# Cat clipping



## Pc2003 (17 July 2016)

One of my cats is very long haired. She is also a bit feral and can spend fair amount of time away in the fields etc. Has never let us brush her much.
She has some really bad mats. Last 2 years I have clipped them out with my own clippers (with a vet blade) she tolerated okay ish but was mental for couple days later. Howling, tail swishing, throwing herself on the floor looking very uncomfortable.
It's put me off doing it this time as she went really nuts. 
So is that a normal reaction to be being clipped and relieved of bad mats or should I take her to the vets and have her sedated? Would she still be the same after?


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## Kylara (17 July 2016)

Could be a temperature shock if she has really thick coat that suddenly vanishes.

Cats hate their tails being done so if you did her tail it could be that.

The main thing that springs to mind is heat from the clippers - cats have very sensitive skin so she could have gotten very mild burns/irritation from the heat of the clippers.


A full "lion" trim is unnatural for cats but weighing up the pros and cons means you have to do it sometimes, and it might be worth sedation to get it over with quickly and with less trauma. 

This is a helpful site for grooming and aggression stuff http://www.cfba.co.uk/grooming-aggessive-cats.html

My cat is a nightmare to brush but that's because he loves the brush so much and always wants his head done and nothing else. He's terrible at grooming himself and has a double coat which is a nightmare.


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## Equi (17 July 2016)

My cousin had one of those shovel face cats and he needed clipped once and the vet gave him some tabelts to calm him down enough to clip but not actual sedation if that makes sense. Might be worth a chat to the vet. If the cat roams a lot though it would be better to try and get it used to a groom so it can keep the coat, cause clipping takes it down to the base and is obvioulsy not good if they intend to stay out side all night in all weathers.


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## Pc2003 (18 July 2016)

Thanks.
Just rung the vets and they quoted me 32.50 for a health check, 38 for sedation, and 35 for every 15 mins of clipping...
Think I might give it another go!!!


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## Shady (19 July 2016)

Iv'e got Persians( not shovel faced Equi, tut tut!)and i just take the scissors to mine! i trim all around their stomachs quite short in a band, inside and back of legs and up under the chest to below the chin, they look hilarious but i have to do it here because of the heat, cats get very stressed if they have bad clumps, they can be painful, iv'e never heard of your cats reaction, mine are much happier losing a bit of fur, if yours is friendly enough you could try using scissors next time and just give him a little trim?!!


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## Pc2003 (19 July 2016)

Lol at shovel face. 
Yes got some super sharp ones today so will start with the odd chop here and there and work away at it!!


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## MagicMelon (19 July 2016)

I dont think clippers should go near cats, I cant imagine any cat would accept that happily.  You can get those special combs (curved type with a blade) that we used to use easily on a persian we had - it basically cuts the knots out. I think I'd first try to make the cat less feral as that must make life difficult for simple things like worming, vaccinations etc. So Id keep the house in for a while until it gets friendly!  Then work on getting it used to being groomed, most cats seem to quite like it if done correctly.


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## s4sugar (23 July 2016)

I clip cats that are beyond combing out or have good reason for taking off some hair.. Some are clipped to half an inch every six weeks and these often fall asleep while being groomed. 
It takes special care the first time as often here are sores under felted matting.
if there is felting you have to clip under the mats. I have a full body cast that stands up by itself, owner thought the cats had a few knots.
Once knots are gone is the time ot introduce grooming when it won't hurt.


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## Equi (23 July 2016)

Scisscors and thinning blades are very sharp and dangerous around them to be honest. Ive seen one have masive wounds from them.


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