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Post by mom26 on Jan 8, 2019 5:55:08 GMT
We have a 22 lb Ragdoll and he has developed some horrific mats on his chest and under his 'arms'. We've tried every dematting comb and pet groomer thingy known to man. He loses his ever-loving mind within 2 minutes of being worked on. We've got many a war wound trying to get these mats out.
We've asked our vet and other vets for help, thinking hey, can you put him under and cuts those mats out? Big fat NO on that from all of them.
They did refer us to a couple of cat groomers but they had the same problem. He is HUGE and his claws/teeth are deadly. They got nowhere with him and did, in fact, not charge us at all.
We've tried the homeopathic calming crap. Even CDB oil.
NOTHING works.
Short of bonking him on the head just right and knocking him out, we are at the end of our rope.
Any ideas?
PS: It takes 3 of us just to trim his nails. Two each to hold front legs and back legs and one with the clippers. Even then, it has to be done over a couple of sessions. He gets so worked up almost immediately, he loses his mind and pees himself. We've had him since he was 12 weeks old (he's 4 now) and there was never a traumatic experience, he just hated it right out the gate. Our other Ragdoll loves being groomed.
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Post by cmpeter on Jan 8, 2019 5:59:33 GMT
Would the vet prescribe an anti-anxiety drug for him? Just something to calm him down, not knock him out.
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Post by mom26 on Jan 8, 2019 6:02:53 GMT
Would the vet prescribe an anti-anxiety drug for him? Just something to calm him down, not knock him out. We asked, and they said to just give him half a crushed up Benadryl. Didn't help.  |
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Post by vjlau on Jan 8, 2019 6:11:50 GMT
Oh my! My fluffy black cat gets super mats. We have tried everything and shes so crazy. We have finally just resigned taking her to the vet every 3-4 months. They do a $20 "Sanitary shave" (cracks me up that they call it that) and just razor off her yucky parts. It's not pretty, but I actually think she's happy to have it gone. They don't drug her, but take her to the back and do it quick. I think the fact that she's nervous there as well as the fact they can do it fast helps. It takes them less than 5 minutes. Good luck!
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Post by mom26 on Jan 8, 2019 6:14:44 GMT
Oh my! My fluffy black cat gets super mats. We have tried everything and shes so crazy. We have finally just resigned taking her to the vet every 3-4 months. They do a $20 "Sanitary shave" (cracks me up that they call it that) and just razor off her yucky parts. It's not pretty, but I actually think she's happy to have it gone. They don't drug her, but take her to the back and do it quick. I think the fact that she's nervous there as well as the fact they can do it fast helps. It takes them less than 5 minutes. Good luck! Oh, I wish the vets around here would do that! I've literally called every vet within 25 miles (and it's a LOT, maybe 45?) None of them will do that. |
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wellway
Prolific Pea
Posts: 8,785
Jun 25, 2014 20:50:09 GMT
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Post by wellway on Jan 8, 2019 11:13:06 GMT
I have a dog who needs regular grooming to avoid mats so I understand the importance of the task. He tolerates it because he knows there is a treat waiting. I'm not above bribery in this case!
I wonder if there is an internet group for your type of cat. You can't be the only owner(term used loose) who has this problem and maybe they can explain what worked for them.
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Post by christine58 on Jan 8, 2019 11:17:32 GMT
try a whole benadryl...half isn't enough
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Post by gryroagain on Jan 8, 2019 12:22:18 GMT
Where I live groomers only do cats if they are sedated- I am trying to imagine not sedating a cat for a full groom...yikes!
I bribe the feral long haired twin hellions with food and cut the mats out. Yes, they look terrible, like rats chewed them. But I can’t brush them, they won’t tolerate it. If ai use the super sharp little grooming scissors and aim for 1-2 a day while they are getting a surprise can of fancy feast, it works.
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Post by Skellinton on Jan 8, 2019 13:37:07 GMT
We have a cat that came with mats, the groomers couldn’t do anything, but our vet was willing to put him under to groom. He is all white and they left his head a bit fluffy and his ankles and paws fluffly. He looked like a snow lion wearing ugg boots. It was adorable, but fortunately he learned to take care of himself after that. He still won’t tolerate being combed or brushed.
I would call another vet or ask for recommendations for a vet that will do it on good neighbor,
Good luck. We have one other fluffy cat who periodically gets a mat or two, but like the post above me we just snip at them everyday (I usually get one cut in at a time because I want to be sure not to hurt her) and eventually get them off.
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miyooper2b
Full Member
Posts: 330
Location: Central Indiana
Jun 27, 2014 15:38:05 GMT
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Post by miyooper2b on Jan 8, 2019 14:42:45 GMT
I have a long-haired cat with the same issues. I gave up trying to do it myself after a very nasty scratch became infected. Now I take her to the vet, who sedates her and then removes the mats. It's the only way I can keep her properly groomed. It cost me about $250 each time and I take her about twice a year.
