Removing Tiger's mats

On Apr 11, 11:49*pm, Mischief wrote:
On Apr 11, 3:59*pm, "Joy" wrote:





"---MIKE---" wrote in message

...
During the winter Tiger developed a number of bad mats (he is long
haired). *Combing and brushing didn't work. *Yesterday I got out my old
electric hair trimmer and plugged it in near my usual seat. *Tiger
frequently zonks out next to me so I figured I could surprise him while
sleeping. *To my surprise he didn't object and I was able to remove most
of the mats. *This will make a vet trip unnecessary.

* * * * * * * * * ---MIKE---In the White Mountains of New Hampshire

* (44° 15' *N - Elevation 1580')

Lucky you! *Pickles freaks out if I pick up a pair of scissors to attack her
mats. *She'd probably be clinging to the ceiling, or tearing madly around
the house if I turned on electric clippers.

Joy

One technique I would use as a vet tech, would be to hold the clippers
close and just TURN IT ON, so in case the animal freaks, i'm not
already cutting. *This is especially useful, it you're clipping around
a wound or a sensitive area.

And in my 6 years I saw three cases of pets that needed laceration
repair when their owner tried to use scissors. *I only use scissors
when the pet IS freaked out from the clippers, but i grab the mat and
with two fingers as CLOSE to the skin as possible and then cut the
side away from the skin. *Better to cut myself than the pet.

Kristi- Hide quoted text -

Good advice, Kristi. When I got poor matted Biskit, something had to
be done
so I asked them just to clip her for sanitary purposes and not worry
about
doing a pro grooming haircut. How hard is that? Just shave the matts
off and
shave around her bottom and wash her. I made it clear that at this
point
her comfort and LESS TRAUMA was the important thing, not really how it
looked.
She came home with about 8 stitches in her side where they cut her
skin. I was
pretty angry about that. The vet tech gave me this song and dance
about how
terribly paper-thin a cat's skin is andsometimes it unavoidable. I
know their
skin is thin. But I have zero training, and usually nobody to help me
hold
her down, and I *never* cut her.

Sherry

"Mischief" wrote in message
...
On Apr 11, 3:59 pm, "Joy" wrote:
"---MIKE---" wrote in message

...
During the winter Tiger developed a number of bad mats (he is long
haired). Combing and brushing didn't work. Yesterday I got out my old
electric hair trimmer and plugged it in near my usual seat. Tiger
frequently zonks out next to me so I figured I could surprise him while
sleeping. To my surprise he didn't object and I was able to remove most
of the mats. This will make a vet trip unnecessary.

---MIKE---In the White Mountains of New Hampshire

(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

Lucky you! Pickles freaks out if I pick up a pair of scissors to attack
her
mats. She'd probably be clinging to the ceiling, or tearing madly around
the house if I turned on electric clippers.

Joy

One technique I would use as a vet tech, would be to hold the clippers
close and just TURN IT ON, so in case the animal freaks, i'm not
already cutting. This is especially useful, it you're clipping around
a wound or a sensitive area.

And in my 6 years I saw three cases of pets that needed laceration
repair when their owner tried to use scissors. I only use scissors
when the pet IS freaked out from the clippers, but i grab the mat and
with two fingers as CLOSE to the skin as possible and then cut the
side away from the skin. Better to cut myself than the pet.

Kristi

***

When I can use the scissors on Pickles, that is the technique I use, too.
While I'd like to get the mat off completely, I'm satisfied if I can cut
through the middle of it, so she has a chance to untangle what remains
through grooming.

The problem is that Pickles doesn't trust anybody but me, and she only
trusts me part of the time. I don't know whether she was born this wary or
whether it's because of the life she had before I got her.

Joy

"Sherry" wrote in message
...
On Apr 11, 11:49 pm, Mischief wrote:
On Apr 11, 3:59 pm, "Joy" wrote:





"---MIKE---" wrote in message

...
During the winter Tiger developed a number of bad mats (he is long
haired). Combing and brushing didn't work. Yesterday I got out my old
electric hair trimmer and plugged it in near my usual seat. Tiger
frequently zonks out next to me so I figured I could surprise him while
sleeping. To my surprise he didn't object and I was able to remove most
of the mats. This will make a vet trip unnecessary.

---MIKE---In the White Mountains of New Hampshire

(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

Lucky you! Pickles freaks out if I pick up a pair of scissors to attack
her
mats. She'd probably be clinging to the ceiling, or tearing madly around
the house if I turned on electric clippers.

