Sedation

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sueandsamwise

sueandsamwise

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My cat Samwise, (in remission) is going to the vet tomorrow to be shaved. They will put him under to do it. I want to know if this is safe. He can't eat after 9 tonight. He will probably not get any food until he comes home at 5. I am very worried about this and need time to cancel the appointment today. Thanks, Sue
 
Sue, have you had Samwise shaved before and if so, did he have issues?

I think you should call your vet and discuss this procedure with her and see what she says.

Best,
Pam & Layla
 
I talked to the receptionist, she made the appointment, I didn't get to talk to the vet. We have been shaving off some of his mats at home and he is now at the growling point. He doesn't try to bite or scratch. Maybe I should cancel the vet and just go with a groomer or try to get them off ourselves.
 
They should have a small cloth muzzle they could put on him to prevent him from biting anyone during the shave, if that is their reason for sedation.

Gandalf is a long haired male and because he can no longer groom I have him shaved once a year. It is done by a clinic staff member who is an ex-groomer, the two of us do it together - I hold him for her. Yes, he gets mad, yes he swats and we put that type of cloth muzzle on him so he cannot bite.

Another reason for sedation would be for less stress on the cat. Next year I may ask them to sedate Gandalf because the procedure caused him to get extremely anxious since then when "it's time to go to the vet." I never tell him that, he just knows! After we got home that day he was giving me kisses because I think he felt so much better. Definitely get the mats shaved off - he will feel better.

Perhaps you could call a couple groomers and get their advice.

Fasting for 12 hours is mainly because they don't want any possibility of food coming back up while sedated. If the cat is not on insulin, it should not be a problem for him to be without food that long.

But sedation for a shave should only be necessary in extreme cases of anxiety or aggressiveness.
 
Well, I called and canceled the appt anyway. They wanted over $100 just to do it and I can't afford that right now. Poor Samwise, we'll try and do it at home. The tech on the phone did say they would just "box him down" so a light sedation and I could feed him in the morning and they'd do it later in the day. She was willing to try w/o the sedation but I went for the we'll try it ourselves at home thing. ****, he does need it done so wish me luck. Off to Google how to shave a cat's belly. Thanks every body. I will also call a couple of groomers to see what they charge.
 
From your description it sounds like they wanted to box/tank the cat down. An gas anesthesia/ oxygen is introduced in the tank until the cat is sedated enough to be removed from the tank. Then they probably use a mask to continue the mixture while the cat is shaved. The initial boxing/tanking is said to be very stressful to a cat.
 
Hi Sue

sueandsamwise said:
The tech on the phone did say they would just "box him down" so a light sedation
Click to expand...

That's not a light sedation and it's "old-school" -- there are safer ways to sedate a cat.

Off to Google how to shave a cat's belly. Thanks every body. I will also call a couple of groomers to see what they charge.
Click to expand...

If his mats are not tight to his skin you may be able to do it at home. If the mats are tight/right down to pulling his skin, I'd be very worried that a struggling cat could be accidentally cut.
 
My Raven gets shaved by a groomer every summer. The girl at my vet clinic isn't comfortable doing cats by herself but she did recommend a great groomer for us. Rave has gone there for 5 years now. She gets really growly with me at home but behaves much better for the groomer.

It costs us $45 and is well worth it!
 
I went and bought a bigger newer clipper and tried to shave his belly. I got the biggest mat off but clipper burned him. <cringe> His skin is so fragile and loose and I will NOT try this again unless it's just a small mat not so close to the skin. Thanks for everyone's help, I called a couple of groomers and will make an appt. for Samwise next week.
 
What brand/model clipper did you use and what number blade did you use? A lot of time you have to use a blade that cuts close to get under the mat.
 
It is a Wahl ProPet clipper. I'm not sure of the blade size. I'll check when I get home. A cat shavin' lady online said a #10 is the only size you need. I found another place where he is cut so I'll let him heal then off to a groomer. I can use the clipper on my horses and cut bridle paths and body clip my big horse. He's still got some hair left over.
 
A #10 blade is a good choice. Are you keeping the base of the blade parallel to the body? When you tilt the pointed part of the into the body you can get clipper burn. I have an Oster two speed and have #40, #10, #7F, #5F and #4F. I bought them to shave my dog though.
 
oh wow, I wish I had seen this thread earlier.

A couple of years ago I took my long haired civvie to the vets to get groomed because of the mats...they wouldn't groom her unless she was sedated and had blood work done!
Almost $200 later, geesh!

Then I found a local groomer who is able to groom her with no issues. The vets pretty much needed to make sure she wouldn't be in hysterics, but how are you suppose to know if she's sedated?
Besides that I had told them she is good at the vets, she's never misbehaved, but nope, they wanted blood work and sedation.

Our groomers charges $40 for her lion cut that she gets about once a year for matty fur.
 
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