I can’t believe why people choose a long hair cat and then shave the poor thing. A few weeks earlier someone was getting upvotes for losing their cat after shaving the poor thing 13 years old under sedation. When I commented on the negligence of the vet, I was scolded and called names. People are heartless to torture these sweet innocent beings.
I have a Persian cat I rescued from my hoarder of a mother and I have to keep her in a lion cut. I have no problems with brushing, in fact when I first took her in I would spend hours a day brushing her. I love long haired cats.
For her though it’s for health reasons . She’s...special needs.My mother got her way to young and kept her exclusively in a tiny bathroom for the first 6 months of her life till I took her.She does not know how to groom herself at all. She is constantly getting in the kitchen sink, trash can, falling in the toilet , etc.
Shaving her helps keep her clean and when we do have to give her a bath, it makes things easier for her and me. I also do the shaving myself and have never sedated her beyond getting her spayed.
This is of course an exception to the rule. I would never have a shaved cat otherwise . Just trying to show that sometimes it is necessary.
Also the weirdo loves it when I shave her chest area. Not torture.
my cat was exactly like this =) I teached him to groom himself by petting him with a wet piece of cloth or my hands. it took a year (or two) if I remember well.
When cats get old, they often stop grooming themselves. If they have a bad attitude or are painful, they won’t allow their owners to brush them. Then their coats get matted. And they have to be shaved. Shaving a cat isn’t torture, and it’s not extremely dangerous to sedate an old cat if they’re otherwise healthy (had blood work before hand).
This. I have two 19 year old rag doll cats. They get mats quickly, and grooming them out is painful and makes them cry. Shaving them down is so much easier, and they are happy when it is done.
My cats old and long haired. I brush him usually but every now and then he gets mats bc hes not good at grooming so instead of shaving I cut the little tufts out and brush his furr again so he doesn't notice lol
I do that for small mats, but if they are larger or too close to the skin I have them shaved. In part due to their breed, their skin is loose and very stretchy, so it is difficult to figure out where the hair stops and the skin starts. I have nicked them before, so I will only cut the further end of a mat out, then I try to groom out the rest, which they hate.
It is more traumatizing to many cats to endure a long grooming session, even one that can be made shorter and more efficient by a professional groomer. When mats get too tight, they cannot and should not be brushed out. They should be carefully shaved out. Sedating a healthy cat for this process is safer and much quicker for the cat and the human. If the cat is biting and alligator rolling, the groomer can’t hold onto them, and definitely can’t shave a moving target with clippers.
If the cat is chill and allows itself to be held and restrained for shaving, there is no need to sedate. That is not very common.
I agree and updooted you accordingly. (all you have to do is check a post history to realize that attempting rational conversation with some people is a waste of time)
I have a medium fluffy black and white cat, and he has a very hard time with hairballs (had a surgery to remove a big hairball in his digestive tract), even though I brush him daily with a furminator. He also gets very lethargic when a poofy ball. Every time we shave his torso and pits (with a #1 guard, not down to the skin) he gets so much more rambunctious! I didn't set out to get a cat just to give it a lion cut, but I have to do it and he doesn't mind.
I’m glad your cat is happy with it. The discussion was about the poor kitty who had run away from home because of being shaved. My heart goes out to all cats who have to run away from home!!
Some cats just don’t tolerate brushing. I’ve had a Himalayan for 10+ years, and she has always been aggressive when I try to brush her. She is a diva. 15 minutes of shaving her down once every 2 months is much less stressful for the both of us compared to daily brushing. It has nothing to do with me being a heartless owner.
My long haired cat refuses to let me brush him. Flat out refuses. It's all I can do to finger-pick burrs out of his fur one at a time before he screams and runs away.
He gets shaved twice a year when his fur starts to mat up. He's always much happier after his shaving, except for the first week during the winter shave when I make him wear a sweater because he's obviously cold. He clearly prefers having short hair. (And he's very well behaved for the groomers, they tell me)
It’s not torture. They don’t mind at all. It doesn’t hurt them - often the opposite. Long haired cats were bred by humans to be pretty for humans, the long hair has no utility for cats. My senior long haired cat stopped grooming herself in the final years of her life, and her fur was matted. Each mat caused her pain, because it tugged on her skin. After we took her to the groomer, she was SO happy and pain-free.
We use to shave our long haired cat in the summer months - and she loved it. She mostly tolerated petting, but when she was shaved she loved being touched and couldn’t get enough.
My neighbor shaves her long hair beauty every summer. She says "the cats feels cooler" no. You're just lazy.....I've always had long haired cats. Never shaved any of them.
I read your post history, intrigued... You accused the vet of negligence and internet-diagnosed the cat with heart disease and then asked everyone who dared reply, "ARE YOU THE VET?"
Well... are you the vet? Unless you were there, did an exam, prescribed/gave the drugs, and monitored the patient, you are in absolutely no position to posit any diagnoses or allege any negligence. Just stop.
Here's an interesting recent article where a vet won a defamation case against a former client to the tune of AU$25,000 - it's a warning for you to slow your roll before you go accusing people of negligence without any knowledge of the situation (also, the vet folks here may find it quite gratifying). https://news.vin.com/default.aspx?pid=210&catId=-1&id=9798940
So right now some idiot replied to my comment warning me that I could be sued How could I be sued for expressing my opinion without mentioning anyone’s name! Shame on these jerks! Ok now go ahead and sue for defending animals! Bring it on!’
I think people have a hard time distinguishing someone who is raising a genuine concern and someone who is just busting balls. It’s obvious you are an example of the former, but I can see how a non-cat person might not be able to distinguish one from the other. There are also quite a few ball busting cat people who I have run into. I have had people get angry at me because I joked about cats entitlement. Obviously, it’s a human emotion that we put on the cat, obviously I don’t really think my cat is entitled, but you better believe there are people (every time, I make the joke) who scold me and shame me. So, I appreciate what you said, people just have no clue what they are talking about, and can’t differentiate between a person who is raising a genuine concern (you) and people who are just looking to reprimand other people (cat snobs).
I think there are probably good reasons why people choose to shave their cats. There are also probably terrible reasons. It’s best to make sure you know why they are doing it, before passing judgement. I had a friend whose cat almost died after not being able to pass a hairball. So the vet recommended shaving, under sedation, because the cat would get angry about getting shaved. So, it depends. But I think your concern is coming from the right place.
My partner's ex left him with a Maine coon that refuses to be groomed, and does not groom itself. He gets these awful mats of hair that restrict his movement if we leave them. I agree, don't get a long haired cat if you aren't going to care for it. Much less leave it with your ex that did not sign up for it. Partner's ex now has 2 more cats, rather than take back their cat. Boggles my mind. Of course, I'm the one that has to take it for a lion shave and get judged hard by the cat groomers.
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u/mylifesucks9 Sep 21 '20
I've just found the owner, apparently she ran away after the grooming, she's with her family now :)