Any hints on removing matted fur from a cat?

[FergieTCat]

Besides cutting it off, does anyone have any experience with removing matted fur?

Google tells me that I should work baby oil into the mat and it should loosen it so I can comb it out. Does this work, or will Fergie end up with matted fur covered in baby oil?

She's a short-haired cat and there's only one mat near her butt. No, I don't want to guess what it is , I just want to try to remove it without hurting her.

As always, any advice would be greatly appreciated!

 

[beck0321]

I think I would have to write that off as a lost cause!

I wouldn't want to use oil on my cats' back because their backs are oily as it is and I can't get THAT to go away even when I wash them.

I know to prevent the mat, the Furminator brush is supposed to work. I have one, but we don't use it very often because it pulls out enough hair to make another cat!!!

 

[Squirrel!!!]

My best guess is that the baby oil will not work, and you will have a horrid mess at the end. Additionally your kitty will lick off the baby oil which is really just fragranced mineral oil, which will act as a GI lubricant.....

Those big short haired mats can be really hard to remove. Having a groomer shave it off is often the best/easiest choice, but if not that, I would recommend buying a mat splitter. It is a specialized comb/brush instrument thing. (I am ever so clear, yes?) that you can get at a pet store. It is called that. It has cutting blades that lets you kind of dig through the matted hair and tear it out while cutting it simultaniously. It can be called a dematting comb or dematting rake.

It is what the groomer uses next door to the Vet Clinic where I work to get through those things if the cat will allow it. If the cat is having a hairy canary, she just shaves them off.

You have to be super careful regardless since it is super thick and almost like felt, as you have undoubtedly noticed.


Word to the wise:do not attack it with scissors. I have sewn up many cats and dogs with home hair cuts done with scissors. Oops. Good luck!!!

 

[NotUrsula]

Pet stores sell a special tool called a mat-splitter. It looks like a small scythe, about as big as your hand. The inside edge of the blade is sharp but the other edge is dull, so that you can work the tool under the mat and cut it by working upward.

http://www.amazon.com/Safari-Splitter-Dogs-Stainless-Steel/dp/B000NJHV78

I never could put anything liquid on my cat for this purpose; if it was wet she wasn't having anything to do with it! I always just worked on them dry, a little bit at a time, because no matter how careful you are you will end up pulling the skin at least a bit.

 

[FergieTCat]

Thanks for the info.

I didn't consider that she'd lick the baby oil. Yuck, a leaky cat!

I don't think I'd feel comfortable using a mat splitter, as it sounds like I could seriously hurt her if she started to squirm.

I'll ask the vet what he thinks the next time we go.

 

[luvmy3]

Thanks for the info.

I didn't consider that she'd lick the baby oil. Yuck, a leaky cat!

I don't think I'd feel comfortable using a mat splitter, as it sounds like I could seriously hurt her if she started to squirm.

I'll ask the vet what he thinks the next time we go.

My very large cat had some matted fur that she couldn't reach to clean so when I took her to the vet , he took out one of those fine toothed metal combs and basically combed (as in ripped) it out. I felt awful for her, there is no way that didn't hurt.

 

[Squirrel!!!]

My very large cat had some matted fur that she couldn't reach to clean so when I took her to the vet , he took out one of those fine toothed metal combs and basically combed (as in ripped) it out. I felt awful for her, there is no way that didn't hurt.

Depending on how extensive, sometimes just picking at it with a metal flea comb can get it out. It is just the dead hair that shed and dander all tangled into the fur like felt...makes a thick mat of hair though.

It must be pretty uncomfortable too.

 

[SaraJayne]

My very large cat had some matted fur that she couldn't reach to clean so when I took her to the vet , he took out one of those fine toothed metal combs and basically combed (as in ripped) it out. I felt awful for her, there is no way that didn't hurt.

Yikes!!

Whenever one of our kitties had matted fur, I just cut it carefully out. It will grow back.

 

[scrapquitler]

Besides cutting it off, does anyone have any experience with removing matted fur?

Google tells me that I should work baby oil into the mat and it should loosen it so I can comb it out. Does this work, or will Fergie end up with matted fur covered in baby oil?

She's a short-haired cat and there's only one mat near her butt. No, I don't want to guess what it is , I just want to try to remove it without hurting her.

As always, any advice would be greatly appreciated!

I have a Maine Coon who tends to get mats on the back of his neck where he can't reach. I try to get it out with the furminator (BEST THING I EVER BOUGHT, BTW), and if I can't get it with that, I very very carefully use a pair of baby nail scissors.

 

[Hannathy]

I use a pair of good kids scissors (fiskars) with a rounded tip and a metal comb and start at the outer edge snip a bit of the fur and then start separating the mat from the good fur with the comb. It will take a while and you don't end up cutting much good fur. Just a snip or two and then the comb to free a few good hairs and just keep going.

My Dog gets these under her legs because she is a mixed bread and has several different types of fur all meeting in bad places and gets very matted where they meet, under her legs, ears for example.

It may take a few attempts especially with a cat. i would work on it a bit till the cat gets irritated and then let them go and come back when they have calmed down again.

 

[mousey]

When I took my cat to the vet he noticed the matted fir and shaved if off with an electric shaver. He also charged me $25 for the favor! I hate to think what he would of charged for a full grooming as this was a little patch on her back!

 

[DMRick]

I've used hair condition (baby) and one of those brushes that are plastic. I just did it a little at a time. Besides the mess the oil can make on your furniture and rugs, it might loosen up more than the cats hair.

 

[monkeyboy]

nahh

to easy

 

[Michelle67]

My husband's cat gets mats between her shoulder blades because she is too darn fat to groom herself there. We just use a regular two-sided brush (soft bristles on one side, metal on the other) and work at it a little at a time until she gets really annoyed. It usually takes several sessions to get it out, but it is free and doesn't hurt her.

 

[monkeyboy]

My husband's cat gets mats between her shoulder blades

see now that just sounds wrong

 

[Michelle67]

see now that just sounds wrong

That's what happens when a cat weighs 16 lbs and is NOT a Maine Coon.

 

[FergieTCat]

Monkeyboy, you'd definitely be the one for the job!