Stray Maine Coon cat arrived full of matted fur -- UPDATED PICS!

[snowydiamonds]

just give her a log to scratch (sharpen) her nails on, set it where she wants to do your furniture at first, and redirect her to her log, just vaccum up the shavings They can be trained to leave the furniture and use their log.

 

[GwenFarms]

Your vet's office will do this for you. I don't know much about the breed though..sorry

, but I do know that even though "pet groomers" don't usually handle cats. The vet will groom a cat for you, sometimes they have to sedate them, but they are equipped to handle it. It may cost a little money, but it will sure save you in time and headache, not to mention it will be less traumatic for the cat to have it done professionally and then she won't have any hard feelings toward you from it later on making her harder to handle. Our vet's here usually don't charge as much as professional groomers, they do all the cutesy stuff with bows and painted nails, but they do a good job.

 

[dogzrule5]

Main Coon cats make great companions. I had a friend that has had several and they were full of personality and very friendly!

As far as shaving her goes; it won't harm her coat but she's probably going to get freaked out by the clippers. Brush as much as you can and then scissor cut out the mats, being careful to not accidently clip her skin. You may have to work on her over a period of days so she doesn't lose her patience.

 

[JustChicky]

I should have mentioned that it took about a week for my MIL to remove the mats with scissors. The cat hated it, so we did a little here and a little there. She did have to pull the bigger ones apart like 'patandchickens' said. Funny, my MIL name is Pat.

They do get hair on the carpet and where they sit, but it stays in one place, it kind of like static clings to itself. This makes it easy to pick up. My MIL brushes her Maine Coons everyday with a fine toothed comb (at least as much as they let her brush them

).

We had a different breed of small, fluffy, white cat and her hair would loft through the air all day. She went to live with an old couple that lost their cat. They love her and don't mind the hair.

If you like cats, I think you will love this cat once you get it cleaned up.


Edit:

My Grandma clips her cats nails a couple times a week with nail clippers, but she is an inside cat. If your cat goes outside, it will scratch on wood to sharpen them immediately.

 

[hensdeliverthegoods]

It's true, when they shed they tend to leave it in one place. And it should be easy to re-direct her to use a scratching post, although mine likes a scratch box that comes with catnip in it. Fortunately those are cheaply obtained at Wal-mart.

I'd suggest doing the grooming thing with her just a bit at a time. The vet could do it, but they will have to sedate her and that can be a bit pricey. The vet I work for never grooms a matted cat without sedation.

Try Googling Maine Coon cat rescue organizations. There are lots of people (like me) that are huge fans of the breed and are always looking for a new one. Can you maybe post a picture of her?

 

[tink]

I would wrap her up in a towel and pull a few matted areas at a time. May take a while.
Tink

 

[chickenannie]

She loves to be brushed and practically lays down for it as long as i'm brushing her sides and back. But as soon as it 'tugs' on her skin she hops up. All the mats require tugging as you can guess. I don't think there's any way I could do the clippers myself. I'm still waiting to hear back from a couple of places that i phoned... hopefully one will be good news.

 

[texasgirl]

Pick up a dematting comb...they work wonders! We use them all the time at work on dogs and cats. It has a blade in the comb so that when you come to a tangle or mat it just cuts but it combs through untangled hair just fine. You don't have to worry about cutting the animal either since the blade is down in the comb.

 

[raindrop]

Be VERY careful with scissors. It is very easy to cut skin when the mats are tight to the skin. Personally I would go to a vet that offers grooming and have them check her over, groom her and start vaccines. Not to mention that in some cats, it is impossible to shave/groom them without sedation. It's not that you are doing something wrong, some cats will just not tolerate it. You also want to test her for FeLV and FIV (especially if you have cats of your own) and deworm her before adding her to the household, even temporarily. Good luck! She is lucky to have found you!

 

[patandchickens]

What others are saying

And be carefull with mat-breaking (e-matting,w hatever) combs too -- there is no danger on 'conventional' mats but my experience is that neglected outdoor longhair cats can get their mats felted together right down to the skin, and you CAN injure the cat trying to get the comb under the mat in that circumstance, especially if the cat isnt' enjoying it.

Chickenannie, have you tried pulling the mats apart by hand at all? You can often do it in a sort of 'breaking an egg' kind of opening motion so that the skin is not pulled at while the mat's being pulled in half. If you can split them down small enough that way, they are much easier to remove.

I don't personally think longhairs are any harder to keep in the house w/r/t shed hair than shorthairs - there is probalby more bulk of hair but it doesn't fly all around and get everywhere quite as much

Get a good lint roller (not the sticky-tape disposable kind, the kind with a napped fabric sort of like unwaled corduroy) and you'll be fine. Just comb or brush her once or twice a week (once her fur is sorted out for now), with attention to getting down to the roots, it's no different than a good patting-and-schnoogling session really

Good luck to both of you,

Pat