Joy

One technique I would use as a vet tech, would be to hold the clippers
close and just TURN IT ON, so in case the animal freaks, i'm not
already cutting. This is especially useful, it you're clipping around
a wound or a sensitive area.

And in my 6 years I saw three cases of pets that needed laceration
repair when their owner tried to use scissors. I only use scissors
when the pet IS freaked out from the clippers, but i grab the mat and
with two fingers as CLOSE to the skin as possible and then cut the
side away from the skin. Better to cut myself than the pet.

Kristi- Hide quoted text -

Good advice, Kristi. When I got poor matted Biskit, something had to
be done
so I asked them just to clip her for sanitary purposes and not worry
about
doing a pro grooming haircut. How hard is that? Just shave the matts
off and
shave around her bottom and wash her. I made it clear that at this
point
her comfort and LESS TRAUMA was the important thing, not really how it
looked.
She came home with about 8 stitches in her side where they cut her
skin. I was
pretty angry about that. The vet tech gave me this song and dance
about how
terribly paper-thin a cat's skin is andsometimes it unavoidable. I
know their
skin is thin. But I have zero training, and usually nobody to help me
hold
her down, and I *never* cut her.

Sherry

***

This happened at a vet's office? I assumed you changed vets after that.

Joy

On Apr 11, 9:57*pm, Sherry wrote:
On Apr 11, 11:49*pm, Mischief wrote:



On Apr 11, 3:59*pm, "Joy" wrote:

"---MIKE---" wrote in message

...
During the winter Tiger developed a number of bad mats (he is long
haired). *Combing and brushing didn't work. *Yesterday I got out my old
electric hair trimmer and plugged it in near my usual seat. *Tiger
frequently zonks out next to me so I figured I could surprise him while
sleeping. *To my surprise he didn't object and I was able to remove most
of the mats. *This will make a vet trip unnecessary.

* * * * * * * * * ---MIKE---In the White Mountains of New Hampshire

* (44° 15' *N - Elevation 1580')

Lucky you! *Pickles freaks out if I pick up a pair of scissors to attack her
mats. *She'd probably be clinging to the ceiling, or tearing madly around
the house if I turned on electric clippers.

Joy

One technique I would use as a vet tech, would be to hold the clippers
close and just TURN IT ON, so in case the animal freaks, i'm not
already cutting. *This is especially useful, it you're clipping around
a wound or a sensitive area.

And in my 6 years I saw three cases of pets that needed laceration
repair when their owner tried to use scissors. *I only use scissors
when the pet IS freaked out from the clippers, but i grab the mat and
with two fingers as CLOSE to the skin as possible and then cut the
side away from the skin. *Better to cut myself than the pet.

Kristi- Hide quoted text -

Good advice, Kristi. When I got poor matted Biskit, something had to
be done
so I asked them just to clip her for sanitary purposes and not worry
about
doing a pro grooming haircut. How hard is that? Just shave the matts
off and
shave around her bottom and wash her. I made it clear that at this
point
her comfort and LESS TRAUMA was the important thing, not really how it
looked.
She came home with about 8 stitches in her side where they cut her
skin. I was
pretty angry about that. The vet tech gave me this song and dance
about how
terribly paper-thin a cat's skin is andsometimes it unavoidable. I
know their
skin is thin. But I have zero training, and usually nobody to help me
hold
her down, and I *never* cut her.

Sherry

Well, yes it IS paper thin and yes on rare occasions it is
unavoidable, like if the cat suddenly squirms. Also when they get
close to the skin, the skin can bunch and small nicks can happen.
thighs and armpits are usual places. I've done it. But usually the
tech is watching. But therein lies another problem.

On really tough mats, especially ones where its matted all the way to
the skin. Its really tough to see or even feel where the fur ends and
the skin begins.

Also it depends on what size blade you use. A 40 blade is used for
clipping and cleaning and shaving areas for surgery. it also can cut
skin if you're not careful.

For a cat with tough, to the skin mats, i would use a 10 blade, which
leaves a small length of hair. Usually it would not be sharp enough
for a thick mat, but i would turn it on and place it at the base of
the matt and gently work it in and then pull the mat with the other
hand. the idea was trying to increase the distance between skin and
mat so i could work the blade in farther. and then even still it
takes time and you can still nick the skin.

Also remember that most cats are NOT willing to sit still while you
shave the precious fur off, matted or no. Especially if you're
shaving her backside.

An 8 in laceration? Either the cat tried to run or the tech REALLY
screwed up, or a combination of both. If you just wanted a shave
around the backside, I wouldn't be surprised if a single tech tried to
do it themselves, and just lift up the tail. SOMETIMES you can get
away with it, and I admit that I've done it, without incident.
However, it just takes this ONE time for the cat to freak out and then
you're in trouble.

