anyone ever shave a cat?

decides2dream

yes, i am serious. and no, i don't mean as a form of torture, but to actually help the cat, or at least, the cat's fur. my kitty suki is turning 20 next week :shock: and outside of taking a pill for her thyriod, is in perfect health. however, her coat is....well.......repugnant. couple of years ago it started, and the vet simply told us to bathe her regularly, b/c some cats as they age simply don't keep themselves up anymore. and so we did. we give her baths regularly. it helped a bit, bot nowadays, idk....her fur is simply, gross. it feels disgusting, which is such a shame...b/c you don't really even want to touch her! :? she was never the most cuddly/affectionate kitty, but cmon...of course we want to give her a few pets, make her feel loved. so anyhoo....her hair just always looks/feels dirty and kinda oily, yet very dry at the same time. she also has these nasty hair clumps all over her, and her hair falls out easily, and she has these bizarre little clumps that just kinda poke out here or there. she is an indoor cat. she may get a wee bit 'dirty' walking thru her kitty door to go into the basement to reach her litterbox and food dish(have to keep em down there b/c of the dogs)...but really, there is next to no reason for her to get/look/feel dirty. vet has already told us that really, nothing to do about it. so i was thinking, perhaps if we shave her...not bald, but use like a #s attachment on the shaver or something....might get rid of some of the really ick/dirty looking hair, and perhaps might make her hair feel nicer again? thoughts? do you think it will scare the bejeebus outta her and give her a stroke? (she can handles the baths ok, tho clearly does not like em) is this an insane idea?

smarchee

in the old days, this thread could turn quite interesting

decides2dream

smarchee wrote:

in the old days, this thread could turn quite interesting

believe me, a more shall we say intriguing thread title DID come to mind, but as this IS a serious query, i thought the better of it. my poor kitty.

Backspacer 76

decides2dream

i really, really should've known better.


if anyone really does have any truly HELPFUL suggestions for my query, i really, truly would appreciate em! so would suki i think!

blondieblue227

i know this is no help. but my cat is a lazyass and doesn't clean himself. he's not sick like your cat. sorry to hear that. anyways i've finally figured out how to stop knots from forming on his back. not a regular pet brush but a rake. my algeries have gotten a lot better since i'v been 'raking' him. lol


is your cat ageric to itself or fleas? my friends cat was. her cat was almost bald before they figured it out. crazy i know!

jecica

I shave my cat every year. He is much happier in the summer and feels so soft while it's growing back. My vet knocks him out and shaves him while he is sleeping. This year I skipped it due to the risk of anesthesia in elderly cats. I cut the knots out and gave him a dry bath. If he isn't that bad, Petco or Petsmart does groom cats without anesthesia.

iamica

I have a long haired cat, and every once in awhile her fur will get matted past the point of brushing. I then have to get the scissors. It's best to do it when they're in a cuddly mood; I usually cut the matted parts off when she's on my lap. I've never shaved her; I think the sound of an electric razor would freak her out too much. I would try snipping the bad fur off with scissors before shaving, if you can.

justam

I think the best idea is to take her to a pet groomer. They would have experience with this (as well as restraining equipment) and could probably do it without hurting the animal.

A_L_L_I

we trim our cat's fur with scissors a couple of times a year... she looks a little shabby for a while but its better than the knots!!

mca47

Growing up I had two cats. One lived to be 20, the other 18. Both when older required semi-frequent professional grooming and on occasion shaving.

They became arthritic, and could not reach certain spots on themselves to clean...so their fur got matted.

Problem with that is when it become matted and clumped together it eventually starts to pull on their skin causing pain.



So yes, I know where you're coming from.

mca47

justam wrote:

I think the best idea is to take her to a pet groomer. They would have experience with this (as well as restraining equipment) and could probably do it without hurting the animal.

Yep. The matted fur/clumps usually can't be taken out by the average person with causing pain to the elderly cat.

The vet, if medically determined to be safe with "knock him/her out" or at least dope them up and shampoo the fur first.

This will allow the fur to be trimmed and brushed without causing any harm.

ZiggyStar

Haven't we already discussed this in the "no hair down there" thread that got locked?

And no, I haven't shaved a cat before.

mca47

ZiggyStar wrote:

Haven't we already discussed this in the "no hair down there" thread that got locked?

And no, I haven't shaved a cat before.

