Long Hair Cat--grooming question

[Tigger&Belle]

I have a cat with long hair--well, I guess technically medium hair. She tends to get matted around her rear end. Not to be too gross, but when she goes in the litterbox "stuff" tends to stick to her fur, which is gross. This morning I clipped the hair around her rear end (took three of us to do it ) and hopefully it will be better. I have some cat bathing wipes that I was going to use to keep her "smelling fresh down there", but is there anything else I should do. It's the job of my 15yo to keep her brushed, but it's not easy to do with a playful kitten.

We had a long hair cat growing up, but since then all my cats have been short hair. BTW, it's the cat in my signature.

 

[luvmydogs]

"Mom, sometimes I get that 'not so fresh' feeling..."

 

[Cruisin]

One suggestion for clipping is to wait until the cat is really zonked out and sound asleep.

I have found that I can then work a little bit on clipping out any mats that might be in my cat's long hair.

Mine does not have the litterbox problem but sometimes she gets mats and tangles under her "arms" that need to be cut out.

Oh yes and I always smile when I see that picture of your cat. She's a pretty thing.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

One suggestion for clipping is to wait until the cat is really zonked out and sound asleep.

I have found that I can then work a little bit on clipping out any mats that might be in my cat's long hair.

Mine does not have the litterbox problem but sometimes she gets mats and tangles under her "arms" that need to be cut out.

Oh yes and I always smile when I see that picture of your cat. She's a pretty thing.

I could try playing with her and wearing her out, but these kittens are like energizer bunnies and keep going and going and... That kitten is pretty, but I'll have to say that she is a little devil. My DH has to keep her locked out of his office even when he's in there because she gets into everything and then takes off with it, to another level of the house. One day she got a rubber band bundle of business cards and brought them upstairs during the night. She scattered them all over and the rubber band disappeared (not good cat food). She got into my DD's things when she was home from college and reorganized a lot of her belongings. They are the most impish kittens I've ever had--the male kitten climbs up whoever is getting his wet food ready. Do I look like a tree?


Here's a picture of Apollo not long after we got him.

Luvmydogs, what are you doing on a thread about cat grooming? I need to tell my cats about the little wipes I have for when I'm not feeling so fresh down south!

Yep, get me started talking about my cats and I don't shut up. And yes (I'll say it before someone else says it...) getting me talking about most anything and I don't shut up.

 

[luvmydogs]

...Luvmydogs, what are you doing on a thread about cat grooming? I need to tell my cats about the little wipes I have for when I'm not feeling so fresh down south!

Take a look at my tag! Although our dear Pumpkin is now departed. She ruled our home, and I was actually afraid of her. We were convinced she was a minion of the devil.

 

[John VN]

Persian ruling our house here. Lots of loooong hair and I do clip his butt or as the groomer called it, his bum. After we adopted Hemingway he was dematted by a groomer and has not returned. Too much $$$$.

DW holds and comforts him as I gingerly do the clipping. No need to use wipes after trimming is completed. As far as other matts throughout his coat, we comb out or carefully clip.

Almost a full time job on this guy. I can see why people give their Persian a Lion Cut, but I will not do that. He is too handsome.

John

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Take a look at my tag! Although our dear Pumpkin is now departed. She ruled our home, and I was actually afraid of her. We were convinced she was a minion of the devil.

I'd never noticed that tag of yours! Sorry about your kitty! Maybe you'll be owned by another cat again soon.

 

[Tigger&Belle]

Persian ruling our house here.

I can't even imagine keeping up with the hair of a persian! I think that Venus is bad. Now I know why all my other cats have (or had) short hair.

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

We have a Maine Coon we have to keep "shaved" in back for the same reason. She is older though - she feels safe in the sink, so DH tires to do it with her in there. We also shave most of her in the summer to deal with the knots - vet said it can get painful as knots form close to skin and pulls - vet also said they are much happier in summer to be cool - and that it is actually very common thing to do with Maine Coons. Wish I could offer more help! The one thing we did find is - if keeping hair short back there does not help with urine smell - have cat checked for problems.

 

[FreshTressa]

Not all long haired cats need grooming...

We have a VERY long haired cat and he never gets clumps and probably only gets brushed 3-4 times a year when shedding is bad.

I wonder why that would be. Why do some cats clump and others not?

My cousin's cat looks like one of those sculpted bushes. She has to shave him cuz all his hair IS is clumps!

 

[ImarriedGrumpy]

My dearly departed Simon was a long haired cat with similar problems "down there". Fortunately, he was half ragdoll, so Simon went limp when he was picked up and was very docile. He got a lot of matted fur in his "armpits", under his chin, and on his backside. I created a ritual of brushing him at the same time each day - in the morning before I got out of bed. I kept the brush on the nightstand, and since Simon always slept on my ankles it was easy to just sit up and start brushing him while he was still waking up. Of course, once he caught on to the routine and really began loving the brushing time, he would try to wake me up earlier to brush him! First it was pacing back and forth over me as soon as the alarm went off, then it was sitting on my chest and staring at me before the alarm went off, then it was tugging at the sleeve of my night shirt if I wasn't getting up fast enough, then it was putting his nose in my ear and meowing first quietly, then more insistantly... but I digress... (I miss my little Simon kitty! )

Yes, I did a lot of trimming around his backside, especially as he got older. By the time he was about 17 or 18 years old he was more sensitive and didn't like being brushed as much and really resisted being trimmed up. I had to start wrapping him up in a warm towel (straight from the dryer) and having someone else hold him while I trimmed him with special scissors I got just for the job from a pet grooming supply store. I, too, had some of those special kitty wipes and had to use them to "assist" with the clean up issues. I guess some cats just have a different texture fur and is more prone to matting.

 

[pansmermaidzlagoon]

I think with my Maine Coon - it has to do with the downy undercoat - that really seems to contribute to the clumps and makes it impossible to keep up with just brushing alone.