Comments on: Arbitrary Sunday Kitteh Blogging

By: Katie

Katie — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 16:56:45 +0000

You have got to come over and meet our new kitty addition! His name is Lionel Richie!!

By: J.

J. — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 03:37:38 +0000

What a fluff-bomb. He’s gorgeous. I have a part Maine Coon and she has the same problem, but I usually leave it go for a year and then take her in every spring to get completely shaved. Yeah, she growls through the whole visit and looks ridiculous for a while, but it lets all her fur grow back nice and new. Depending where you go, you should be able to have it done for like $25.

Otherwise, I recommend having someone come over and manually restrain him for you. :o)

By: Ashley

Ashley — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 23:38:01 +0000

I agree that it’s time for the professionals to get involved. I brush my medium-hair kitty every day, and she’s gotten so fond of it she’ll jump up on the refrigerator by the cupboard where the kitty brushes (and toothbrushes and steroids for my sick kitty) are kept and just wait. If you brush every day and gradually build up the length of time you do so, they’ll get better. For trimming kitteh/velociraptor claws, we do a slow build-up with our kitties. When we are petting kittehs, we make sure we play with their paws a little each time, separating the toes and playing with the claws. Gradually they’ll get better about that, too. Teeth-brushing is more complicated. The only way I can do it with my two really bad kittehs is to sit on the kitteh so they can’t back away, yank open a mouth and scrub as fast as I can. Any tips for making them better? And by the by, I have four kittehs, so I am a really truly insane kitteh person.

By: Dreamweasel

Dreamweasel — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 21:19:58 +0000

I sometimes use a cat muzzle when I trim my cat's nails. Your cat probably won't like it very much, but it should minimize the risk in grooming-related activities.

By: Mhorag

Mhorag — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 16:25:59 +0000

Pay the groomer to remove the belly mats. They knew the job was dangerous when they took it! :)

Next, invest in a darling little tool known as a “mat breaker.” It’s sort of a comb with a razor blade in it. Use it when the mat is *just starting*. 3-4 swipes with this baby, and the would-be mat is toast.

Actually, once the mats are gone, your baby kitteh may not hate having belly grooming quite so much. At this point, it’s probably painful.

Good luck!

By: misskate7511

misskate7511 — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 05:01:02 +0000

I think you’ve hit the point where you call the professionals. Unless getting your cat loaded on catnip will knock ‘em out, in which case, get catnip and a person to hold the cat while you snip the mats away (in case Stoned Kitteh magically becomes PO’ed Psychotic Velociraptor Kitteh mid-snipping — it happens, man). If doesn’t knock your cat senseless, either get the vet to prescribe a very mild sedative to give the kitteh so you can do snipping, or get hire someone to do the snipping of mats for you.

Or, just have someone with a high pain threshold hold the cat down while you snip the mats (whilst kitteh is in normal, don’t-touch-tummy-or-DIE! mode). That’s what we did when I was a kid [yeah, I was the Holder-of-Angrified-Pets]. Just give insane treats post-snipping, and all should end well. ‘Til next snipping…

Oh, and Gnarly Nubbins as a band name? Fabulous! Now I have an excuse to go learn how to play guitar!

By: James

James — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 02:02:32 +0000

Aww, I love the sunday cat posts. I’m away at college and missing my kittehs, so keep ‘em coming.

Also, am I the only one who thinks that “Gnarly Nubbins” would be a great band name?

By: Starfoxy

Starfoxy — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 01:03:13 +0000

When I have to trim my cat’s claws I wrap him up in a towel (with his head open, but still surrounded by towel, burrito style) and then get out one foot at a time to clip. I imagine you might be able to do something similar, but you’d need a second person around to help if there are a bunch of knots to cut out.
Good luck.

By: Anna

Anna — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 00:55:17 +0000

I used to be really afraid of my cat scratching me, so when I would cut her nails, I would put a big sock over her head. Not a tight sock, but a big loose sock that would cover her eyes and stay on her head even if she moves around. I would pet her the whole time and make soothing noises, so she would be less freaked out, but when she couldn’t see me, she wouldn’t try to scratch me. Maybe something like that would work?

By: Elaine Vigneault

Elaine Vigneault — Sun, 23 Nov 2008 22:49:24 +0000

Suggestions:
a) get the current mats professionally removed
b) brush him every day very slowly giving him treats between each brush stroke
Oh, Molly said the same thing. :)
I do this with my little dog. He hates getting groomed, but he’s warmed up to it a bit since we give him peanut butter during the grooming sessions. That, and we just keep his fur short enough that it can’t get too matted too easily.