Is there anything that will get heavy matts out of fur?

Question

My elderly cat will not let me groom her. This summer she's gotten major tangles and matts all over her body. Is there anything I can spray on it that will detangle those matts? The grooming salon won't take her because her shots are outdated (she had bad reactions to them and really doesn't need them because she's a housecat), and I don't want to have her sedated and groomed at the vet because she's too old.

Any advice on how to get these tangles out or a good product?

Answer 1

Yup! Sometimes shaving is the only answer! If you don't want to have her sedated try giving her Valerian. The breeder I got my Maine Coon from reccomended it to calm them down. You can get it from Boots and most cats actually like it and will eat it voluntarily.

If you are going to trim her yourself BE CAREFUL!

Cats have really elastic skin and it stretches real easy and can be easy to nick. We bought a special blade from a pet shop to do this but it was lethal so we just used a small pair of scissors.

Answer 2

Other than shaving, not much is going to take care of very large mats.  Smaller and medium sized ones can be combed out carefully with a wide-toothed comb or hair pick.  You can try pulling them apart with your fingers first.  One client I talked to said she used a seam ripper on her cat's mats.  Shorthaired cats get them too.  One of mine (now gone) was shorthaired and got covered with small mats.  I set some canned food in front of her for a distraction and worked on them for a few minutes at a time over several days, until I got them all.

Answer 3

I don't know of any spray products, but if she will let you comb her, there is a device that would work. It's called "the furminator" I think. You can get it at PetSmart. I have three cats and use it on each of them once a week or so. I get enough hair off them to knit a whole new cat.

Answer 4

Pretty much the only way to get the mats out is to shave them off.  The fine hair gets so tangled it is really difficult to untangle them and is quite an unpleasant experience for cats who are not sedated for the combing.

We used to shave our Persians when their fur got too matted to comb.  It takes a while to grow back, though, so be prepared for that if you choose to go this route.

Answer 5

you really need to get her shaved-the vet won't sedate her if she's not in good enough health so age isn't a reason in itself. our cat had her teeth done when she was 16-she was fine

Answer 6

Hi

You could try Natures Miracle Deodorizing and Conditioning Spray

It has a Citrus scent

Answer 7

she probably won't let you brush her because it hurts too much as the mats pull on her skin and this is very painful to her. you have to carefully cut them out with a pair of scissors first and then brush her to remove any loose hair that is left. she won't look very pretty for a while, but she will feel a lot better.  

Answer 8

I have not run across a good product but I just wear gloves and attack with my scissors. My cat is very sensitive about her matts and I make it a ritual to groom and snip a bit each time.

Answer 9

I don' t know, we got to the point that we had to just get my cat shaved whenever the mats got too bad. You might try giving her a very small dose of childrens benedryl.(sp?) we use that on my dogs... and I repeat a VERY small dose. It might relax her enough to let you trim and groom her.

Best of luck to you!

Answer 10

Lime juice. My mom use to use it as a detangler and when she wants to like it off it won't hurt her. Plus I can't remember a time when it hurt my eyes.