need some ideas on how to contain my cat to shave it... lol

[Sparx]

I'm so curious about this - about how long does it take to make hair into dreadlocks? (Not that I'm going to try it - I think it's a disgusting mess!) I was under the impression it took several weeks...

Also, isn't it really a matted up wad? How could it untangle?

Finally, what's the difference between cat dander and stressed cat dander? Is the cat secreting some extra hormone that is an allergen more so than regular cat dander? Sorry - I'm just feeling nosy and these are questions I want answers to...

i have very curly hair, and if i get a knot in it that i don't find for a few days (which is pretty easy to do, since i can't use a brush on my hair, just a wide tooth comb) it turns into a matt. i think that in theory, my hair would completely dread lock if i left it alone for a few weeks. but if i can work out matts, i'm sure dread locks could be worked out, but the hair would probably be damaged afterwards.

 

[PebblesMK]

Does this cat's name happen to be Coco and does this cat like to look like a lion?

 

[Disneycrazy!!]

I'd love to see you try!!

When handling wild and aggressive cats at our vet clinic, we would wear protective gloves , reach into the cage, grab the cat quickly behind the neck, hold on to cat for dear life and pray he doesn't get loose and attack you. If you had a good grip, you would then quickly grab the back legs and stretch the cat out, so the cat can't use the back legs to slice your arms open. If you missed or cat gets away...everyone clears the room quickly before the cat leaps at your face and trys to remove your lips right off. I saw one girl who was really a know it all and reached into a kennel without the gloves. I heard lots of hissing and spitting and when she pulled her hand out, she was squeezing her hand to stop the bleeding. The cat literally pulled all the skin and muscle off the bone on her finger. From that day forward, I began calling her "Boney".

So if you go ahead and shave that cat, drink lots of that wine, give the cat lots of wine too. Have super glue ready for all his cuts and yours. And please videotape the event for us to see.

 

[Carys]

Perhaps these guys can give you some tips?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m_MaJDK3VNE

 

[surfergirl602]

Thanks everyone for all the responses, and I promise... I WON'T try it while driving!!!

The matts aren't close to the skin, they are growing out, that's why I want to get them off now. I've shaved my fair share of animals growing up on a farm, so I'm not that worried about it. Just didn't know if I should wrap him in a towel, hit him with the frying pan (I'm joking!!!!) or have my hubby body slam him while I shave them. LOL

And I'm not mean to animals... its just a joke in response to some of the more... intrigung answers on here, and if I don't have any luck, trust me, we'll go to the groomers. I just don't see how a dog can be 25 bucks, and a cat, triple that!

Welding gloves, here we come! If I don't respond, I guess the cat finally got me! Lord knows how many times I've woken up with him trying to suffocate me in the middle of the night.

 

[surfergirl602]

Does this cat's name happen to be Coco and does this cat like to look like a lion?

His name is Boo, and he does indeed look like a lion. He's an orange and white Maine Coon with quite the attitude.

ETA: Hi Brooke!

 

[surfergirl602]

Pay the groomer. Does you vet have one? I don't remember it costing that much. But trust me, this is NOT something you want to do yourself.

BTDT. We had a Maine Coon that got very matty in her old age. Nightmare. Pay a professional!

No, we go to the vet on post, and they have very limited services. There aren't any acutal cat groomers around here. You could find a hundred for sheep and cows, but not cats!!

 

[funkychunkymonkey]

Some cats actually get into being shaved. Our old cat was a devil for nail clipping and trimming but turn on the shaver and poof! mellow cat. it was great cause she was fat and very long haired!

 

[Shelby5514]

My Maine Coon loved to be brushed until it came to the mats. They seemed to just appear overnight.

I would wait until she was asleep next to me, then start by just lightly petting/brushing her for a few minutes. Then I would use a seam ripper to get just barely under the mat, seam rippers are very sharp so be careful but they cut through the mat very easily. I would only do a little bit at a time and then switch to brushing a non-matted area. She would put up with it only for so long and then finally walk away. It took maybe 5-6 days but I did get them all out. I also added fish oil to her diet and that seemed to help a great deal in preventing them.

It can be done, just try to make it somewhat pleasant and on their terms and you should be fine.

Good Luck!

 

[phragmipedium]

I've done it, and I wouldn't recommend it.

Our long-haired cat is neurotic and unpredictable. She does not tolerate regular brushing well at all, nor would she tolerate the time and contact with sensitive areas it takes to try to work out a mat with a brush or scissors. We've had her shaved at groomers a few times with good results, and the most I remember it costing was $50. When we moved I ordered some clippers. DH scruffed and shaved and I tried to keep her calm and from scratching. At the groomer, they scruffed her so well she just acted dead and let them do what they wanted...but I'm sure she sensed our lack of skill and it took a very long time to do a very poor job, with her yowling and growling the entire time. We didn't hurt her, but she looked pretty pitiful when we were done. A groomer with skill and better tools is worth the money...and it will probably be at least a year before you need it done again even if your cat won't let you brush her often, because it takes awhile even after the fur has grown out to mat.

