How best to deal w (natural) grease in an older male cat's fur?

In My Humble Opinion
1

Yeah, yeah, another cat question. You know 'em, you love 'em … you’re owned by 'em. :stuck_out_tongue:

One of my cats is an older (10-ish) male Maine Coon. He has problems with a spot near the base of his tail that gets really greasy with skin oils. My vet told me this is common in toms particularly and all male cats in general. (Al had already been neutered when he was found, wandering, skinny & homeless.) Now that he’s getting older … and it’s getting into winter so he’s grown out his impressive and very long cold-weather coat* … the greasiness problem has spread somewhat to his hips as well. Vet said that in dire straights, a little rubbing alcohol will help break up the oils when he’s being bathed to help get it out, but I’m concerned that this might dry out his skin too much. (Not to mention: he stinks a bit afterwards of rubbing alcohol no matter how well we rinse it all out.)

Are there any other ways to get excess body oils out of an animal’s fur? Something that can be sprinkled on, let sit to absorb oil, and then brushed back out would be ideal. Al is easy to bathe, for a cat - he complains loudly but doesn’t do anything about it, writing check after check he has no intention of cashing - but his fur is so damn thick that it’s time- and water-consuming to wet through. Besides, it’s winter so it’s a bit chilly.

I’ve seen suggestions to use baking powder. Will that work - actually absorb oils?

  • Apologies for the lack of pictures. He’s gorgeous - take my word for it. :wink:
2

Corn starch is non-toxic and somewhat absorbs oils, but you won’t be able to brush it it all out. If a significant amount remains behind and it gets wet, it could become a haven for bacteria and mold. If your cat doesn’t get too freaked out by a vacuum cleaner (a hose extender to a vacuum running in another room may help), then sprinkling it on, rubbing it in, and vacuuming it out would be effective at removing a good portion of the oil.

Otherwise I’d suggest scrubbing with lots of paper towels on a daily basis for reducing the oils.

3

Isn’t this called ‘stud tail’? My vet said to get a thin washcloth, wet with Listerine, and rub bits of the greasy hairs with the cloth between your (washcloth covered) fingers. This gets most of the grease out. You will need an assistant with a Maine Coon to keep him from oozing away!

4

You could lion clip him.