What do I do about all if the knots in my cat's hair? I have a medium length hair cat and for some reason...

Question

she has knots and tangles all over her hind legs area. I brush her about once a week and she hates to be brushed. I am not sure what to do, she is very feisty and will hiss and scratch at the brush now. I am very gentle, but she does not want to be groomed at all. I give her a bit of cat nip to relax her. I am thinking of getting her groomed with a "lion cut". But my main question is - why all the knots now when she has never had them before?

Answer 1

winter coat comming in is why. and if the house is warm enough, a lion cut is good (the cat must be strictly indoor cat), we had a cat that had the same problem and got her a lion cut about once a year in the spring, she liked outside though, so she only got the cut for spring and summer, by winter her coat had grown back sufficiently to keep her warm on her short winter treks outofdoors.(her summer treks lasted a day or more sometimes).

Answer 2

Right now, cats are shedding their summer coat, and that makes for a lot of loose hair that can get tangled up with the healthy new growth. Once a week may not be enough to prevent tangling. Some cats don't like grooming because, when it is done, it can be painful, if they have developed tangles. Persistent grooming, in spite of the ouches to humans, to a point where there are no tangles and the grooming feels like petting, might be the answer. It cold take a while. To start, you might have someone restrain the cat so that you could snip out the matting. That would be like starting over. Then, persist with the grooming on a daily basis so that the cat can see that it doesn't necessarily have to hurt.

A groomer might be able to keep those longer hairs on her back legs trimmed for your with an occasional visit. You might be able to do it yourself, if you had someone to hold the cat for you. Wrap it up in a towel so it can't claw and bite. You cut while someone holds.

Answer 3

Use an undercoat brush on her for your once a week brushings. My older cat Fred has medium to long fur and it knotted terribly until the vet's groomer recommended the undercoat brush. He hates being groomed too.