What to do with this cat?

Published by: wktd 2009-01-07

I foster cats for the local humane society. Recently, They have placed a new 2 yr old cat with me. She's a long haired domestic cat...
The thing is I have never fostered nor taken care of a long haired cat before and I'm getting very frustrated. This cat's hair is soo fine that it becomes matted just by the cat grooming herself. I've started brushing her on a regular basis so no new mattes are appearing but there is still the problem of the ones that are already there. I dont know what to do with them..should I cut them off or shave them or what? I tried untangalling them but that's too painful for the poor kitty.

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Another thing that is bothering me is that her hair is so long that when she uses the toilet stuff gets caught in her bottlebrush type tail and around her anus. I clean it off and wash her but the hair in that area has become severly matted too!
I honestly am at a loss for how to get hair groomed well..as she should be getting adopted soon...!

I had a long hair cat too and understand your frustration...for the most part he did good grooming himself but occasionally had the issues your speaking of. Keep up with the brushing that will help and yes shave the area around her but so that the poop doesn't get matted in. They have conditioner/detangeler leave on spray that you can buy for cats that is not toxic and helps with the mats. Make sure it is safe for cats though If it gets too matted in areas just cut or shave(that is if the cat doesn't care about the noise of the shaver) where you can't brush it out and as it grows back keep up with the brushing. Good 4 U taking in a foster...the world needs more of you;-) BTW I wouldn't advise bring to a groomer unless you know they have lots of experience with cats because they make freak the cat out...some groomers in my experience are not sooo nice to the felines and this will result in trauma for the cat.

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I had to get my long haired kitty trimmed all the time.

use non scented baby wipes on her butt,i used to have to do yhis with my cat,take her to pet grooming place and have the matts shaved,dont worry the fur will grow back even better

you can get a small disposable razor and shave them off - just doing it wile brushing so she doesn't know the difference. Don't get close to the skin - just try to run the razor beneath the knot.

Give her a good bath and put some hair conditioner to untagling her hair before the new owner comes (or take her to the vet to do this safely - she might not like it...) and trim only the hair around the anus, but don't ever shave it because she can get a rush. Maybe she will need a special type of cat litter not to get stuf attached to the fur. A cat with long hair needs a lot of extra care to remain pretty and fluffy.

Take her to the Groomer.

Take her to a good groomer and have her shaved down SOME... not all the way to the skin!
You can have her shaved to look like a short haired cat...which will eliminate a lot of the problem of the matts.
Have her hair around her anus shaved too that will eliminate the poo problem.

Like someone said above, take her to the groomer if she'll let you. I have a medium-haired cat who is impossible to brush (so I know a groomer would be a bad idea for her, but some cats are good with it). Sometimes I need to distract her (lately it's been a running faucet) and while she's preoccupied, I'll trim the hair around her rear end because she also gets poo caught around there. I bought a pair of children's scissors with a rounded tip/thick blade so if she makes a sudden movement or tries to attack me, I know she wont get hurt.