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christinec68
Drama Llama
Posts: 5,135 
Location: New York, NY
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Post by christinec68 on Jan 8, 2019 14:48:32 GMT
Our cat got like that when she was older and the same way - she hated being handled and became an absolute beast. I would cut some out but after about a minute it became dangerous because she fought me so hard. Our vet had a grooming service who came in once a week so we brought her there and gave them permission to sedate her if necessary, which it was.
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Post by wezee on Jan 8, 2019 14:56:04 GMT
we just ended up having the groomer shave her down
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Post by beepdave on Jan 8, 2019 15:01:38 GMT
My friends take their ragdoll to be shaved twice a year. They almost lost one of them because of the long hair getting caught in its stomach! The mats were so bad before they started doing this.
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Post by PolarGreen12 on Jan 8, 2019 15:06:51 GMT
You need to look for a groomer that works out of a Veterinary Office. They usually have a system with the vets on staff for cat sedation and schedule specific days in the week where they do cats. They sedate them, not anesthetize. So there is not usually any hangover, or other after affects. I worked at a Vet Clinic in college with this arrangement. A groomer can not sedate animals. If you are able to locate one in your area, ask for the lion cut. That way you won't have to deal with it again for quite some time.
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Post by bbkeef on Jan 8, 2019 15:21:27 GMT
In his younger days, our dude (Maine Coon) would not tolerate much other than brushing. We took him to the vet 2x a year to get a sedation grooming with a lion cut. So cute! Now that he's older (15), he loves the attention of being brushed AND lets me use an electric pet clipper on him. But for only 10 minutes at a time. For really bad mats, I cut an X into them and then cut each portion off. Maybe some day your cat will allow you to do more. Treats are always given at the end of a grooming session.
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Post by katlaw on Jan 8, 2019 15:27:29 GMT
Have you tried Feliway? I have heard good reviews of that calming a cat down.
And how about a mobile vet that will come to your home? Mobile groomers? Do you have any in your area that would be willing to come. You cannot be the only person with a difficult cat and the need for grooming services, it is too bad all of the vets you have contacted have not offered a solution.
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MsKnit
Pearl Clutcher
RefuPea #1406
Posts: 2,648
Jun 26, 2014 19:06:42 GMT
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Post by MsKnit on Jan 8, 2019 16:50:42 GMT
Fortunately, my fluffy cat loves DH and chicken jerky. It's the only way I get a couple of swipes with the comb or to cut off a mat. Oddly enough, of all the animals, she is my most well behaved for pedicures.
If it weren't for DH, Miss Thing would be a matted mess, too.
Good luck finding a solution!
PS--I would try upping the Benadryl by 1/4 of a tablet. I'd be afraid to go the full tablet immediately.
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Post by papercrafteradvocate on Jan 8, 2019 16:51:01 GMT
Oh my! My fluffy black cat gets super mats. We have tried everything and shes so crazy. We have finally just resigned taking her to the vet every 3-4 months. They do a $20 "Sanitary shave" (cracks me up that they call it that) and just razor off her yucky parts. It's not pretty, but I actually think she's happy to have it gone. They don't drug her, but take her to the back and do it quick. I think the fact that she's nervous there as well as the fact they can do it fast helps. It takes them less than 5 minutes. Good luck! The cat version of a “Brazilian wax” 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 |
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Post by MichyM on Jan 8, 2019 17:08:30 GMT
You need a new vet. Ask for a prescription for gabapentin and/or find a vet who will do the grooming. I would not be happy with a vet who left me hanging with a matted cat with behavioral issues.
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Post by wallyagain on Jan 8, 2019 19:02:22 GMT
You need a new vet. Ask for a prescription for gabapentin and/or find a vet who will do the grooming. I would not be happy with a vet who left me hanging with a matted cat with behavioral issues. The poor baby, you know that the mats have to be painful. We had a maine coone that we took dog clippers to the mats, as they seemed to get beyond a comb out overnight. He looked ridiculous but I’m sure he felt better once the mat was gone. I agree find a vet that will help, how ridiculous of any vet that doesn’t understand the struggle. Good luck. |
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lurkyloo
Full Member
Posts: 284
Dec 5, 2018 6:53:08 GMT
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Post by lurkyloo on Jan 8, 2019 20:34:31 GMT
Get a new vet.
Also, next time he is having a dental cleaning and is already out, have the mats shaved off then.
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Post by scrapmaven on Jan 8, 2019 20:35:57 GMT
Both of my kats are shorter hair, so it's easier. My beloved buddy who passed 3 years ago was a long haired kitty. We never needed to sedate him to have him groomed, but he wasn't as angry about it.