!

orig_long red

ZiggyStar wrote:

And no, I haven't shaved a cat before.

you lie.

iluvcats

I didn't shave our Persian cat, the vet did under anesthesia. I'm not sure how many times we had it done b/c his notted up very badly. He died when he was 4 years old, no idea why. I always wondered if it was too much anesthesia. He had a full coat when he died in 1983.

As for your 20 yr old kitty, what did the vet say? You could cut knots if there is any room between the knot and the skin. My cat didn't have any space any between.

ZiggyStar

long red wrote:

ZiggyStar wrote:

And no, I haven't shaved a cat before.

you lie.

No I'm not. I've never 'shaved' my cat before.

stargirl69

ZiggyStar wrote:

long red wrote:

ZiggyStar wrote:

And no, I haven't shaved a cat before.

you lie.

No I'm not. I've never 'shaved' my cat before.

Did you pin your cat down while a white coated cat pampering lady poured molten hot wax over it? ..... do I hear a door being locked

decides2dream

hey all!


thank you to those of you who actually addressed the question i do appreciate all the advice...and restraint.

firstly, there was just no way i wanted to subject suki to anesthesia unnecessarily, so wasn't taking her to the vet for that, besides, while yuck...i didn't think she was that bad. as to taking her to a professional groomer, that was just out. no groomer will take on an elderly cat that has never been groomed before. hell, we had a hard time convincing the groomer to take on chloe last year, at the age of 8, since we had not brought her before. so yea, no one wants to 'risk' taking a much older pet and subjecting them to such stress, etc....just too traumatic. so a 20 year old cat would be out of the question. besides, suki does NOT like leaving the house, going in the car....so again, i didn't want to stress her out even moreso...and believe me, we stressed her out! :?


sooooo....we did it all ourselves. :shock: as i've said, i have bathed the cat numerous times in the past now, brushed her, etc. ultimately we did not end up shaving her. we tried, but the razor just wasn't doing much, and honestly, by that point suki had just about enough. i gave her a serious brushing, i mean big time, every inch of her. then proceeded to cut out at many of the matted knots as possible, and sweet bejeebus did she have a lot, and some quite big. this was challenging and suki did not like it to say the least. i did nick her once or twice :( which i felt ultimately guilty about and my husband freaked about it which didn't help....but thankfully i was able to get almost all her mattes out. then i gave her a bath, a super-duper bath. again, she was not happy, haha. she did tolerate it well tho. besides giving her a bit of a haircut beyond just cutting knots, the one other thing we did differently is we blow-dried her hair (not too hot, nor too close and not totally dry) and then we went over her entire coat with a fine tooth comb.

WHAT a difference the haircut, blow-dry and end-combing made! her fur is WHITE, and it feels CLEAN. she will never be a silky cat again, but she looks and feels good! ultimately, i think even after all the stress of it, she felt a lot better. as food is her only pleasure, gave her an extra can of her food to make up for the trauma and she chowed down heartily. washed her kitty bed, fresh litter, fresh water in both bowls and scrubbed her kitty door spotless (and decided to remove the flap to make it easier/cleaner for her to go into the basement) so that everything was clean and fresh for her just like her fur. this took like an hour and a half to accomplish! however, now that she is in top-notch shape, i think monthly baths/blow-drys, along with weekly deep brushings, should help her maintain her clean fur and aviod future knots.

and you bet, she now looks fantastic to celebrate her 20th birthday this wednesday!

thanks again for all the advice/understanding...you people rock!
(and i took some pics of my beautifully clean kitty cat, hopefully i'll manage to post a few for her birthday )

the wolf

I have to say, this is one of the best threads i have read in a loooooooong time.

there were so many times i lol'd for real. i dont know why, Immature ? you bet !

good stuff here.

decides2dream

the wolf wrote:

I have to say, this is one of the best threads i have read in a loooooooong time.

there were so many times i lol'd for real. i dont know why, Immature ? you bet !

good stuff here.

and my kitty is happy...so win-win!

blondieblue227

she is lucky she is so well loved!

decides2dream

blondieblue227 wrote:

she is lucky she is so well loved!

you ain't kiddin'!

:twisted:

CJMST3K

Wasn't there a thread on this last week?
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=111552

decides2dream

CJMST3K wrote:

Wasn't there a thread on this last week?
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=111552

you're about one page behind here.....;)



and for the record, suki looks GORGEOUS!
her fur feels excellent (tho she'll never be a silky-soft cat again) and it is obvious that SHE feels better so it was well worth all the hassle/time.


also on a semi-related note, my beautiful chloe dog went to the groomers yesterday and got one last close shave before the winter and she looks fab! with her short 'do she always looks like a puppy again, even at 9!