If you do attempt it yourself, do it when you can have two people on the job and also when the vet is open, just in case.

 

[bumbershoot]

I'm so curious about this - about how long does it take to make hair into dreadlocks? (Not that I'm going to try it - I think it's a disgusting mess!) I was under the impression it took several weeks...

Also, isn't it really a matted up wad? How could it untangle?

Finally, what's the difference between cat dander and stressed cat dander? Is the cat secreting some extra hormone that is an allergen more so than regular cat dander? Sorry - I'm just feeling nosy and these are questions I want answers to...

At the back of my head, it would start getting all knotted up and tangly, so it was like the start of dreadlocks.

Oh I should backtrack and say that I think the process of getting dreads is very different depending on the sort of hair you have. If you followed GlendaMax's awesome dreadlock thread, her dreads are VERY unlike what I would end up with if I went for it. Hers are awesome and classy and so lovely...I would look like a Deadhead (which is what my cousin was going for). With Glendamax, it took ages to get going. With the sort that I could get, I don't think it would take that long to start, but again, it's a very very different look.

Since I would just get the start (this is when I had very long hair and didn't wash my hair every day...I have curly hair, and it just gets clumpy really easily), I could untangle it. I have, however, had the experience where the hair would get in such a knot that when I brushed hard, the whole thing would come out...bleah. Yeah, these experiences were why I cut my hair very short after having it very long for a few years!

I have no idea what the actual difference was in what she was putting off when stressed. Not having a lab in my house, and all, makes that difficult. All I know is that there is my normal reaction to cats...can be dealt with. And then when she was under stress, I had to watch out, because she would set my allergies off like nothing I'd dealt with before, which then would turn into asthma.

Same thing happened while visiting my dad. He had two big dogs, 3 cats he was keeping in his bedroom, and their house was incredibly dusty. I was a little bit wheezy but not bad, I could deal wiht it. Then one night the cats got out, and my dad (in his infinite wisdom) started chasing them around with a broom, trying to herd them back to his room. The cats, of course, freaked out. And within a minute of this starting, I went into a huge asthma attack (hadn't had one in 2 years, hadn't had anything but exercise induced until I was pg, thought I was DONE with the asthma reaction, didn't have an inhaler anymore) where I couldn't even whisper to my dad to stop stressing them out. Thankfully DH noticed, and thankfully my dad had recently been diagnosed with asthma and had the same albuterol I had had...and thankfully he finally stopped chasing those cats around.

So for me, I definitely noticed a huge difference in what cats do to me when they are calm and happy, vs when they are stressed out. So many things I'd love to study!

 

[PebblesMK]

His name is Boo, and he does indeed look like a lion. He's an orange and white Maine Coon with quite the attitude.

ETA: Hi Brooke!

Hii! I thought maybe you were asking for Jason as he has that problem with his cat and pays 75-100 for his devil cat. You two must have cats that are related!

 

[My sister's princess]

Hii! I thought maybe you were asking for Jason as he has that problem with his cat and pays 75-100 for his devil cat. You two must have cats that are related!

I knew thats what you were getting at

 

[LaurenLC]

My husband had a 20 year old cat (she passed away in January). She had terribly matted fur, we tried to take care of it ourselves and we only seemed to make it worse. We took the cat to the groomers every now and then and it was the best money we ever spent!
Go to the groomer!

 

[NC State]

After reading everyone's posts I promise I will not do anything to that poor old cat. I'll have the husband to take him to a pro.

 

[surfergirl602]

Hii! I thought maybe you were asking for Jason as he has that problem with his cat and pays 75-100 for his devil cat. You two must have cats that are related!

LOL!! I think perhaps they are twins!!! My cat was feral when we got him, saved him from being put to sleep at 4 months old... you'd think he'd be greatful. lol

 

[luvwinnie]

We did this...but my sister is a dog groomer, has the proper tools and knows what she is doing. It took DH and I to hold our kitty down while she yelled as if she were being sacrificed to the devil....but it had to be done. If we took her to vet they would have sedated her and I didn't want to risk it at her age. I have to groom her more now to be sure this never happens again.

 

[EMom]

My Maine Coon is just shy of 19 and only started getting mats a few years ago. I have had a helluva time keeping them under control. It finally got to the point that even if I COULD cut them all out, she'd have looked like a mess. I paid the vet's office a little over $100 to give her a lion cut. She is ashamed of how she looks. No joke. But she is matted no more. I'm glad we finally did it. My hope is that I can keep them under control now that she's "starting from the ground up" with hair growth.

As someone said, they seem to come out of nowhere. She is arthritic and does lay around a lot. I think she grinds them in. Plus, with the arthritis, she can't reach everywhere to groom anymore. Poor old kitty. The weird thing is, she's a brown tabby Maine Coon and all her "still furry" parts are obviously still brown tabby, but the shaved parts have very short fur that looks like a Russian Blue. It looks as if you stuck her head on another's cat's body. Very freaky indeed.