I'm sorry you had such a bad experience. i hope it never happens
again.

Take care,

Kristi

"---MIKE---" wrote in message
...
During the winter Tiger developed a number of bad mats (he is long
haired). Combing and brushing didn't work. Yesterday I got out my old
electric hair trimmer and plugged it in near my usual seat. Tiger
frequently zonks out next to me so I figured I could surprise him while
sleeping. To my surprise he didn't object and I was able to remove most
of the mats. This will make a vet trip unnecessary.


Well done that man. KFC got matted too as she aged and stopped grooming
herself even though she was short haired.
It was a real problem as she was always very short-tempered and not averse
to using her million claws if any type of remedial work was attempted..
Tweed

I really like the seam ripper idea and i am going to try that, MH doesn't
mind it so i will do like i did with the sizzors, i put the comb behind the
matt, and use the sizzors or furminator to remove it, the furminator works
really good with the comb behind theod but since yours doesn't like any of
that i doubt that would work, also have you ever tried the zoom groom? its
more like a massage tool, does great to get the under coat out, but i was
thinking the small version might be a bit more descrete and might get her
used to tools around her body, even trudi, who has beebees inbedded in her
back half, tolerates it very well, Lee
"Joy" wrote in message
...
I have one of those which I never use, so I could try that. It might well
work on her back, but I'm not so sure about the stomach. Unfortunately,
that's where the mats are, and often I can't get to it with anything. I'll
also try the seam ripper, which somebody else mentioned. It's small enough
that I can conceal it in my hand so she doesn't see it. She might let me
get in a few strokes with it before she catches on.

One problem with Pickles is that she's by far the skitteriest cat I've
ever had, and I had one that was named Skeeter (not by me) because she was
so skittery. I can almost never even pet her if she's lying anywhere
except on my lap, and she tolerates only certain things on my lap. Also,
she doesn't get on my lap nearly as often as I'd like, partly because
Waffles often won't allow her up there, and sometimes he's hogging the lap
himself. Because she sits there so seldom, I hate to do something that
will drive her away.

I will try those suggestions, though.

Joy

"Stormmee" wrote in message
...
something else i did because his hair is so very fine... i use a finger
nail brush on his legs and under his chin, its the kind shaped like a
hair brush, soft bristles but stiff enough to keep the fur from matting,
since yours hates anything brushing wise, could you get one of the nail
brushes that you hook your fingers in, then put it in the palm of your
hand with the bars around your hand, getting a few brushes by stealth
before she figures out its not your hand. Lee
"Joy" wrote in message
...
That looks like a good thing, but I don't think it would work with
Pickles. I have a single-bladed version called a Fur Buster, and she
won't let me use it for more than about 5 seconds. The same is true of
a brush.

--

Joy

No amount of time can erase the memory of a good cat, and no amount of
masking tape can ever totally remove his fur from your couch. - Leo
Dworken

"Stormmee" wrote in message
...
the furminator works great for MH, his matts were so bad they actually
bound DH's beard trimmers, so that didn't work, i ended up cutting with
sizzors and working with my fingers, then when he was almost bald, we
found the furminator, Lee
"Joy" wrote in message
...
"---MIKE---" wrote in message
...
During the winter Tiger developed a number of bad mats (he is long
haired). Combing and brushing didn't work. Yesterday I got out my
old
electric hair trimmer and plugged it in near my usual seat. Tiger
frequently zonks out next to me so I figured I could surprise him
while
sleeping. To my surprise he didn't object and I was able to remove
most
of the mats. This will make a vet trip unnecessary.


---MIKE---
In the White Mountains of New Hampshire
(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

Lucky you! Pickles freaks out if I pick up a pair of scissors to
attack her mats. She'd probably be clinging to the ceiling, or
tearing madly around the house if I turned on electric clippers.

Joy

this is so important, since i can't see and wasn't sure how mh would react
and we had tried everything else... what i ended up doing was putting a
sturdy comb behind the matt, sorta like a fro pic, then i cut on the outside
of the comb so i couldn't get near the skim with the blades or tips, this
sometimes meant cutting half the matt away, taking the comb out and working
it with my fingers then reinserting the comb, Lee
"Mischief" wrote in message
...
On Apr 11, 3:59 pm, "Joy" wrote:
"---MIKE---" wrote in message

...
During the winter Tiger developed a number of bad mats (he is long
haired). Combing and brushing didn't work. Yesterday I got out my old
electric hair trimmer and plugged it in near my usual seat. Tiger
frequently zonks out next to me so I figured I could surprise him while
sleeping. To my surprise he didn't object and I was able to remove most
of the mats. This will make a vet trip unnecessary.

