matted fur

On Wed, 5 Jan 2005 21:35:03 -0600, "Pat"
wrote:

Billy and Lily are getting lumps of tangled fur on their undersides. They
are beyond combing and brushing out, and I'm scared to try to cut them off.
They seem to trust me enough but I don't trust myself. Who can tell me the
safest procedure? I don't want it to get any worse than it is.


You can try a few things before giving up and letting the vet or a
groomer do it (which is *the* safest method).

Matt cutters can help, if you're careful. Believe it not,
seam-rippers can work, too. Scissors as well. Just be sure to
comb/groom well as you're doing it, to get rid of any other loose
furs.

The biggest thing to keep in mind is to be very, very careful not to
cut the cat's skin. Stay as far away from it as possible. If the mat
is too close to the skin, it's time to see a professional.

HTH.

Ginger-lyn

In article , "Christine Burel"
wrote:

"Pat" wrote in message
...
Billy and Lily are getting lumps of tangled fur on their undersides.
They
are beyond combing and brushing out, and I'm scared to try to cut them
off.
They seem to trust me enough but I don't trust myself. Who can tell me
the
safest procedure? I don't want it to get any worse than it is.


Once the bad mats are shaved off you can work on keeping them
combed
with a pretty neat comb that I found at Petsmart -- it has rotating tines
so
you can actually loosen the mats with less pulling on their fur -- a
slicker
brush has also been useful.

I have had extremely good success with these combs. In her declining
years, Chatterley (RB) had increasing trouble both with bowel control
and cleaning herself. She was a vain cat, and I'm convinced it wasn't
just discomfort that pleased her when I used this to keep her clean.

My current crew range from tolerating it to liking it, although they
occasionally try to eat it.