Brushing is not working.
Tried several grooming places - they only do dogs.

Any of these options recommended -
# electric detangling combs (with blades)
# detangle/underhair rake
# detangling sprays

I’m in UK if anyone knows of good product solution.

I’m in UK if anyone knows of good product solution.

Also any grooming product to bring coat back into a good clean state ... after which hope the cat will be able to look after itself with just a little grooming from us.

[booktigger]

You may be best taking him/her to the vets, shaving may be the best option. How old is the cat?

[alanc]

I agree with Booktigger - a trip to the vet for a shave is probably the least stressful option. From experience with my long haired Tilly, the detangling combs work OK for maintenance purposes, but are a trail for the cat if trying to deal with bad tangles and mats. The shampoo stuff is totally useless, in my experience!
There are some pet groomers around who do cats, so may be worth trying a few more of them.

[Ruth B]

I can only second what the others have said, a trip to the vets and a shave would be the best option, then with regular grooming you should be able to keep them tangle free.

I used to have a Ragdoll which I got from a rescue organisation, when i first had him he had been partly shaved as his previous owners had obviously not had the time to groom him for a few months at least, (they were going through a messy divorce). He soon learnt to love being groomed and 5 minutes with a comb each day was enough to keep the tangles at bay, I just kept a couple around the house so when ever he came for a fuss or to sit on a knee he got a bit of grooming as well.

Be wary of trying too hard yourself, however good your intentions may be, if you start to pull him or even cut him slightly trying to cut the matts out he will remember and it will be harder to keep him tangle free in the future as he will associate being groomed with pain.

[Sargan]

No idea how old cat is ....
It wandered into my parents house a few years ago and stayed.

I have booked vets for tomorrow - hope this cat does not start costing me too much .... my sister had an alternate view, just lock it out of the parents house - it will soon wander off and adopt somewhere else. So trying to do what is right.

[Ruth B]

I don't like to speak bad about someone family, but maybe someone should tell her to go to the park and shelter under a tree for a couple of hours in this weather to see if she likes it.

Thank you for doing the right thing and looking after the cat. The cat will cost you a bit to start with, dematting, a general health check, flea and worm treatment (please get these from the vets, the pet shop ones are no where near as good and some cats have had bad reactions to them), part of it depends on how much your parents looked after them. I am assuming the cat has been spayed or neutered, if it hadn't been i think you would have known, an unspayed female will go into heat every few weeks or produce a lot of kittens over the years, and an unneutered tom can normally be recognised by the smell if nothing else, if he hasn't been done then contact your local charities as they may be able to help with that cost, I know Cats Protection run campaigns around me a lot offering to help with neutering costs, in the end it is cheaper than ending up with loads of kittens.

Once the initial costs are out of the way there are the day to day costs of food, litter and flea/worming treatments (most of us don't apply those as often as it says on the box), but you will hopefully have a healthy cat that won't cost a fortune each month, you might also check with your vets some do run plans where you pay monthly and the cat gets all regular treatment included or at a reduced rate. The problem with neglecting them is that when something does go wrong it gets very expensive, it's much cheaper to keep them healthy than to cure later. I will also say shop around pricing at vets can vary enormously. Even though you have it booked in for dematting, you don't need to stay there afterwards if you think their price are too extortionate, my own vet is very reasonable for general maintenance care, check ups, vaccines etc, but can get very expensive for more extensive treatment, particularly if it more cosmetic than required for the health of the animal.

I admit I am referring to your cat as 'he' even though it might be 'she', but using 'it' makes it sound like an inanimate object devoid of feelings not a living, breathing, feeling individual.

[MarySkater]

One of my cats is semi-longhaired. She's too wriggly to groom much, although I do run a brush over her if I can get her to keep still. I also check her coat with my hands, so that if she is starting a mat, I can spot it before it gets too big or too tight to the skin. In that case, I use an electric clipper which can just lift the mat out safely with no tugging on the skin. This is my clipper:
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Codos-CP-8000- ... 160&sr=8-3
-- but there are a lot of them on Amazon.

I got her used to the clipper gradually, before I used it on her. And if I need to take a mat out, I smear some creamy treat on a bowl so she's busy licking it up and keeps still for me. But given that you're dealing with long-term neglect, I agree with everyone who says, let a vet sort it out to begin with. Then you'll be able to keep on top of it yourself.

