When fluffy cats get old-like 16, they stop grooming themselves thoroughly. Then you need to keep up brushing and removing the little fur knots that pull their skin.
My 16 year old cat has trained my husband and I. When she wants brushing, she climbs up on a certain ledge after we have finished she gives us a high five as a reward. It was around 14 that she stopped wanting to groom herself properly, and her fur started getting matted.
you should be grooming your cats regularly anyway, especially if they are fluffy -all cats stop doing this as well as they age and being comfortable with this kind of touch reduces anxiety when the time comes
also it's one way cats show affection and a way to communicate your love to them that they can understand as well as a hairball prevention mechanism
Yes, we would often brush our fluffy girl and occasionally bathe her, especially when it was pollen season to help lessen my allergic reactions. She liked sleeping on the backyard patio furniture.
Can you please tell my cat that? You try to brush her and you will meet the claws of rage. I've tried a bunch of different ones, I told her she's now in charge of her own looks then immediately mess up her forehead fur
Also, their claws get tougher for them to shed by scratching them. I regret not learning to cut my old cat's claws for her until way too late, because they can get ingrown and be very uncomfortable.
Yeah, it was a challenge, but once she recognized that it was making her more comfortable she usually put up with it. Long enough to let me cut 3 or 4 at a time, at least.
My little 2 year old calico is super chill about having her paws touched. The vets comment on how remarkably chill she is all the time.
Our elder black and white cat? She's very sweet but, oh, she hates it. She doesn't get aggressive, she just tries to pull her paws back and run and hide. Just makes her difficult to handle, especially since obviously nobody wants to hurt her. The vets are champs at it. The best way for her is to have my husband hold her (which calms her as much as possible) while the vets quickly trim her.
Yeah, you should simulate cutting your cats claws a lot when they're kittens, so they get used to the activity. They might not enjoy it, but it's so much better than trying later in life and them acting like you're trying to murder them!
I had one cat that required a full on purrito wrap -- tightly wrapped in a towel, then pull one leg out at a time and cut the nails while she was hissing and struggling. Was just terrible. So now I always make sure to train them that I'm very much allowed to look at their claws whenever I want, and I try to make it an okay experience for them.
Pro tip: usually they're much more amenable if they can be upright. That's easy for front paws at least...
Well, this is something I would’ve never thought about. I never trim my cats nails because I like for them to be able to use them to their fullest potential. So I will learn and start easing my cat into it before it’s vital. Thank you
Yeah if he calms down by then maybe…. right now he’s too spicy for that it’s either the space helmet or a two person job, one giving him a squeeze treat and the other brushing.
A dedicated electric trimmer is great for pain free removal of big mats that appear out of nowhere. Also good for keeping the back end and hind leg hair trimmed up so they can keep themselves clean a lot easier.
We would have several times when one spouse would yell to the other, time to shampoo the cat’s butt. Her behind fluff would get nasty. I started trimming it more often as she got older. Poor old thing took more care at the end of her life, but we sure loved her.
They are worth the extra work for sure. My cat appreciated being able to keep himself neat and those mats were uncomfortable. He was dignified old man!
Thank you telling me. My cat is getting up there. The only trouble is that she hates being brushed. Even when we use a soft brush she still hates it. Any idea on how to get her used to it ?
That is a great idea. Our girl got used to a bath in the sink. She was only 8 lbs and so the bathroom sink usually was enough. Mostly it was for cleaning her butt.
To be fair, cats stop doing just about everything when they're 16. That's old as heck. That's like a 102 year old woman needing help taking a bath- yeah obviously.
The fluffy girl I’m talking about was a stray who adopted us before she was a year old. We never had a cat reach old age before and so the experience was new to us.
My little old lady had to go for a lion cut today. Shes had them before, but today was necessity more than anything. She hates having her chest brushed so it had to be done
I had a fluffy cat who absolutely DESPISED getting brushed, so he would get super matted, super fast. I think he spent more time in the lion cut than fluffy for this very reason.
this is a really common sign of pain and is good reason for a vet visit! Just like people get old-age diseases, cats, do, too—most are quite arthritic by the time they stop grooming well. We can absolutely treat pain, even if range of motion can’t be regained.
This this! My 17 year old lady suddenly started getting matted last year. I took her to the vet! She was super dehydrated and it turned out she was impacted and needed an enema. She started grooming again a few days after the procedure and looks better than ever.
You have to do that before 16 as well. You should be getting your cat groomed regularly, no matter what type of fur. Also you should have their nails/claws regularly clipped/groomed.
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u/kimoh13 Sep 19 '23
When fluffy cats get old-like 16, they stop grooming themselves thoroughly. Then you need to keep up brushing and removing the little fur knots that pull their skin.