suggestions on shaving a cat butt?

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

On 2005-03-15, Nina K Pettis penned:

I agree, and I also agree with whoever recommended going to a professional
groomer. Cats are tricky creatures at best, and when they don't want to
have something done to them, it takes an expert to do the deed. Long, long
ago I used to groom cats, and that stood me in good stead when we had to
clip Pixel down twice a year, because he was allergic to his own medium-long
hair, poor tyke.


Allergic to his own hair?? That's horrible!

Or to something that got trapped in it when it was over 1/2 inch long;
same difference, to me! That poor cat was allergic to almost everything
-- and diabetic, due to a steroid shot given in an attempt to treat
those allergies.

Well, I was thinking that Oscar would hate being put in a carrier and getting
a ride to the groomer's, but maybe that would work to our advantage -- at the
vet's she goes limp from fear.

There is a Petsmart with a grooming center just down the street, not even 5
minutes away. I just called them and spoke to their one cat groomer. She
said that I don't need an appointment; to just call ahead to make sure she's
there. She said it should be very fast and that they charge $5 for every 15
minutes of work, which is much cheaper than I'd expected. I guess it's worth
a try. It might be less traumatic than DH and me fumbling around.

Less traumatic for all concerned! :-)

Nina in Texas, servant to: Snickelfritz (RB), Pixel (RB 12/03), Rusty
(RB 9/04), Seth (RB 12/04), Skeeter, Kyle, Jake, and T.K. [Tuxedo Kitty]
--
Professional proofreading doesn’t cost – it pays!
www.ninaproofs.com

On 2005-03-15, Nina K Pettis penned:
Monique Y. Mudama wrote:

There is a Petsmart with a grooming center just down the street, not even 5
minutes away. I just called them and spoke to their one cat groomer. She
said that I don't need an appointment; to just call ahead to make sure
she's there. She said it should be very fast and that they charge $5 for
every 15 minutes of work, which is much cheaper than I'd expected. I guess
it's worth a try. It might be less traumatic than DH and me fumbling
around.

Less traumatic for all concerned! :-)

*nod*

Now I just need to convince DH that it would *not* be funny to get Oscar a
lion cut. He's been talking about getting Oscar one of those since he first
saw a picture of a really ****ed off looking cat with a big ol' poofy mane.

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

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

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:
Oscar has very long, wispy fur all over, including her rear end.

snip

She needs to be shaved with a grooming clipper. Wispy hair is hard to
do. a "pany shave" should cost about $10.00, should *not* need
sedation, and they should take all the hair away from the perianal
area and the vulva. I also used to clip a little down the legs to
avoid dingleberries. Each groomer has different techniques.

-L.
(former groomer)

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote:

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 don't have any good suggestions, but I can pass on something I
remember hearing about a related subject a while back while flipping
through TV channels. There was a show with a host named Howard Stern
who was interviewing a guest who was a Playboy centerfold or
something, asking her some very blunt questions, which she fielded
without embarrassment.

Anyway, she said that the particular area you are discussing is best
done by waxing. She may have been talking about herself though, and
not a cat.

On 2005-03-15, Takayuki penned:
"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote:

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 don't have any good suggestions, but I can pass on something I remember
hearing about a related subject a while back while flipping through TV
channels. There was a show with a host named Howard Stern who was
interviewing a guest who was a Playboy centerfold or something, asking her
some very blunt questions, which she fielded without embarrassment.

Anyway, she said that the particular area you are discussing is best done by
waxing. She may have been talking about herself though, and not a cat.

"May have"? *eyes Takayuki*

I can't imagine trying to wax Oscar. In fact, I can't imagine trying to wax
me! Eek!

