suggestions on shaving a cat butt?

Oscar has very long, wispy fur all over, including her rear end.
Unfortunately, this means that she sometimes gets litter stuck to the fur,
which doesn't please anyone in the household, and it's not easy to get Oscar
to tolerate a butt-washing. Usually she ends up doing it herself, which
worries me because of the litter.

Anyway, we've been talking about shaving her for a while, and yesterday we
finally tried. DH got out the clipper attachment to his electric razor, and I
held Oscar wrapped in one of my sweatshirts.

Well, it was somewhat successful. The very longest hairs are gone. Oscar
protested vehemently while we were doing this, but she didn't appear to be
upset at us afterwards. I think fully half of her anger stemmed from being
held upside down; the other half from having something buzzing near her bum.

DH has suggested taking her to a groomer, but she hates her carrier and cars,
and I can only imagine the kind of trauma a groomer would cause.

Any suggestions from the guardians of long-haired cats on butt-shaving
techniques? Would a scissor work better? DH said that it was hard to shave
her because her fur is so light that it just gets pushed away rather than
being cut.

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

"Karen" wrote in message
...

I wouldn't use scissors. My vet just lifts their tail up and zips up on
both
sides and poof it is done. Maybe setting her on a surface would be a
better
idea and make the clipping easier.

Yep, that's what I was going to suggest. Scissors are too dangerous - when
you hold the hair out the skin comes up with it and it's very easy to cut
the skin, she's liable to move just as you're snipped and it could be very
painful plus dangerous to have an open wound in this area because of the
litter.

Hugs,

CatNipped

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...
Oscar has very long, wispy fur all over, including her rear end.
Unfortunately, this means that she sometimes gets litter stuck to the fur,
which doesn't please anyone in the household, and it's not easy to get
Oscar
to tolerate a butt-washing. Usually she ends up doing it herself, which
worries me because of the litter.

Anyway, we've been talking about shaving her for a while, and yesterday we
finally tried. DH got out the clipper attachment to his electric razor,
and I
held Oscar wrapped in one of my sweatshirts.

Well, it was somewhat successful. The very longest hairs are gone. Oscar
protested vehemently while we were doing this, but she didn't appear to be
upset at us afterwards. I think fully half of her anger stemmed from
being
held upside down; the other half from having something buzzing near her
bum.

DH has suggested taking her to a groomer, but she hates her carrier and
cars,
and I can only imagine the kind of trauma a groomer would cause.

Any suggestions from the guardians of long-haired cats on butt-shaving
techniques? Would a scissor work better? DH said that it was hard to
shave
her because her fur is so light that it just gets pushed away rather than
being cut.

I wouldn't use scissors. My vet just lifts their tail up and zips up on both
sides and poof it is done. Maybe setting her on a surface would be a better
idea and make the clipping easier.

"CatNipped" wrote in message
...
"Karen" wrote in message
...

I wouldn't use scissors. My vet just lifts their tail up and zips up on
both
sides and poof it is done. Maybe setting her on a surface would be a
better
idea and make the clipping easier.

Yep, that's what I was going to suggest. Scissors are too dangerous -
when
you hold the hair out the skin comes up with it and it's very easy to cut
the skin, she's liable to move just as you're snipped and it could be very
painful plus dangerous to have an open wound in this area because of the
litter.


We lay Buddha on the floor on a couple of towels on her back,
and I hold/distract her while my husband uses those hair clippers
they sell for home haircuts. She hates it, but it's fast and pretty easy.

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message


Any suggestions from the guardians of long-haired cats on butt-shaving
techniques? Would a scissor work better? DH said that it was hard to shave
her because her fur is so light that it just gets pushed away rather than
being cut.///

When I had my long haired tortie, Polly (RB) I used to trim her butt
with sissors once a week. She looked a bit daft with short hair around
her bum, but it meant no dangleberries. ;o)

Helen M




--
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On 2005-03-14, Karen penned:

I wouldn't use scissors. My vet just lifts their tail up and zips up on both
sides and poof it is done. Maybe setting her on a surface would be a better
idea and make the clipping easier.

We're worried that if we don't hold her, Oscar will either move too much or
claw us. We didn't try a surface, though, so maybe we should try it before
rejecting it.

I originally held her right-side-up and DH said he couldn't shave her that
way. But being held upside down is definitely not on her list of enjoyable
experiences.

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

On 2005-03-14, CatNipped penned:

Yep, that's what I was going to suggest. Scissors are too dangerous - when
you hold the hair out the skin comes up with it and it's very easy to cut
the skin, she's liable to move just as you're snipped and it could be very
painful plus dangerous to have an open wound in this area because of the
litter.

So do most people who do this use an electric razor? DH said that the hair
was so fine that the razor pushed the fur rather than clipping it.

Maybe it will take a few passes to get it short enough to really work well.

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

On 2005-03-14, Mary penned:

We lay Buddha on the floor on a couple of towels on her back, and I
hold/distract her while my husband uses those hair clippers they sell for
home haircuts. She hates it, but it's fast and pretty easy.

How do you keep her tail out of the way? I have trouble holding Oscar *and*
lifting her tail out of the way.

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

On 2005-03-14, Helen Miles penned:
"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message


Any suggestions from the guardians of long-haired cats on butt-shaving
techniques? Would a scissor work better? DH said that it was hard to
shave her because her fur is so light that it just gets pushed away rather
than being cut.///

When I had my long haired tortie, Polly (RB) I used to trim her butt with
sissors once a week. She looked a bit daft with short hair around her bum,
but it meant no dangleberries. ;o)


Yeah, I think being covered in cat litter is more daft-looking than having the
area shaved =P

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote in message
...
On 2005-03-14, Karen penned:

I wouldn't use scissors. My vet just lifts their tail up and zips up on
both
sides and poof it is done. Maybe setting her on a surface would be a
better
idea and make the clipping easier.

We're worried that if we don't hold her, Oscar will either move too much
or
claw us. We didn't try a surface, though, so maybe we should try it
before
rejecting it.

Well, you can still hold her; just hold her on the table. You can even wrap
her leaving just her butt out.

I originally held her right-side-up and DH said he couldn't shave her that
way. But being held upside down is definitely not on her list of
enjoyable
experiences.

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

pictures: http://www.bounceswoosh.org/rpca