Advice for 'matted' 16yo feral?

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nckitties3

nckitties3

Member Since 2013
Evening all.

I have a problem with my old girl and hope that maybe one of you might have some suggestions. Shadow, more affectionately called Meow Meow, because she is SO vocal, has a problem with fur mats. The biggest cause of this, is because she refuses to allow you to touch her, in any way, past her mid body. It has been this way since she adopted me, when she was 5 months old and in heat, in a grocery store parking lot at 1am, starving! She was a cat skeleton with fur on it! Vet said, the only reason she came up to me was because she was in heat and starving, or she would have never gotten that close. :sad:

Anyway, she has no problem with her head, neck and shoulders being brushed, but don't go any further than her mid back. :o At her age, over 16 now, she just doesn't preen herself like she used to. Last shedding season, I managed to cut and brush them out, over the course of several weeks, but it's difficult! I can usually cut out one, if I catch her asleep, but I only have a second or 2 before she is up and ready to fight! I don't know why she is the way she is, she has had complete physicals all her life and they have never found any medical reason why she refuses to allow you to touch her hind half. If she is eating, you might get 2-3 seconds to do something and she will be squalling the whole time before she attacks! :o It's so crazy because you can pet her for hours, as long as it's on her front half, she loves it. :-D

Just wondered if anyone has experience with ferals or had a problem like this. Any suggestions are appreciated. I just don't have any more ideas. :sad:
 
Tiggy is the same. He has long fur and isnt that good at cleaning around his lower area. So I brush round his head (loves it) and quickly down to the bum, and back to his head for a minute or two, then back to the bum and so on. He also tolerates the bum brushing more at the start of the session. I trim his mats when he is asleep but only a little bit - like i cut the top off them quick - maybe one a day and then get the rest with the brush later.

You could try picking up some feliway. Or while she is sniffing/eating catnip?
 
Yeah Wendy, that's pretty much the same way I do it.
But Shadow isn't even long haired, her fur is different, like she has an undercoat that the other cats don't have, it's thick. Almost like Huskies or German Shepherds have, really strange and the only cat I've ever had that has it. Could be why she is more apt to mat up.

Guess I'll just keep at it the way I have been, a little at a time. :roll:
 
What type of brush are you using on her? I actually ended up having to go get a new hairbrush for myself because Autumn and Maxwell liked mine better than theirs...lol.

I use to have a guy that was just kind of plushy that loved to be petted and even brushed as long as you didn't go past his shoulders...but I used a dog's slicker brush and he loved that all over, just nothing else got past his shoulders without someone getting bloodied. :roll:

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
I've probably got 6-8 different brushes, some double sided, and a couple human hair brushes and a couple of combs, including a slicker and de-shedding comb/tool, one specifically for cats. :roll: It doesn't matter what you use, even your hand, she wants nothing on the back half of her body. :sad: I have some made for cats and some for dogs, since I had Golden Retrievers for over 20 years and lord knows how they shed! :shock:

Doing it the way I have been, I guess is the only way I can. The other 2 cats love to be brushed all over. I really think it is a combination of feral and her strange fur. Who knows? She IS a cat afterall. :lol:

And she is the only one that WILL bite you and I prefer not to be bitten. Getting clawed up is bad enough! ohmygod_smile I have thought about having her shaved on her backside but it would be too traumatic for her. She vomits within 5 mins of being in the car. :sad:
 
Yeah I was going to suggest taking her to the vet's and letting them Lion cut her, but remembered you said she vomits everytime in her carrier from stress. :cry:

Mel, Maxwell, Autumn & The Fur Gang
 
You'd think after 16+ years she'd have mellowed a little. Not. :lol: She's funny though, when I pick her up to put her on the bed or take her off the bed, etc, she just squalls! It's cross between a growl and a meow. Never had a cat make the noises she does. And she will do it as long as you are holding her, sounds like you are killing her, I swear! :lol: Honest, if someone heard her, they would think I was killing her for sure! When all I did was pick her up. ohmygod_smile Guess its a feral thing, I dunno. :lol:
 
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