Waxing is used in part because it keeps skin smooth the longest (with razors,
of course, stubble appears very quickly). I'm not trying to make Oscar bald,
just give her a cropping so that she doesn't end up having to lick
urine-drenched litter while cleaning herself =/

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

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

On 2005-03-15, -L. penned:

Monique Y. Mudama wrote:
Oscar has very long, wispy fur all over, including her rear end.

snip

She needs to be shaved with a grooming clipper. Wispy hair is hard to do.
a "pany shave" should cost about $10.00, should *not* need sedation, and
they should take all the hair away from the perianal area and the vulva. I
also used to clip a little down the legs to avoid dingleberries. Each
groomer has different techniques.

-L. (former groomer)

Hrm. I think her problem is more with the "pantaloons" than with the area
immediately around her rear. Her actual anal area is clean; she gets litter
stuck to the backs of her legs, where she has very long hair; some of it is
probably several inches long. Is there a term I could use when talking to a
groomer to clarify this, or should I just say what I just typed?

--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

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

"Monique Y. Mudama" had some very interesting
things to say about suggestions on shaving a cat butt?:

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.

I would not be able to get an electric razor anywhere near Felix
without considerable loss of blood. ;-)

--
"The universe is quite robust in design and appears to be
doing just fine on its own, incompetent support staff notwithstanding.
:-)" - the Dennis formerly known as (evil), MCFL

"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote:

On 2005-03-15, Takayuki penned:

Anyway, she said that the particular area you are discussing is best done by
waxing. She may have been talking about herself though, and not a cat.

"May have"? *eyes Takayuki*

I can't imagine trying to wax Oscar. In fact, I can't imagine trying to wax
me! Eek!

Waxing is used in part because it keeps skin smooth the longest (with razors,
of course, stubble appears very quickly). I'm not trying to make Oscar bald,
just give her a cropping so that she doesn't end up having to lick
urine-drenched litter while cleaning herself =/

I have to admit that I'm not sure at all what waxing involves. Until
fairly recently, I imagined that maybe it just involved rubbing the
area in question with wax, like one would after washing a car.

I wonder if those Flowbee vacuum haircut things would work on a cat?

Takayuki wrote:
"Monique Y. Mudama" wrote:

On 2005-03-15, Takayuki penned:

Anyway, she said that the particular area you are discussing is
best done by waxing. She may have been talking about herself
though, and not a cat.

"May have"? *eyes Takayuki*

I can't imagine trying to wax Oscar. In fact, I can't imagine
trying to wax me! Eek!

Waxing is used in part because it keeps skin smooth the longest
(with razors, of course, stubble appears very quickly). I'm not
trying to make Oscar bald, just give her a cropping so that she
doesn't end up having to lick urine-drenched litter while cleaning
herself =/

I have to admit that I'm not sure at all what waxing involves. Until
fairly recently, I imagined that maybe it just involved rubbing the
area in question with wax, like one would after washing a car.

I wonder if those Flowbee vacuum haircut things would work on a cat?

Let me put it this way, Tak. The discussion of waxing came up once while
out after work with some co-workers and this guy said something stupid like,
"Why don't you just wax?" Oh, okay. Let me pour hot wax on your face, let
it cool to a solid sheet and then rip it off in strips along with your
beard. Sound good? He replied, "Uh, never mind." LOL

Jill

On 2005-03-15, jmcquown penned:
Takayuki wrote:

I have to admit that I'm not sure at all what waxing involves. Until
fairly recently, I imagined that maybe it just involved rubbing the area in
question with wax, like one would after washing a car.

I wonder if those Flowbee vacuum haircut things would work on a cat?

Let me put it this way, Tak. The discussion of waxing came up once while
out after work with some co-workers and this guy said something stupid like,
"Why don't you just wax?" Oh, okay. Let me pour hot wax on your face, let
it cool to a solid sheet and then rip it off in strips along with your
beard. Sound good? He replied, "Uh, never mind." LOL

Jill

Actually, that still sounds better than what Tak suggests: rubbing a substance
on yourself until it yanks the hairs out!


--
monique, who spoils Oscar unmercifully

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