Help with Long Hair cat?

Question

My long hair (mutt) cat keeps getting mats in his fur. If we try to brush them out he just gets agressive (because it hurts too much), so we've been thinking about shaving him (especially since it's getting hotter and he hates the heat). We can't go to a groomer because he's too agressive with them, is there any way that we can ease him into getting his fur cut by us? We've tried cutting off little bits and showing him, letting him sniff it, but that isn't really working.

He's agressive about brushing, we've tried to buy new brushes to see if there was a difference, but any brush he sees he'll bite at and run away. We are currently cutting out small patches but he wont allow for anything else without getting aggressive.

Answer 1

You take the cat on your lap.and comb the hair and cut some with scissors.and keep doing it till its short.enough, it doesnt have to be shaven, just shorter, yes it will take some time.just do it some at a time, take it easy,and slow, the cat will be ok with that.

Answer 2

Oh the joys of owning a long-haired kitty. My "Feather" is a big white male fur-ball. Shaving in the spring when it has warmed-up some definitely has advantages. I had to ease my kitty friend into the idea. First of all, I purchased a brush that gets surface hair off. Second purchase was a high quality comb that is actually structured to remove mats before they get bad. The brushing routine is done daily for about five minutes. He puts up with this because I also pet him and give him attention during the process. After doing this routinely for some time he would put up with cutting out a knot here and there. Then finally the shave--I just run the clippers to remove a knot or two and quit. Over the next several days I trimmed a bit more until a short-haired cat was the result. Feather actually looks forward to his cut each spring. He did not like the knots and would pull them with his teeth. I think he finally figured out I am helping him and not trying to make him more miserable.
The mats on long-haired cats are worse when a winter coat sheds (near spring) and when a winter coat is preparing to come in a shedding occurs for a thicker coat for the cold.

Answer 3

Matted hair is miserable for cats. It's very painful as the undercoat is constantly being pulled which is probably contributing to his aggression when you attempt to brush them out. Unfortunately, your choices are to either get a really good brush made specifically for matt removal or getting him professionally groomed. Talk to your vet about it. Some will work with an extremely aggressive cat whose coat is beyond repair and actually sedate them for the process. However, this is an extreme route to take and should not be relied upon for the long term. Once you get the matts out train him to get used to being brushed. My long haired cat has the same problem if I don't brush her daily the matts seem to form overnight. She's gotten to the point where now she sits in front of the brush and meows until I use it on her. Whereas when she had a bunch of matts she used to run from it. Good luck.

Answer 4

I would try the groomers again, if he is too aggressive for them to handle I don’t think that u will be able to shave him. But maybe if u just shave him a bit at the time if he doesn’t freak out when he hears the machine.
Shaving him is certainly a good idea, a friend of mine had the most miserable long hair cat, one summer he decided to shave her and she became a lot friendlier. When he mentioned it to the vet, he said that that is not uncommon, according to the vet it is like for us walking around with a fur coat in summer, so it puts the cat in a bad mood, so no excess hair, u get a happier cat.
Good lack

Answer 5

Cut out the current mats, more than likely you are goingto have to brush him once or twice a day everyday.

Answer 6

Properly I'm a boy but I consider on us boys, short hair will be always better. Long hair doesn't ALWAYS show a sign of dominance. An individual see most other guys with very long hair that doesn't look like they will can fight. For example there is a boy in my school with very long blonde hair.

Answer 7

i actually like long and short hair and also my hair has gone through the two. but i like longer hair due to the fact theres more you can do together with it

Answer 8

try bathing him then brushing its hair everyday to keep it managable