long hair cat's fur matting

[redrhodie]

Help! Eddy's fur is matting. I brush him everyday, and comb a couple of times per week. Still, I can't keep on top of it.

Anyone have a great solution, prevention or cure? Special brush you love? I think he's mostly Maine Coon, with super soft fur, like an angora rabbit.

[newfsmith]

Fine toothed combs, like flea combs work the best on cats. You do have to be careful because cat skin is so thin it is easy to tear it while combing if you hit a knot unexpectedly. This time of year you may need to comb daily, or consider having a groomer shave out any matts that get ahead of you. Maine Coons tend to be big cats, so they may have trouble reaching around to groom the center of their back. If that is the case, concentrate your combing there and ask your DVM if he is getting overweight.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

I have a pure Maine Coon and her undercoat is like gossamer swan's down. She cannot stand a fine tooth comb or the usual metal cat brush, since it pulls too much at the downy layer, pulling fur out and really bothering her.
She likes fat toothed combs and also a human brush with wide-apart plastic bristles that all have comfy rubber ball tips on each bristle. I'm mainly sort of raking the fur gently instead of brushing it. The soft 'raking' she likes- it's like a massage, and it keeps the fur nicely combed in one direction so it does not get matted.
Here is the type of brush she likes:
http://www.manicure4u.co.uk/images/9611.JPG
Look for one that is softer, not stiff-bristled.

Here is our 'princess', Pearl:
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2466/3636777433_8716e90ea0.jpg

[Biciclista]

I never did find an answer after having two different long haired cats. As they got older, their hair matted worse and they hated me.
A friend of mine just has her cat's hair clipped twice a year. no muss, no fuss.

[Tuckervill]

My furry cat has some mats in places he's never got them before. I'm puzzled. He usually gets them in his lion's mane, and I can usually cut them out while he's lying about. His mane is a little off kilter, then. But this time they're on his haunches. I didn't notice them for a long time, so they are very close to the skin. That always scares me, because I have cut him a couple of times trying to get mats off.

I don't brush him much, but when I do he LOVES it. His hair makes my nose itch so I try to avoid it. He is about 7 now, so maybe it is that he's getting older and that's why he has more mats?

Karen

[Biciclista]

yes, as he gets older it gets worse. If you dont' want to brush him, take him to a groomer. It can/will get really bad.
Even my short haired cats need some brushing this time of year! i brush pounds of hair off their little bodies.

[redrhodie]

I just found a spray groom with avacado oil that I'm going to try. I'll let you know how it goes. Next step will be a pro. I use the same brush as Lisa, as well as a metal comb. I'm really dilligent, and love brushing him (he turns into a purr-ball rollie pollie). It's just the mats are relentless, probably from all time time he spends in the sink. He LOVES water.

[alpinerabbit]

Mom's coon detests being combed, except in a new resting place he recently adopted (but he only tolerates a couple minutes).


My mother routinely cuts the mats out by sliding a comb underneath and cutting it off with small scissors. Again, one or two with two people at it, and that's it, he's gone.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

yes, as he gets older it gets worse.

Yes, as cats get older they can't bend to reach all their spots as much anymore.
Also....if a cat is FAT they won't be able to groom themselves well either- they can't bend in half! :(
I know several people with obese cats who have short hair and tons of matted fur and they also smell....because they can't clean themselves anymore- too FAT. :(

[Aggie_Ama]

:eek: Eeek! My kitty is medium fur, it is so soft I figured all I had to worry about is hair balls. It isn't coarse like some longer haired kitties, will it still matt? I have only had one long hair cat (a manx with a full tail) and he never matted. My schnauzer matts badly so now she gets a summer clip year round.

[spokewench]

My Big Kitty is part Maine Coon. Great cat; but hair has always been a problem. He likes being brushed and I used a brush like the one shown above for years; but still it came down to the fact that you could not keep him from matting at certain times a year. I took to having him groomed in the fall and the spring and this would keep most mats out; with some brushing on the side done by me.

Big Kitty is 23 going on 24 now; and this year, his fur was really matted down low against his body; small mats, not big ones you could comb out; and it is hard on him to be pulled on to have the groomer remove the mats. So, we bit the bullet and gave him a shave. He looks funny, but he is much easier to take care of and no mats. The funny thing that we found out though was that his fur, he is a mixture of white and black tipped tabby, is chocolate brown on the underside and only tipped with grey and black on the ends; so now he is a short haired chocolate brown cat with white. He's been shaved for a couple of months now and no black has appeared yet!

spoke

[Tuckervill]

My cat is not fat. The vet said he was BIG, though I never thought that. I guess I was just used to his size. I've had him since he was a kitten and I've never had him groomed. I don't know how he would react to that.

I just found out that one of my son's three cats has become a diabetic. I thought it was going to be the old fat rolly-polly one, but it's the young skinny one! The fat one, Sadie, can be one of those cats who doesn't clean herself well enough, and gets to stinking. They put her on weight control food and she's much smaller, but still overweight.