[booktigger]

The only problem you may have is that if he/she isn't used to being groomed, they may not tolerate it. I agree with you Ruth about referring to cats as 'it'.

[Lilith]

I'm sure I've heard of vets sedating a nervous cat for shaving - stands to reason, same as Xrays; it's going to save a lot of struggling and distress.

Lol the term 'it' is an endearment in this house, such as 'What's it doing, coming purring like this?' But I know what you mean.

[booktigger]

Yes, that's why some groomers won't do it, my neighbours cat has been fully shaved under anaesthetic

[Sargan]

using 'it' makes it sound like an inanimate object devoid of feelings not a living, breathing, feeling individual.

I appreciate a cat lover might not like my view ... but It's a cat to me ...... I phoned vet today, they asked me to register ...
what is cat's name - no idea
what sex is it - no idea
what breed is it - no idea


It's a long haired black & white cat ... all I really know.

I am trying to do the right thing here .... my sister wanted to just turf it out, my wife wanted to pass in on to a cats home - I didn't want a cat, but I am trying to do what is best for it, and my parents will be happier.

It is very affectionate, sitting on my lap while I'm typing this ....
Maybe I'll give it a name .... just calling it 'cat' at the moment.

[alanc]

A high class moggy cat, obviously! Given the cats history, may I suggest you ask the vet to scan him for a chip, just in case?

[fjm]

Many cats start out as Cat and It and wriggle their way into hearts and homes. You are doing the right thing by making the cat comfortable, and easing your parents' minds. Inevitably we tend on here to be heavily invested in our animals, but a cat that is fed, groomed, has all necessary routine vet care and a warm place to sleep is already better off than many. Add in a comfy lap and friendly humans, and it is in the top 10%. Lets not let the perfect get in the way of the very good!

[Lilith]

A vet will be able to sex Cat - I take it there's too much 'foliage' in the way to tell at a glance.

And a cat, loved and cared for, won't care what on earth it's called.

I once had a very naughty kitten who got the nickname of 'Cookie'. Short for 'Cooking Fat' ...

[Sargan]

Cat been 'clipped' by Vet
Its a female, estimated 6-8 yrs old
Not chipped
In very good health ...... and so friendly and unstressed they were able to shave off the matting without anaesthetic.

Looks a bit of a mess at moment - but it will grow back.

[Lilith]

Aww bless her, good girl!

What are you going to call her then? 'Grace' after Grace Jones? 'Jane' after 'GI Jane'? Or just 'Tank Cat'?

She'll be much more comfortable now

[Sargan]

When we went back to Vet to pick it up they said ... Rosy is ready.
I asked why that name and they said the vet has named her - so as good as any.

[Ruth B]

Glad to hear she is doing well and she will feel much better with all the matts gone.

I've never been too fussed about what names my cats have, most have been rescues so i kept the names they came with unless it was a repeat of another cat i had had, so Rosy is as good as anything.

[MarySkater]

Good news. Rosy will be happier. A very soft brush might be in order at the moment, to get her used to being groomed while she doesn't have much fur.

[booktigger]

Aww, that's good. She should be fine being brushed then

[alanc]

Welcome Rosy! Seems a good name. I have never seen any need to change the names any of my cats came with and they certainly have not been bothered. Doubt if she is looking any more messy than my Tilly did after her illness in May when she came home with shaven tummy, backside, neck and foreleg - it did make grooming this summer a lot easier! Takes about 3 months for the fur to grow back.

[Sargan]

Follow up Q ...
There is a lot of straggly hair ... messy.
Never owned a long haired cat ... do I need something to trim and keep neat?

Legs look like she is wearing feather leggings and white blaze on chest is about twice length of all other hair.
Strangely. (It seems to me anyway) long hairs under the rear feet.

Know there are all sorts of combs with blades and various trimmers ... but not sure what is normally used.