For mani/pedis on my two kitties ds holds them while I do the work. We have to scruff him. That's a tip from the vet. Scruffing is what their mamas do in order to control them or protect them, so when you scruff they freeze.
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Post by crimsoncat05 on Jan 8, 2019 20:40:05 GMT
is there any way you can burrito-wrap the cat tightly enough in a towel to maybe get a few of the worst mats cut out? (pull out whatever extremity you need... I follow a YouTube channel where they work with feral cats; they wrap the ENTIRE cat in a towel, then very carefully cut a hole into the towel where they need to see the ears, for example. Any chance that could work?
I would also be VERY unhappy with a vet that did not offer ANY solutions whatsoever to an issue like that and would be looking to find someone else. Because yeah- the matted fur could cause other health issues.
ETA: one of our Shelties is horrible about being groomed, although he's not THAT bad (nor does he have the claws a cat does!)... I have to practically lay on top of him to hold him down, and he always ends up with 'bald' spots behind his ears because the mats get bad enough that all I can do is cut them out. And trimming his nails is usually an ongoing process- I get just a couple nails, and he's over it already.
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Post by Zee on Jan 8, 2019 23:01:07 GMT
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Post by birukitty on Jan 9, 2019 1:26:44 GMT
I find it reprehensible that not one buy several vets that mom26 called have turned her and her ragdoll cat away without any help. If this continues her cat will be suffering. And they know that. What the heck-where is their compassion for animals? If they aren't set up to do the job I get that, but they could have contacted other vets with their resources until they found one that could.
Mom26 I think what Polargreen12 said makes the most sense. If I were you I'd continue to call vets until I either found one that could do the job or found one that could recommend someone that could. I am so sorry you are going through this with your cat. Lashing out as he does is due to being scared, it is not done in viciousness. I think you know this, but I just though I'd point it out.
We have a traditional Siamese and were extremely lucky with the breeder. She touched the kittens feet often and got them used to this and to being held. Because of this Jesse lies in my arms like a baby and lets DH trim his nails with no trouble at all. We don't even give him a treat when we are done-we don't have to. To him it's no big deal at all.
I wish you the best of luck with your Ragdoll. They are wonderful cats for what I've read and I hope you are able to find a solution soon.
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Post by 950nancy on Jan 9, 2019 3:53:53 GMT
I have seen people take old purses and cut four wide holes in them and insert the cat/dog. Then hang them from a doorway and trim their nails.
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Post by Zee on Jan 9, 2019 3:56:59 GMT
I have seen people take old purses and cut four wide holes in them and insert the cat/dog. Then hang them from a doorway and trim their nails. Haha genius! But they can still pull their claws away and make it difficult. I like the mental picture of my cat in a purse getting his claws clipped  |
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Post by mom26 on Jan 9, 2019 4:14:07 GMT
I have a dog who needs regular grooming to avoid mats so I understand the importance of the task. He tolerates it because he knows there is a treat waiting. I'm not above bribery in this case! I wonder if there is an internet group for your type of cat. You can't be the only owner(term used loose) who has this problem and maybe they can explain what worked for them. ***That's a great idea, to look for an internet group, hopefully one in my area. My friends take their ragdoll to be shaved twice a year. They almost lost one of them because of the long hair getting caught in its stomach! The mats were so bad before they started doing this. ***Oh, no. That is very scary. Koby does hack up a lot hairballs. Thanks for the warning about that.You need to look for a groomer that works out of a Veterinary Office. They usually have a system with the vets on staff for cat sedation and schedule specific days in the week where they do cats. They sedate them, not anesthetize. So there is not usually any hangover, or other after affects. I worked at a Vet Clinic in college with this arrangement. A groomer can not sedate animals. If you are able to locate one in your area, ask for the lion cut. That way you won't have to deal with it again for quite some time. *** I have looked for a vet office that offers grooming services, but they mostly do dogs and warn that the dogs barking makes grooming a difficult cat pretty much impossible. We're hoping to get him more tolerate of grooming somehow, not traumatize him more. If that makes sense?We used to cut the mats out of my neighbor's semi feral cat. No way she was going to tolerate brushing them out, but she was very aware we were just trying to help her. What we did was use children's blunt end scissors and cut off the first piece. We would let her sniff it and look at it, and continued to let her sniff each piece as we cut it off. if she got antsy, we would stop and continue the next time. ***Oh, very good idea to use blunt tip scissors. Thank you!Have you tried Feliway? I have heard good reviews of that calming a cat down. And how about a mobile vet that will come to your home? Mobile groomers? Do you have any in your area that would be willing to come. You cannot be the only person with a difficult cat and the need for grooming services, it is too bad all of the vets you have contacted have not offered a solution. ***We don't have many mobile groomers in our area and we did contact several. They all insisted on giving him a bath first. I'm not on board with that. As I said above, I'm hoping to one day get him more cooperative with grooming, not more traumatized at this point.
