When should i shave my cat?

[TheDuckCrew]

My rescue cat is COVERED in matts. they are just terrible. i've tried everything to try and loosen them, and nothings working. so i've decided i'm going to shave him. (poor cat...he's gonna be the laughing stock of the town!) i'm just not sure when to do it. he's an outdoor cat, and i don't want him to be too cold. its been around 50-60. and this week its suppossed to get up to 70. i can tell his matts are really uncomfortable for him and i want him to feel better and get him shaved asap. is now a good time? he doesn't stay out at night. only during the day.

 

[Sakai]

Is his whole body covered in matts? My cat gets matts all the time because he's too chubby to reach his back, near the base of his tail. I have to brush them out or clip with with scissors.
If you must shave him I would do so as soon as possible. Matt's are very painful and can even cause horrible skin problems. I wouldn't keep the cat outside unless he has some sort of shelter from the sun, any rain ect.
Is there a way you can keep him in a part of the house until some of his fur starts to grow back? Like the bathroom or such? Keep food and water and perhaps a litter box in there with him.

 

[TheDuckCrew]

pretty much his whole body is covered in matts. his neck, his stomach, his sides. pretty much everything but his back. he's really skinny, but i've tried to cut them out, but they are just SO big. there is one that is almost compeletly covering one of his sides. his stomach is just covered in them. i've tried to brush them out and every other trick i could come up with, and it never made a difference really. he has plenty of places to go outside to stay out of the elements. we have two porches he can fit under and he's got a whole room coming up under there. lol!

 

[horsejody]

If you don't cut them off, he will eventually rip them off and get raw skin (been there/done that with a barn cat). Also, if he gets a skin infection under a mat, it can fester and even get maggots. I would clip/shave him now. Just make sure he has adequate shelter and warmth. If he sleeps in an unheated building, make sure he has a box or something full of blanets to cuddle in.

 

[TheDuckCrew]

Okay thank you. thankfully hes a calm cat so i hopefully won't get ripped to shreads. hes gonna look REALLY funny. he's a real long haired cat....and now he's gonna be pretty much bald.

 

[RooptyDoo]

I agree with horsejody. We shave our long haired cats every year. They like it and it keeps them from getting hairballs. They are inside cats so it helps with the hair on the funiture too. It takes us about 1-2 hours to shave one cat. We don't have the best clippers either. So that is probably why it takes so long.

 

[TheDuckCrew]

yikes. 1-2 hours. thats okay though, it will pay off in the end. i have another long haired cat and he has pretty much NEVER had a matt. (we never brush him either) he's almost 14! he's pretty fat but he is soooo clean. he's an outside cat too and he keeps himself so clean, i'm always amazed. i can't wait until my other baby has no matts!

 

[Fudgie]

while discussing this, how is the best way to get under those matts....OMG our long haired cat came home the other day and had like half of her matts peeled off(she is kind of nakey right now but you couldn't get a shaver under her if your life depended on it!

 

[TheDuckCrew]

oh no. i have no idea. hopefully he'll just let me slip the clippers under his matts and clip away. he loves being brushed so hopefully he'll like this too. he normally doesn't mind when i try to cut them out either.

 

[Foxhound lady]

Be careful when you start clipping even the calmest cat can react badly (just ask about my frist cat clipping experiance).

You will need the queites clipper they make and a very short blade to avoid nicking or ripping the skin (cat skin is very fine).

It takes me about 30 minutes for a lion cut and 40 for a zip all over but I do this for a living. Clip the nails frist