Severly matted long-haired kitty-assistance plz!
 

Hey all!

I have an inquiry about de-matting cat fur. The cat in question is a long haired kitty that looks like a siamese/persian or himalayan cross. A co worker took the cat from friends who were going to drop it off at a shelter (bless him). The cat is very obese (20+ pounds) and its fur is severely matted. Also, the kitty does not like to be touched on it's body, probably due to the painful mats, so it's hard to get at the mats properly.

He once had a vet come to his house (he cannot transport the cat without a lot of stress and discomfort) for a check up, the cat was sedated for the exam and they attempted to remove mats, but didn't get very far as the cat woke up. Having a vet come again isn't an option, it was super duper expensive for the house call (in Toronto, nuff said).

Obviously the cat needs to lose weight so it can groom itself properly, but in the mean time, does anyone have a good method of removing mats from a cat that won't tolerate being touched? Also the cat is declawed (previous owner).

As a side, my coworker is vegan and is subsequently feeding his cat a vegan diet...I know, I know, I've had arguments with him. I don't think the cat has lost much weight since going vegan. Anyone want to help me out with that one?

Here's a couple of sites that may help. Funny one says scissors, one doesn't. I think you have to do different things for different cats, depending on personality. I would think the best thing to do is to try to find a competent groomer to come to his place and groom kitty there.

[url]http://www.petplace.com/cats/how-to-get-the-mats-out-from-your-cat/page1.aspx[/url]

[url]http://cats.about.com/cs/catmanagement101/ht/dematcat.htm[/url]

As for feeding a vegan diet - he's killing the cat. It's going to take longer and the cat will probably suffer greatly because of lack of proper nutrients but what can you do? Some people. :wall:
Try giving him this site to read - [url]www.catinfo.org[/url] Cats are obligate carnivores. They [B]need[/B] meat. Period.

I had the same problem with one of my rescues...and still do..you can see how bad the matt got by going to this thread
[url]http://www.pets.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=71398[/url]

anyway, after trying to coax her into a kennel...I got her to the vets...the best place to have her groomed because if needed they can sedate her...and Tigger who i thought may have had to be sedated was apparently a doll to work with...she just froze and let them do whatever they needed to do...good luck

I wouldn't even try to demat this cat. The best solution is to take her to a vet or cat groomer, have her sedated and shaved. She's bad tempered because she's in pain from the mats that are making her feel miserable. Once her coat starts coming in, keep it mat free by running a steel comb through it [U]once a day [/U]gently, and follow by treats. She will gradually come to enjoy grooming rather than hate it. This is the type of comb that works well with longhaired cats:
[url]http://www.pet-dog-cat-supply-store.com/shop/index.php?page=shop-flypage-31097[/url]

As far as a cat on a vegan diet, that's absolutely harmful and non-sensical when a cat is a carnivore and needs meat to thrive. Dogs are omnivores and can veggies, but cats shouldn't be forced to eat this kind of diet. She will lose weight if she's on a proper diet and not overfed, but portion size should be reduced gradually over many months.

Thanks for the websites 14+. As for the food related one, I'll try to delicately forward them to him. Although, he's very stubborn and very educated about vegan diets and truly believes it will do no harm to a cat, so I'm not holding out hope for the cat to eat meat ever again.

cpietra, my co workers' cat doesn't have mats as bad as your cat did, my gawd that first pic is horrible. I'm glad you were able to get rid of them.

[QUOTE=Stacer;935965]Although, he's very stubborn and very educated about vegan diets and truly believes it will do no harm to a cat, so I'm not holding out hope for the cat to eat meat ever again.
[/QUOTE]

Ugh. This makes me sad and mad. Perhaps he'll listen to the advice from this [url=http://www.essentialvegetarian.com/2007/07/08/7-reasons-why-your-cat-cannot-be-vegetarian/]vegetarian website[/url], on why cats should NOT be forcefully indoctrinated into someone else's agenda. I'm a vegetarian myself and can kinda understand where this misguided ideal comes from, but this guy should not have a cat if he feels so strongly about this issue. It would be better if he found another more appropriate home for him.

[QUOTE]For all these reasons cats must not be fed vegetarian or vegan diet. Cats have very specific nutritional needs which you must meet if you want to keep them fit, healthy, and happy.

You might have to make some hard choices as [B]this is a question of life and death for your cat[/B]. It might be impractical or impossible to let your cat hunt, but [B]killing your cat by feeding it food they cannot digest is just another way to participate in animal cruelty that we’re trying to avoid in the first place.[/B][/QUOTE]

Severely matted
 

I would get a seditive from cat's vet, hire an experienced groomer who specializes in cats and have the poor thing clipped down and a warm bath with a hypoallergenic shampoo. No travel time or vet visit to stress the cat out and when he recovers his alertness from the seditive everything is over and he feels 100% better. A weekly brushout with a cat slicker will keep this from happening again.

I really hope you can convince him to not force his decision to become a vegan on his cat. I'm a vegetarian also, and as much as I feel the guilt about feeding them meat, I am quite aware that they don't have any guilt by eating it.