I do have a call in for another mobile groomer I found but I haven't heard back from them yet. Fingers crossed they are The Ones that can get this taken care of for our Kobster. Both of my kats are shorter hair, so it's easier. My beloved buddy who passed 3 years ago was a long haired kitty. We never needed to sedate him to have him groomed, but he wasn't as angry about it. For mani/pedis on my two kitties ds holds them while I do the work. We have to scruff him. That's a tip from the vet. Scruffing is what their mamas do in order to control them or protect them, so when you scruff they freeze. ***Scruffing wigs DH out. He read somewhere that it's easy to strangle the cat if you aren't careful, so he freaks when I employ that method. I, for one, believe in it.
However, if you happened to read my post a little while back when we tried to take the cat to a groomer and DH didn't make it two houses down because Koby started crying, you'd know what a mush DH is when it comes to the cats. I'm fighting more than one battle here, ladies! is there any way you can burrito-wrap the cat tightly enough in a towel to maybe get a few of the worst mats cut out? (pull out whatever extremity you need... I follow a YouTube channel where they work with feral cats; they wrap the ENTIRE cat in a towel, then very carefully cut a hole into the towel where they need to see the ears, for example. Any chance that could work? I would also be VERY unhappy with a vet that did not offer ANY solutions whatsoever to an issue like that and would be looking to find someone else. Because yeah- the matted fur could cause other health issues. ETA: one of our Shelties is horrible about being groomed, although he's not THAT bad (nor does he have the claws a cat does!)... I have to practically lay on top of him to hold him down, and he always ends up with 'bald' spots behind his ears because the mats get bad enough that all I can do is cut them out. And trimming his nails is usually an ongoing process- I get just a couple nails, and he's over it already. ***If all else fails, the burrito wrap is a good idea. And yeah, I'm not happy with our vet or many of the vets around here, either. I've been truly shocked that every one I've contacted can't help us. I find it reprehensible that not one buy several vets that mom26 called have turned her and her ragdoll cat away without any help. If this continues her cat will be suffering. And they know that. What the heck-where is their compassion for animals? If they aren't set up to do the job I get that, but they could have contacted other vets with their resources until they found one that could. Mom26 I think what Polargreen12 said makes the most sense. If I were you I'd continue to call vets until I either found one that could do the job or found one that could recommend someone that could. I am so sorry you are going through this with your cat. Lashing out as he does is due to being scared, it is not done in viciousness. I think you know this, but I just though I'd point it out. We have a traditional Siamese and were extremely lucky with the breeder. She touched the kittens feet often and got them used to this and to being held. Because of this Jesse lies in my arms like a baby and lets DH trim his nails with no trouble at all. We don't even give him a treat when we are done-we don't have to. To him it's no big deal at all. I wish you the best of luck with your Ragdoll. They are wonderful cats for what I've read and I hope you are able to find a solution soon. **I find it horrid, too. And I, too, agree with @polargreen, I just haven't found one that can agree to separate the dogs from the cats and is willing to take him on, knowing how difficult he is. And you're right, he'd not difficult because he's vicious - he's actually the most loving, affectionate cat I've ever known - he's just scared and freaked out by being groomed.
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Post by mom26 on Jan 9, 2019 4:23:05 GMT
I also wanted to say a big Thank You to all who replied and shared ideas and stories of your own struggles with a matted cat. It always helps to know you aren't the only one and that there can be solutions found. You ladies truly rock.  |
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Post by katlaw on Jan 9, 2019 5:30:41 GMT
***We don't have many mobile groomers in our area and we did contact several. They all insisted on giving him a bath first. I'm not on board with that. As I said above, I'm hoping to one day get him more cooperative with grooming, not more traumatized at this point. I do have a call in for another mobile groomer I found but I haven't heard back from them yet. Fingers crossed they are The Ones that can get this taken care of for our Kobster. Poor baby. I love my cats and would not subject to a bath. They would be traumatized. My DH read that if the cats can watch what you are doing it can cause anxiety. So when we trim their claws my DH holds the cat and gently covers their eyes with his hand. I trim their claws. And for the most part they are calm and don't mind at all. I like the suggestion of the burrito wrap and covering his eyes. And I wonder if you did that and then did nothing else. Just held him like that for a few moments. Let him relax. And then let him go. Get him used to being held that way without fear. Then try the same thing with trimming a small amount of matted fur. Stop as soon as he becomes upset. Maybe you can build up to a regular quick trim. |
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