I guess I'll give the groomers a call.

Karen

[Karma007]

The only solution for my maine coon was a spring shave. He hated the actual event, but was so happy afterwards. You could scratch him right down to the skin and he loved it.

[Biciclista]

:eek: Eeek! My kitty is medium fur, it is so soft I figured all I had to worry about is hair balls. It isn't coarse like some longer haired kitties, will it still matt? I have only had one long hair cat (a manx with a full tail) and he never matted. My schnauzer matts badly so now she gets a summer clip year round.

yes, my fine haired medium haired cat had mats as he got older, and was very traumatized by my attempts to get rid of them.

[Aggie_Ama]

Thanks Mimi. Maybe since she is kinda a baby (1 year) I should start brushing her now. I didn't do that with my dog and it is a nightmare to brush her. :o

[Biciclista]

brush the cat now when she doesn't need it. be very careful and watch her body language. the minute she doesn't like it anymore;stop. try to stop while she's still enjoying it. Treats should follow a good brush session.
if she attacks you, even if she's right (because you pulled her hair), tell her no, but don't be harsh. When she's 10 or 12, at least then she won't have a bad attitude.

[redrhodie]

I was hoping the grooming spray would be the answer, but it's not solving the problem. I have managed to get him mat free due to daily brushing, combing, and cutting, but every morning, I go on mat patrol, and there's always at least one new one lurking deep.

Maybe the spray is helping the brush get down deeper into his coat, but it's not helping break up the mat once it's formed. Since I can't give it a good review, I won't mention the brand. It also makes him smell really pretty, which I hate. His natural scent is unoffensive, and I'm missing that. I can smell him coming now. He smells like a lady coming from the beauty parlor. He hates it, too. He makes the face when he sees the bottle. Poor little guy.

[BleeckerSt_Girl]

Maybe the spray is helping the brush get down deeper into his coat, but it's not helping break up the mat once it's formed. Since I can't give it a good review, I won't mention the brand. It also makes him smell really pretty, which I hate. His natural scent is unoffensive, and I'm missing that. I can smell him coming now. He smells like a lady coming from the beauty parlor. He hates it, too. He makes the face when he sees the bottle. Poor little guy.

Ewww!!

I think the quick daily combing here and there does more than anything to prevent the mats from forming. I think you just had a lot of catching up to do and if you do a little every day it will only get better and better. Don't forget you are still brushing out lots of hairs that are already shed (maybe that were shed long ago even) but are just hanging around deep in his fur. Once you get caught up on that there will be less tendency to knot next to the skin. At least that's what i found with mine over the years.

[RolliePollie]

My friends just had a groomer shave their medium/long haired kitty because of mats. He looks really funny because they left his head and tail unshaved, but he seems much happier. Plus I bet he'll be a lot cooler for summer. And have fewer hairballs. Someday I'm sure I'll have to do this with my long haired cat too.

[smilingcat]

My friends just had a groomer shave their medium/long haired kitty because of mats. He looks really funny because they left his head and tail unshaved, but he seems much happier. Plus I bet he'll be a lot cooler for summer. And have fewer hairballs. Someday I'm sure I'll have to do this with my long haired cat too.

A lion cut. How cute. Just make sure the kitty stays out of the sun. Else he might get sun burned.

We use a special brush called the furminator (deshedding brush) (http://www.furminator.com). It really works. But again, if the fur is matted, the brush will pull on the mat so you have to becareful. The other downside is that this brush is pricey. around $30.00 for the small one. We use the same brush on our two big dogs and they love it.

[lisathew8lifter]

I have persian cats and the ONLY Thing that i would suggest with your maine coon is this:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=18687

it took me many years and several cats to figure it out but this is quite honestly the only tool to groom a long haired cat.

[tctrek]

I used to breed Persians... they would mat when they were "dropping" their coat once or twice a year. I have grooming clippers and gave them a cool lion clip -- left their ruff and a pom-pom on the end of their tail. They would run around like kittens when they got that cut. I think it was a big relief to them.

[redrhodie]

Thanks for the new suggestions! lisalifter, I'm going to give that a try.

[redrhodie]

Update: We've got it under control! When I took him for his rabies shot, I asked the vet what she recommends, and she told me about this:

http://www.furminatorcat.com/

I had to think twice about buying it because it was really expensive, but since getting it, he hasn't had a mat. It's a little scary reading the warnings that come with it, but luckily he loves it, and is reacting well to it (I read reviews, and not all cats do). I haven't had as much fur on my clothes or rugs either. I'm still brushing him daily with his regular brush since the furminator doesn't remove existing mats, but it's really made a huge difference in preventing new ones.

[Biciclista]

what are the scary warnings?

[redrhodie]

It can cause brush burn, and should be used near sensitive areas. It shouldn't be used on tangled or matted fur, or on bruised or sore skin. I guess it's not that scary, but I was a little afraid to use it deeply enough the first time.

Last night I brushed off a kitten of fur. He's half the size now!