The Flip-side of Grooming Your Longhaired Cat

I must admit I am not a professional groomer. I don't know a lot about the details of grooming and when people call us at the clinic wanting their longhaired cat to "just have a trim" I tell them "Ma'am, we only have two sizes of clipper blades. Short and shorter!" Besides, we are a veterinary hospital, NOT a foo foo styling salon for pets. 

However, that doesn't seem to slow down our shaving business. 

Just last week we shaved about 10 cats. When we only schedule about three or four services per day that require anesthesia, Monday - Friday, that's a big percentage. On average, we do about two shaves a day. 

Believe it or not, there is at least one medical reason to shave cats. 

Persians, in particular, have very hard to manage hair. The majority of Persian cat owners are, unfortunately, not schooled in the proper management and grooming of the cotton candy hair for which Persians are known. 

First of all, they need to be combed EVERY day...sometimes twice per day. And I'm not talking that slicker brush people like to use. A nice, metal long-tooth comb is a must for any longhaired cat! Brushes only take care of the topcoat. The bottom coat, or under coat, is what causes the problem. 

When you brush the topcoat, the under coat gets neglected and knots up creating mats. These mats get worse and worse until: 

A) The cat grooms the mat out 

B) The owner combs the mat out 

C) The mats take over and the cat has to have a full shave 

I have a neighbor who makes a great example of option C. She has a penchant for longhaired cats, but she never quite understands the grooming part. Her poor Persian became ill one time. Katy was listless, not eating, and was having diarrhea so she brought the cat in to the clinic. 

What we found completely amazed me.