I feel like I am on here every day at the moment...

[Bee]

Thanks Gillian  what a week!

[Gillian Harvey]

Ah, yes, Turkish - in that case, definitely no furminator or mikki  just a metal tooth comb and possibly gentle slicker, or wooden pin brush (def wooden pins, not metal) to finish, once all her current knots are gone. 

[Lyn (Slugsta)]

Awww, poor Mo! 

[Bee]

Thanks Gillian... I think as Drum is Turkish angora, she only has a thick top coat and no under coat?  usually matting isn't a problem and a good groom sorts her out, it's just this summer that she become a tangled mess! Need to get her sorted and then ill keep an eye on any biggies for the rest of the warm season and maybe use miki with furminator, which usually does the trick...

Meanwhile little Mo has managed to cut/scratch his eye overnight, hen we woke this morning his neuter wound was perfect but his right haw was totally out and swollen so he's now in a collar and on drops for a week...  Sigh. Seriously... It's been non stop this month 

[Gillian Harvey]

Aww 

Don't use furminator on longhairs, it doesn't get right down to the roots an will pull out/cut top, guard hairs (even though it says it doesn't  ) . The mikki mat breaker is fine to use (carefully - its a blade) - but not for its intended purpose (of mat breaking) but used like a comb, will take out loose, shedding fur. Don't use too often, as it will also cut some of the top coat if you're not careful, but by parting the coat and combing under the top coat you should minimise top coat cutting. If your worried about it being a blade, another  method is to use a long, wide space tooth metal comb with a rubber band woven in and out of the teeth, has similar effect of taking out loose coat, but sparing top coat. 

[Bee]

Thanks everyone  in the end we didn't put anything on it, it wasn't open or weeping so we let it dry out and crust over and she wasn't interested in it really. We will get the rest cut out on Friday and then give the matt breaker a bash, 

Today took a whole new vet route when this happened:

[Lyn (Slugsta)]

I haven't really used the 'mat breaker' on mats, just for grooming. It certainly keeps Cleo's coat nice and smooth and mat free. The vet clipped her tummy a few weeks ago as Cleo came to us with a lot of tummy tangles and I couldn't get near enough to do anything about them.

[sheilarose]

Unless the wound is open and weeping/bleeding my vets says to leave them alone. Applying creams just seems to draw their attention to it further and makes them groom it even more.

I have the mikki matt breakers too, in fact I have a pair, one set to left handed and the other set right handed so the cat can twist and turn but you can carry on grooming - it was Gillian(Ambercat) who recommended these for Chubby's matted back end and they really work well, cutting though the matt instead of pulling it out in one lump. They also deal very well with Pursley's extra thick undercoat which causes her untold problems as she can't shed it naturally and has to be groomed (which she hated until we got these combs). Honestly you could knit a whole new cat from the fur I get off her now. 

Got mine off e-bay. They look like devilish tools but are quite safe to use.

If the matts are really thick you could try the Mikki Matt splitter which is a single enclosed blade designed to slice the matts into smaller pieces. Be careful to use this tool correctly, though, as you could cut yourself or the cat badly if you get the angle wrong.

[Bee]

Really? I always have loads of that, it's my spot cream of choice! I could put some on now.. Are you sure?

[sheryl]

You can safely use Savlon on cats x

[Bee]

OoOH Never heard of that, totally getting one, thanks guys! We are going to take Drum in on Weds evening for a little trim up and shave, luckily being deaf the noise won't bother her (I was hoovering her the other day!  ) she just won't sit still long enough and I don't want her to get anymore sores or anything. After that I'll try this new thing to see if it is any better. I do think it's the exceptional weather as although she does mat usually it's nothing like it's been over the last 2 mnths! She's obviously overgrooming because of the heat, poor baby..
On the other side of things Mo was a little star today, and the vet says his weight a growth is perfect! Yay!

[Lyn (Slugsta)]

I bought a 'mikki mat breaker' for Cleo after reading an old thread on this site where many posters seemed to think they are better than furminators. It certainly seems to keep her coat tidy - but hasn't made any difference to the hairballs 

[Dawn F]

Gillian is a professional groomer and recommnended to me a while back a thing called a mikki mat breaker, its been great and star as been mat free ever since I've had it, I used to have to shave her fairly regularly before as her coats knots really easily

[lau200]

I can sympathise, our Jesse has been getting terrible mats recently, probably due to the warm weather as most of the cats just flaked out. Luckily i have managed to keep it under control so far

[DottyyBB]

If Drum excepts a shave it's probably the best option as it must be uncomfortable for her if she has a lot of mats....I don't envy our little babies having a fur coat in this weather........

Best wishes to Mo for today for his visit to the vets....everything will be fine.....

[Bee]

Thanks guys, I definitely didn't cut her, it's definitely a matting sore, thanks for the sudocreme trip but am worried she can reach it, we are taking Mo tomorrow for his snip so will ask for suitable cream there... We may have to take her in for a shave, it's just a bit unmanageable right now, we do use a metal comb, the furminator. But it doesn't seem to be doing the job this summer, like I say, never had an issue before, think its the run of weather...

[Gillian Harvey]

Agree with Dotty, its prob due to her overgrooming the area now its free of mat. Don't use anything with Tea Tree, its toxic to cats. They are all shedding like mad at the mo, what do you use to groom her? I'd recommend a metal shedding comb and gentle slicker. 

[DottyyBB]

I think the sore is through over grooming and probably heavy moulting due to the warm weather. You can get this in rabbits also in summer but you have to be careful with the flies if the wound is open. If the sore is in a place where Drum cannot groom I'd suggest Sudocrem. I used this on my rabbit one year when the same thing happened, it healed up in no time, his wound looked like nappy rash on a baby..... Also I wonder if Drum seems to more matted than usually due to her playing with Mo?

[Gill (sneakiefeline)]

Are you sure you didnt cut her by accident?

If you did then she probably needs abs.

[Bee]

Thanks nicky  will pick it up tomorrow...

[nickynoo93]

http://www.petsathome.com/shop/johnsons-tea-tree-skin-cream-33872


I used this on Poppy when she had a sore on her leg when she was a lot younger.

[Bee]

If its not one it's the other..
So we have been struggling with Drums fur this summer, lots of matting struggling to groom through it, that's the downside of a very beautiful long haired cat. Its almost like her hair has thickebed since we got Mo?  I have been working on one on the back for a few days and just got to the bottom of it  after submitting to scissors to get the last of it and she's got a sore  I feel awful we are so diligent about grooming her its just this one mat just wouldn't come out, hence me resorting to cutting it out...
So, having the mat out and air to it is better but I really can't get to a vet until Monday, it isn't weeping or anything, just red and irritated, probably from overgrooming the mat... Will she be ok until Monday? Is there anything I can put on it that I can pick up from PAH or similar? I really can't afford the emergency vet and it doesn't look too bad, she is entirely unbothered by it....  she's never had such trouble before...