---MIKE---In the White Mountains of New Hampshire

(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

Lucky you! Pickles freaks out if I pick up a pair of scissors to attack
her
mats. She'd probably be clinging to the ceiling, or tearing madly around
the house if I turned on electric clippers.

Joy

One technique I would use as a vet tech, would be to hold the clippers
close and just TURN IT ON, so in case the animal freaks, i'm not
already cutting. This is especially useful, it you're clipping around
a wound or a sensitive area.

And in my 6 years I saw three cases of pets that needed laceration
repair when their owner tried to use scissors. I only use scissors
when the pet IS freaked out from the clippers, but i grab the mat and
with two fingers as CLOSE to the skin as possible and then cut the
side away from the skin. Better to cut myself than the pet.

Kristi

I am wondering if you could get something from the vet to sedate her enough
to work on her/ not even sure if thats a possiblity, Lee
"Joy" wrote in message
. ..
"Mischief" wrote in message
...
On Apr 11, 3:59 pm, "Joy" wrote:
"---MIKE---" wrote in message

...
During the winter Tiger developed a number of bad mats (he is long
haired). Combing and brushing didn't work. Yesterday I got out my old
electric hair trimmer and plugged it in near my usual seat. Tiger
frequently zonks out next to me so I figured I could surprise him while
sleeping. To my surprise he didn't object and I was able to remove most
of the mats. This will make a vet trip unnecessary.

---MIKE---In the White Mountains of New Hampshire

(44° 15' N - Elevation 1580')

Lucky you! Pickles freaks out if I pick up a pair of scissors to attack
her
mats. She'd probably be clinging to the ceiling, or tearing madly around
the house if I turned on electric clippers.

Joy

One technique I would use as a vet tech, would be to hold the clippers
close and just TURN IT ON, so in case the animal freaks, i'm not
already cutting. This is especially useful, it you're clipping around
a wound or a sensitive area.

And in my 6 years I saw three cases of pets that needed laceration
repair when their owner tried to use scissors. I only use scissors
when the pet IS freaked out from the clippers, but i grab the mat and
with two fingers as CLOSE to the skin as possible and then cut the
side away from the skin. Better to cut myself than the pet.

Kristi

***

When I can use the scissors on Pickles, that is the technique I use, too.
While I'd like to get the mat off completely, I'm satisfied if I can cut
through the middle of it, so she has a chance to untangle what remains
through grooming.

The problem is that Pickles doesn't trust anybody but me, and she only
trusts me part of the time. I don't know whether she was born this wary
or whether it's because of the life she had before I got her.

Joy

On Apr 11, 5:45*pm, (---MIKE---) wrote:
During the winter Tiger developed a number of bad mats (he is long
haired). *Combing and brushing didn't work. *Yesterday I got out my old
electric hair trimmer and plugged it in near my usual seat. *Tiger
frequently zonks out next to me so I figured I could surprise him while
sleeping. *To my surprise he didn't object and I was able to remove most
of the mats. *This will make a vet trip unnecessary. *

* * * * * * * * * ---MIKE---In the White Mountains of New Hampshire

* (44° 15' *N - Elevation 1580')

Mike, one tool I forgot to mention that works really well on smaller
mats. It's
a wide-toothed comb, the tines are steel and each one swivels. Even
the cats
that don't like to be brushed seem to tolerate it really well. It was
great for
the spots on Cherokee that were mat-prone; his ruff, and his
"underarms", the
space under his front legs, and his petticoat.
Glad you were able to smooth out tiger's coat. Anytime you can avoid
a
grooming at the vets is a good thing.

Sherry

Mischief wrote:

And in my 6 years I saw three cases of pets that needed laceration
repair when their owner tried to use scissors. I only use scissors
when the pet IS freaked out from the clippers, but i grab the mat and
with two fingers as CLOSE to the skin as possible and then cut the
side away from the skin. Better to cut myself than the pet.

I have a small pair of scissors that are sharp enough to clip off Smudge's
mats easily, but have a rounded tip, so I don't have to worry that I might
poke her with a sharp point. The only thing I am concerned about is that
I might cut too close to the skin and accidentally cut her skin, so I err
greatly on the side of caution and end up removing, probably, too little
of the mat - but better that than the alternative!

Joyce

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