[Ruth B]

My suggestion would be to start with a nice soft brush for where the hair is growing back, you don't wan't to hurt Rosy as it will make grooming her in the future all the harder. I would suggest something like this would be fine.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Pecute-Double- ... 3A401RHN7D

For the areas where the hair is still long and for when it's grown back then something like
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Rosewood-Prote ... nd+brushes
would be good. This type of two length comb we found was the best thing for grooming Blue, our Ragdoll, a few minutes each day, normally when he was sat on a knee or relaxed on the bed was enough to keep it under control. You will also find that Rosy herself will do probably do her best to look after it now it's not such and overwhelming job for her. One of the advantages of regular grooming is that she won't ingest so much of her own fur and so you will have fair less problems with her having hair balls brought up.

Blue had fur between all his toes and under his feet and it never gave him a problem, except when he had to stop suddenly on laminate floor and found he had no traction. Concentrate on grooming the body and the top of the legs and she should be fine.

[MarySkater]

I have a long haired cat, and the only time I use a trimmer is if I find a mat developing, and it's the easiest way to remove it. Otherwise, I just let the fur grow to its own length, and accept that I'll always be cleaning shed fur from the carpet. Long hair on the feet is common - we tend to call it tufty toes! Keep an eye on the back end, in case feces get caught and caked there. If that happens, you may need to resort to a sponge and warm water to clean it.

[Sargan]

Update on this post .... and I know I got admonished in this thread not naming, the vets name of Rosy, got dropped after a coup[le of days, my wife decided she was now to be known as 'Tilly'

Anyway a story for those that are interested, for 3 months my wife or I visited my parents house twice a day to feed their cat, when it became obvious my parents would not be able to return home we moved their cat in with us.
My father advised the cat was a good boy, he had just wandered into their house with their own cat about 5 year’s previously and stated. I had the vet check him over and found he was in fact a she ... became ‘Tilly’ that day.
Her long fur was full of knots .. felt like marbles all over.
Had the vet shave out the worst, and spent many weeks working on this ... but ended up with super silky knot free fur.
I have never been a cat person but she decided on day 1 that she was for me .... be waiting at the foot of the stairs every morning, when I returned home be waiting at the door, as soon as I sat in the lounge she would jump up on my lap.
Had this idiosyncrasy of head butting my hand when she wanted to be smoothed behind her ears.
My wife thought she followed me around like a dog, if I was in the garden she followed, working in my study she came and sat there waiting for me.
When she wanted feeding just sat perfectly still in front of her food bowl ...
Our aged cat (we found as a few weeks old kitten in a hedge) was not happy, and for weeks they would go way out of the way to avoid being near each other, but acceptance developed, each morning when both were fed, our old cat quickly ate her food and would then go sit alongside Tilly as soon as she left her bowl, in he would go to finish off.
Strangely they would go to each other’s bowls for water ... never their own.
Leading up to the bank holiday, for 3 days she did not eat, took her to the vets, blood tests, due to lockdown we waited outside ... he came out to say, "sorry cat has renal failure and has to be put to sleep."
Did I want to be there .... yes I did ..... he brought her in .. in her basket and she was so pleased to see me, head butting my hand, I smoothed her ears as the vet injected the drugs.
Awful to be there and see the life leave the body, but I made the decision to put her to sleep, she always wanted to be with me, only fitting I should be there for her at the end.
Tilly even though must have been very ill, never once was unclean in the house, was always so perfectly behaved.
I have never been so affected by the loss of an animal, for nearly 2 weeks every time I closed my eyes I could see her, I lost loads of sleep, when I walked in the lounge each morning ... my eyes would go to where she would be.

She wasn’t my cat, but no doubt about she adopted me, and her loss affected me.
She had best part of 18 months with us, we gave her great attention & had in return affection & trust.
For days our other cat a 22 yr old seemed to be searching for her. So missed by him as well.

My fathers questions every time we speak are, how is my wife, how are the kids and how is the moggy. Once lockdown is over, and I can speak face to face I have to tell him I had to put his cat to sleep.
Painful.

[Mollycat]

They get you in the end, the hardest heart can't stay unmelted by the constant assault of a cat demanding to be loved. Perhaps your feelings about Tilly at the start contribute to how deeply you feel her loss now. Sounds like in such a short time Tilly leaves you a very different person to how she found you, and right there is her legacy and her place forever in your heart. It's not the years in the life but the life in the years and it seems she did a great job of making a big, big impression on your parents and on you.