Would this be mean? (The Cat Shaving Thread)

[twainny]

We have two cats. One short hair, one long hair. I love both of them dearly. We have a HUGE problem with the long hair one. Her hair is ALL KNOTTED up. It is awful :( The vet will comb her out for like $175+ (they haven't seen her, and I am sure she would be even higher) soooo... DH and I are thinking of.... shaving her :eek: Would that be mean? We shaved a small area last year (wasn't as knotted last year) and the hair grew back just fine. But she is in need of a total shaving. What do you think, should we???

[kam]

Have you thought of going to the groomer's? I can't imagine they'd charge $175.

[tlew12778]

If that's the only solution then I guess that's the only solution. I know this one lady that actually shaves her cat every summer bc she says he gets too hot. She was trying to convince me to shave mine as well but I dunno... I think mine would flip out. One of them is really into his coat and he spends hours making it look nice.

What about giving her a bath some some kitty conditioner? I don't even know if they make that but I bet you they do! Anything that sells right?

[kanga1622]

I have a friend that shaves her Himalayan cat every summer because he HATES to be groomed and by the time summer rolls around he has too many knots in his hair and refuses to let them brush them out. They've figured out that this is about the only way they can keep him from getting so matted. They work really hard at brushing him at least 3 times a week but he doesn't let them comb him completely before he wiggles out of their hold and hides.

He doesn't seem to mind being shaved and loves it after when his hair is short so they can brush him quickly and there aren't any tangles for the brush to get caught on.

[ronspumpkin]

I have a Persian and I have had him shaved before just for the fact that one of my girlfriends had her cat done and he looked so cute. My cat was just fine. The only problem that we ran into came when we brought him home and our other cat didn't recognize him and they fought for 3 or 4 days until he realized it was his brother!
I think it would be a benefit to the cat to have him shaved. His skin can't feel good under all that matted hair. Where I live a "lion" cut runs $40.00. Not too bad at all. I would suggest talking to a couple different groomers in your area to get a feel for cost and who you would trust with your furbaby.

ETA: Just wanted to add here that my cat will not tolerate me brushing or washing him. He bites/hisses/spits/scratches, but will sit there like a little prince when I take him to the groomer and never makes a peep.

[SingleWhiteFemale]

It's not wrong to shave a kitty! I have never done it myself though to any of my cats... I did it with my roughcoat Saint (lots and lots of fur, there's nothing you can do from having his butt/hindquarters from becoming one giant matt... it actually all comes off in one piece when it's done.

The warning/recommendation from my vet was that when cut short/there's a lack of fur, they're much more prone to sunburn. My cats are forever laying in the windows and love the sun. Bernie was cut a bit short, and now he has a whole bunch of freckles/spots that have come out, just like they do during the summer with humans. I wouldn't have him cut too short, the shortest I'd go would be around 3/8 inch :) 1/4 inch was a tad bit too short.

[Jennifer]

Shaving is a common way of dealing with too much, too matted hair! One piece of advice I was given - leave as much hair as you can around the head, tail and leave furry "boots" on the feet - these are the part of himself your cat can easily see, and if they still look "normal" to him he'll feel beautiful...if you don't leave him these areas he can feel humilated - and I've heard some behavioral problems can result.

[Soulmate]

I would NOT have anyone try to brush out all those mats. The mats themselves are very uncomfortable for the cat and yanking and pulling on tons of them would be incredibly painful. ITA with everyone that shaving is no big deal. My persian feels soooo much better after a shave (I've only shaved her underside) and likes it much better than brushing.

[keska]

DH and I shaved our long-haired cat a few times. We didn't completely shave her, though. We gave her more of a reverse mowhawk with the clippers on her back. For her stomach and sides, I just had DH hold her and I carefully cut the hair with scissors at about a finger-width in length. After that, it was easy to comb out the little bit of hair left.

In fact, after we did that, I always kept the hair on her stomach, legs and near her tail trimmed short so that it wouldn't tangle up again.

[Sabriel]

I agree that shaving a kitty isn't mean. Matted fur really hurts! I bet she will feel better after she is shaved. Good luck!

