My cat Olive (obligatorypics) is currently with my parents for a variety of reasons that are too long to get into here. My parents love her but I think her fur being everywhere is annoying them (among other things; she also put a lot of tiny holes in our old leather sofa, which they eventually had to throw out). Anyway I was thinking about shaving her for the summer, but I am torn. On one hand it would solve the shedding problems and give my parents some peace of mind; on the other, I’m afraid it would traumatize her quite a bit. Although she is very mild-tempered, so maybe she would get over it quickly enough.
Is there a way to have a cat shaved so she’s not completely shaved? Or is getting a lion cut the only option? Or is it unnecessarily cruel? If I get her shaved do I have to keep doing it periodically?
Get the folks some brushes for the furniture, and a brush for the cat (they love being brushed, and it removes loose hair). And tell 'em to relax and love the little fuzzbutt for what she is.
This is so not the thread I thought it would be. eHow has a number of relevant videos on youtube and some more advice at wikihow and in a relevant post on another forum. If your cat is reasonably docile it’s unlikely to be traumatized for any great length of time, though I’d be understandably annoyed if I ended up looking like this. Equally you don’t have to completely shave the cat if you so choose, just cut back to a suitably short length.
Our long-haired cat gets just her belly & butt shaved about twice a year (to avoid hygiene and matted hair problems). Several groomers told me they could not safely shave her so that she still had a 1/2 inch (or whatever) of hair–any body parts they shaved would get taken down to skin. We’ve trimmed her with scissors once or twice, but the result was not pretty.
Shaving doesn’t seem to unduly traumatize our cat. I suppose, though, that if allowed outside, a shaved cat risks sunburn?? I can’t think of any reason why you’d have to continue to shave her after having done it once. In our area, anyway, finding a groomer who will take cats is a bit difficult. Good luck with your decision.
We do brush her as often as possible, but the most effective brush is also the one she hates the most.
Shaving just her underside does seem like a good compromise. Personally I think the lion cut looks stupid, but I’d like to find a way to keep both my parents and my cat happy.
It’s worth a try, I think. I have a dog that’s scared of everything–loud noises, mice, strange objects, street grates, whatever–and she handles being shaved quite well. We really thought she was going to completely freak out, and she didn’t, even the first time.
Keyser had a “lion” cut and he seemed to love it. He was however a stray at the time and his fur had become heavily matted and unkempt. Even shaved though he seems to drop a lot of hair.
Our cat looks alot like your cat. This is a picture of her with the lion cut.
I have tried the Furminator which would work wonderful if I didn’t have to wear winter gloves, long sleeves and jeans and enclose us into the bathroom to torture the cat. She hated it immensely.
My 6 pound pussy hates human grooming, but our old 100 pound lab use to let me vaccuum her.
I knew someone who had an indoor furry cat. It was a giant furball/piece of furniture. It barely moved about the house. They finally started shaving it and it became a whole new happy, active cat. After that it got shaved pretty regular.
So, I would not automatically assume the cat will be traumatized by the cutting or hate the cut for that matter.
Our shitzhu dog is the same way. We get him closely shaved and its like all of a sudden he is half his age.
We have been getting Missy shaved for the last year or so. It helps tremendously with hairballs and shedding - she actually stops shedding completely for about 4 months, until the fur grows back in. She doesn’t really seem to mind it, except the tail poof seems to annoy her sometimes. She chases it regularly.
Our Himalayan, Marco, is two cats in one. Winter Marco is BIG, heavy, very very very long, dense, silky Persian-cat fur. Spectacular neck ruff and plume of a tail. About March, he starts to shed the winter coat and it knots up and wads up on his underside, and it’s a pitiful sight. About that time he goes for his well-kitty checkup and the vet will de-mat his underside if, of course, I pay extra. Otherwise, I do my best with a brush and a steel comb to try to keep up with the shedding. Once a day I drag the comb, just ONCE, over some growing-out mats, and they come out on the comb. If not, I don’t force the issue, but when the knots are hanging from a half inch of new growth, they can be dragged out. So, to recap, drag the comb once a day over a growing-out-matted-spot and after a couple of weeks, his underside is almost bare, with silky new hair growing in. The rest of the coat is much shorter and sleeker. The tail may or may not be matted, and if it is, some of the dead matted hair can be teased out. Summer Marco is slim, trim, and sleek. Oddly he turns brownish instead of creamy white with seal points. He still gets pretty warm and sleeps upside down with his paws in the air, but we really don’t have the heart to get him shaved.
I say, take your cat to the vet and get the underside shaved/dematted. There are no pet groomers here that will take on cats, never have been.
Shaving traumatizes some cats? Huh, the more you know, I guess. I’ve never seen one that was upset by the results, though my Persian who won’t let me brush her certainly doesn’t appreciate the process.
I think my kids are more traumatized by the cat being shaved than the cat is. They insist that the other cats are laughing at Missy, but I have yet to have seen any evidence of feline snickering.
They shaved the back half of my puss when it was hit by a bicyclist. She was only a year and a half or so at the time and what was bizarre was that her normal color and front half stayed brown but the rear half grew back in a much lighter grey. She looked for all the world like a large, four-legged M&M.
I wouldn’t shave the kitty, myself – I prefer to brush.
On the tiny holes in the furniture: you might try SoftPaws, available at most pet stores. Putting them on is a two-person job but they are very effective.
Thanks for the advice/pics/anecdotes everyone!
