Thread: De-mating without injury

Hi Karena
Our old Persian cat hated the brush, so I'm very familiar with your battles.
It sounds that, despite your best efforts, Simba is just not having it.
So you're going to have to bug him in short,frequent bursts.
Get prepared with all the tools and equipment, then ask a friend to help you.
One of you gets hold of Simba, hangs on tight to the mighty paws, and the other has a go at the belly. You may only have a few minutes' window of opportunity.
Ignore the first few complaints and talk lovingly to him, but let go when he's REALLY pissed off. Then give him a treat and a big fuss (if he hasn't legged it).

If you manage this every 2 or 3 days, hopefully you won't get big knots.
If you do find a knot, my tip is forget the comb and scissors, and use some cordless beard trimmers. It's a bit like shearing a sheep, but usually they prefer it because it doesn't pull as much and it's quick.

Good luck!

Thank you both for your replies.

Candes - the sharp scissors scare me a bit because he figits so much - i use rounded end ones but the aren't very good at getting at the mats so I can understand why you use sharp scissors.

Howlinbob - The beard trimmers sound like a good idea. Having short bursts is what I am doing at the moment. He never used to get matts and doing it twice a week seemed ok but I think maybe now he is older I will have to grrom him more often like you say and keep on top of it. I can still feel a couple of largish mats under is left leg and so that is what I need to do next.

Has anyone used one of those de-matting tools bit like this one: Mikki Matt Breaker - Pet Supplies from PET SUPERMARKET the uk's #1 Online pet store

It has little blades on it to get through mats. Just wondered if it was worth ordering one. I going to look at beard trimmers now though!

I have always used a dematting comb on a couple of mine,luckily the ones that I show have never had any problems.Mine is a mikki one but I couldn't find one like it when I just looked but if you go into the pet section on Amazon there is one made by Trixie & another one by Salon,I find that because of how they hook to the side they are very easy to use,I did buy a ferminator but didn't have such good results & the coat didn't feel so good either.My daughters black cat had become a s** to groom & when you are battling with 10kg + you don't stand much chance so we got a cat Mikki muzzle put that on & with her just holding his feet gently & me with dematting comb we got on brilliantly,done it in several goes,stopped every time before he thought he had enough,done as someone else suggested & gave him treats & as he was such a good boy he had a special game as well,by the time she moved with him he was sorted but I did wonder how she would get on but she still used to muzzle him to start with & he would just lay & let her do it,now he is absolutely fine & mostly she can just groom him as normal,if he looks as if he is going to play up,muzzle on & no problems.....Good luck !

[QUOTE=jckkerrison;7734]I have always used a dematting comb on a couple of mine,luckily the ones that I show have never had any problems.Mine is a mikki one but I couldn't find one like it when I just looked but if you go into the pet section on Amazon there is one made by Trixie & another one by Salon,I find that because of how they hook to the side they are very easy to use,QUOTE]

Thanks for that - is this the one you use Mikki De-Matting Comb - Pet Supplies from PET SUPERMARKET the uk's #1 Online pet store

Originally Posted by Howlinbob

So you're going to have to bug him in short,frequent bursts.

That is also my tactic of choice with El Monto, Lord of the Mats.
I use a large-toothed comb to get hold of the mat and then cut it through with blunt-ended scissors. For mats that are not very thick I sometimes use the Furmaster... this is a different gadget from the Furminator... as far as I know you shouldn't use a Furminator on mats.
Usually after about 5 minutes Monty starts clawing at the comb and trying to bite it. I then try to prolong his ordeal a bit by distracting him with a toy, but at a certain point he simply bolts.
By this method, I usually manage to collect a modest heap of matted fur. The girls love to help by sneaking up on Monty and me, stealing the discarded fur and spreading it all over the living room.

Hi Karena,just got mine out to compare.....I have to say mine looks slightly more curved,more like the Trixie one but I know someone said that the design had changed a bit,couldn't get them for a little while so I don't know if they came back slightly different,would you be able to see it for yourself ? I find it is the nice rounded curve that seems to give you the dig in that you require !

I groom both of ours once / twice a week and make sure Im handing out little treats as I groom them. For the 'under the belly' bits I usually have to either chase them around a little bit or wait until they are in 'lap cat' mode. Once in lap cat mode its a simple matter for me to flip mine over and give them a decent brushing.
If I really need to attend to a spot then the best thing I can suggest is "welders gloves". Honestly, Ive yet to have any claws get through them and you can just brush away as their claws n paws go nuts on your hand :D
I also use them for playing 'catch my hand' on the cat tree.

I found the first matt in Freyja's coat, just under the front arms, at the weekend - I've not persisted with the brushing for the last two weeks - she's was cross enough with a smelly house and a small fluffy interloper and I really didn't want to push my luck. I got some good advice a couple of months ago about this very subject (distract her with a toy, get her while she's in soppy mode, get someone to help) but it takes no time at all for her to a) want to chew the comb as it's a toy that's begging to be chomped, and then b) lose her temper and get cross.

Where I come unstuck is:
1) getting OH to help should have made it easier, but he (bless his cotton socks) was hopeless; he just helped Freyja fold herself in half, successfully blocking access to the matt
2) that leaves me to 'restrain', entertain and brush at the same time, and although I'm pretty good on the multi-tasking front I still only actually have two hands; once I've dangled the toy and restrained the cat, there's no hands left for comb or scissors
3) because I have to operate on the 'one man band' system, I'm only brave enough to try scissors designed for trimming cat/dog faces and ears.
4) I can't tell where the matt stops and become skin and as I snipped away at my crumpled cat's fur I had the sickening feeling that the next chop might go through her skin

When you guys say you hold their paws, how exactly do you mean? to get under their front legs, do you get them standing on their back legs as though they're stretching upwards?

Hi Karen, I totally sympathise with your difficulties. After years of owning rescue moggies who don't take kindly to the brush, it was supposed to be much easier with a kitten, as you can 'get them used to it'. Hmm, I have found that this only goes so far, and my 2 are getting much less tolerant of the brush as they get older!

I'm nervous of using scissors for the very reason you mention - the chance you might nick their skin - ouch! When using scissors, always get a comb behind the knot, and cut up to the comb. But I don't use scissors any more - I find the cordless beard trimmers are much better. You are much less likely to nick the skin, and you don't have to pull on the knot so much, so I find the cat doesn't mind it as much, even though it makes a slight noise.

Still, you do really need a decent assistant. Any chance of training the OH??

Yes, hold them up so that they're standing on their back legs exposing the belly hair. You could hold them like this with one hand, and attack with the brush using the other hand. Obviously they won't like it, but you could at least give it a bit of a go, and hopefully keep on top of things.

I find the trickiest area is underneath the arms as this is where you would hold them whilst brushing the belly. I just wait until they're all sleepy, and then lift an arm up and get in there. Same with the back legs.

I always remember as a child, my lovely, lovely Auntie Pamela had 2 coffee Persian cats and I used to love watching her brush them. They were so docile - she got her special cat brushing apron on and plonked a cat on her lap, sprinkled a bit of talcum powder on, and brushed their neck and back, then flipped them over and brushed the belly. They would just lie there and take it. She did this every day so they never had knots! I have never known any other cat in my life be so accepting as those two.
My old Persian, Bob, was a bugger and hated the brush...