CJMST3K

decides2dream wrote:

CJMST3K wrote:

Wasn't there a thread on this last week?
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=111552

you're about one page behind here.....;)

you think i actually read anything anyone posts?

decides2dream

CJMST3K wrote:

decides2dream wrote:

CJMST3K wrote:

Wasn't there a thread on this last week?
viewtopic.php?f=14&t=111552

you're about one page behind here.....;)

you think i actually read anything anyone posts?

i have come to realize that 98% of the time, more than likely....99.8% of posters who actually 'respond' to posts, don't actually read anything beyond the thread title. and yet, here i am....still typing away.....


ahhh, sweet futility!

Heatherj43

I have similar problem with one of my cats. She's a Maine Coon with long hair. She's 17 years old. She gets mats of hair on the underside of her. She hates being groomed at all. I think taking her to the vet would kill her, (my cats are inside cats and freak out when they go in a car).
We try to cut the mats out. She won't stay still long enough to comb them out, and it would take a long time, even cutting them out takes too long for her. One of us has to hold her while the other cuts. I have to hold her mouth too, cuz she snarls and wants to bite when we do this.
I hate doing this at all. She avoids us sometimes cuz she's afraid we are setting her up to groom her.
I try to just leave her alone, but sometimes the mats seem to get so tight on her skin that I know they must be pulling her skin and hurt.
Bathing her only gives her more mats.
We have considered taking her in and having her sedated to get it done, but she'll just mat up again in no time. We know this cuz of the times we have got all the mats out and she just gets more.
I hope someone here has the answers.

decides2dream

Heatherj43 wrote:

I have similar problem with one of my cats. She's a Maine Coon with long hair. She's 17 years old. She gets mats of hair on the underside of her. She hates being groomed at all. I think taking her to the vet would kill her, (my cats are inside cats and freak out when they go in a car).
We try to cut the mats out. She won't stay still long enough to comb them out, and it would take a long time, even cutting them out takes too long for her. One of us has to hold her while the other cuts. I have to hold her mouth too, cuz she snarls and wants to bite when we do this.
I hate doing this at all. She avoids us sometimes cuz she's afraid we are setting her up to groom her.
I try to just leave her alone, but sometimes the mats seem to get so tight on her skin that I know they must be pulling her skin and hurt.
Bathing her only gives her more mats.
We have considered taking her in and having her sedated to get it done, but she'll just mat up again in no time. We know this cuz of the times we have got all the mats out and she just gets more.
I hope someone here has the answers.

oh i feel for you and your kitty!

luckily, suki is not a long-haired cat, tho her hair is long enough, but still. everything you say, EXACTLY! it did take 2 of us to do so, but....suki is pretty frail noadays so can't fight back all that much, and she also is declawed which is far safer for us. she's never gone to bite us, tho she's bitten our dogs a few times...so i'd not put it past her. as to the bathing making it worse, the ONE time my husband bathed the cat on his own......is exactly how she did develop most of her knots/mats b/c he didn't brush her first or proeprly dry her afterwards.... :evil: . but, what's done is done.

as i said above, i found what *worked* for suki:
-heavy-duty brushing ALL her hair.
-cutting as many of the knots/mats out as possible, and just a general trim of hair in many places to avoid future issues.
-a really thorough bath
-thoroughly drying as much as possible with a towel, followed by a good blow-dry, tho not too hot nor too dry
-combing her hair after drying, carefully and slowly.

after ALL that, i am hoping weekly deep brushings and monthly baths/blow-drys will help to avoid future issues. as i said tho, suki is a LOT more tolerant os it all simply b/c she is so elderly.


as per my usual, i still haven't uploaded the pics i shot the other day, but here's a few older pics of bathing, and a really beautiful pic from a few years ago:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/d ... dkitty.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/d ... ekitty.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/d ... gkitty.jpg

Whizbang

Glad to hear it all worked out!! I know the photos above are older but she's beautiful. I know they're not able to clean themselves as well as they get older plus their endocrinesystems/pituitary glands do not work as efficiently so shedding, natural oiling, etc functions don't work as succinctly as they once did. It's good to hear you're able to keep her looking beautiful in her twilight years!