[MLA]

I've shaved both of my cats at one point or other. Most recently, I had my long-haired cat shaved because he was so matted, and he refuses to be brushed -- he can become pretty violent if we try too hard, and if he has mattes, it's just not going to happen. Anyway, I thought I'd share a before and after of him. He looked so silly!

Before:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5d930b3127cce92ec1f54665800000016108AcsmrNq2atn http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5df20b3127cce9d8be55a57da00000016108AcsmrNq2atn

After:
http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5df20b3127cce9d8be665177c00000016108AcsmrNq2atn http://im1.shutterfly.com/procserv/47b5df20b3127cce9d8be649175000000016108AcsmrNq2atn

He was obsessed with chasig his tail once he was shaved -- I think because they left a tuft at the end.

Also, his fur was felt velvety soft when it was short.

[keska]

MLA - That photo with him holding down his tail is so adorable!

[ejs]

If your cat is an indoor/outdoor cat, I wouldn't completely shave all of its hair off. The hair gives the cat some protection from the sun. I do think you should clip it short. We had a long-haired cat who would get large knots all the times. We had a groomer cut all hair short and then we would clip out any knots that started forming.

[MLA]

MLA - That photo with him holding down his tail is so adorable!

Thanks. It totally cracked us up that he just had to chase his tail. I have video of him going 'round and 'round in circles non-stop just trying to get it . . . and when he did, he'd bite it, yelp and let go, then notice again that it was there, starting the whole process over again -- not the smartest kitty, but cute!

If your cat is an indoor/outdoor cat, I wouldn't completely shave all of its hair off. The hair gives the cat some protection from the sun.

Yes -- this is very true. My cats are both indoor cats, so having them clipped short wasn't a problem.

[twainny]

Thanks everyone. I will get DH to help me cut/shave her hair. She is an indoor cat and she is more of an under the bed cat, not a sit in the window cat. But we won't go too short.

MLA- Love the pictures!

[Fenway]

BUMP

I have a question for those of you who shave your own cats. What kind of clippers do you use? I have a ragdoll cat that doesnt have a matting problem, but does have an issue keeping his back side clean. He needs a "sanitary shave" i.e. butt shave.

What clippers do you suggest?

TIA!!

[jesvet]

lilydawg- I bought a set of clippers at PetSmart, I don't know the name though. It was the less expensive one since I wasn't going to be using it that much. It came with a couple sets of combs to control the length, but since you're going for a bare butt you wouldn't need anything fancy.

Since you are looking to shave a cat, I would ask the people at the pet store by you what the *quietest* set is. :D

[Lanapoo]

I bought a pair of expensive clippers at Petco that have gone to waste. DH and I are too wimpy to shave our kitty. He's okay for 10 minutes or so but then he starts yowling like we're torturing him or something and we can't take it :p . So we've just gone back to taking him in for a lion cut every few months or so.

[GeekGirl]

Totally not mean. My parents' cat's fur kept matting up last summer, so they took her in to their local groomer and got her a lion cut. This is not their cat, but this is what the cut looks like:

http://members.aol.com/soaringeaglesue/SheSaidLineCutNotLionCut2.jpg

[Niobe]

GeekGirl - that cat does NOT look happy about his haircut! :p

I don't think shaving a cat is mean at all. I've helped my BFF shave her Maine Coons a few times. They were getting old and couldn't keep all that long fur clean, so shaving them became necessary. They did always look a bit embarrassed/annoyed afterwards though. Cats can be so indignant sometimes.

[Lanapoo]

I have them give Mel a longer maine in the front since I think it looks dorky to have the fur cut off right at the neck. He's completely gray and looks just like a little gray lion. SO cute! He gets a little cold those first few days so we let him under the covers for a few nights. But other than that, he's a happy kitty. Ordinarily it's $45-55 but they charge me $65 because of his size :rolleyes:.

[MichelleRenee]

We shave our Persian twice a year. She refuses to let us brush certain spots so she starts of with small matted areas that just spread like crazy. We took her to a groomer once and in the end they charged us extra because she was so "difficult."

No, she doesn't enjoy being shaved, but she definitely seems more comfortable after the hair is gone!

[curlyjr]

We shave our Persian every summer, i don't think it's mean at all.

[villanelle75]

I wax my kitty.

Oh, wait...different thread.

[curlyjr]

Lol!!