Need To Groom Her My Very Scared And Timid Cat

[Poppet1966]

I rescued a Persian cat a few months back she has quite a few small matts and I need to cut them off. The vets will charge me £150 to do this as she needs sedating because she is so frightened being handled. I am able to stroke her and now brush her but she will not allow me to hold her for more than a couple of minutes . Is there anything I can buy to relax her enough so to be able to trim the knots off ?

[boxtops]

Feliway...... you can buy plug-ins to use all the time to calm nervous animals, and also a spray which you can spray on your hands before you handle her. It contains pheromones which help the cat feel more at ease. I buy mine on-line from MedicAnimal - much cheaper than buying from the vet.

I have a long-haired cross (as in irritable) cat, and I find the best thing to do is a tiny bit at a time. I often cut off the knots rather than try to comb him, it's much less grief and he's easier to comb next time. He looks a bit odd for a few days but it soon grows back. It our cat's mats are small, I suggest you do that too, at least while she's still so timid.

[Jennykenny]

A cat/dog grooming salon will also be able to do this and for much cheaper.

[Poppet1966]

I have tried feliway and it does not help , she is just so scare as had no human contact for the first 6 months her life and kept in a cage until they realised she was no good to breed from

[woofgang]

If feliway doesn't work then i would go for the vets and sedation or ask the vet's advice to see i there is anything that they can prescribe.

[wolf63]

My girl cat has long hair and hates being brushed. She demands to get up on my desk most nights and I pick at the knots. As victims says sometimes scissors are needed. The first time I tried to groom her I ended up at A&E with nine bites on my hand and wrist.

Hopefully she will trust you more and you can tease out some knots.

Good luck

[Poppet1966]

Baby steps but she is such a sweet heart and she is worth the trouble, if it means paying for her comfort then I will. Thank for all your information

[Tuvok]

Catnip?

[elaine73]

You can try Feliway diffuser and spray but you can't spray directly onto the cat but onto a blanket or towel and the concentration if calming pheronome takes a while to increase enough to take effect.
Otherwise it's gaining trust and having patience ..waiting until the cat allows you access to her fur.

[josaphine32]

If you speak to your vets, they should help you, scooby my tom pulls his claws out when traveling in the car, it is like tamazapam, its a pre op drug that they give before sedation I think its called a cp1, its a sedative that calms them down it costs around 5 pound, and is brilliant, also have you tried a furminator, I use it on my long hair they are really cheap on ebay,