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Old July 1st, 2013, 08:15 AM
tiggy2 tiggy2 is offline
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Shaved cat, now afraid to go outside

One of my cats, Akira, part Maine coon was shaved on Friday, she gets very bad mats and does not like to be brushed, or held onto. Anyway she is an indoor/outdoor, in an enclosure, kitty and would stay out all the time. I don't leave them out over nite and she is the last to come in and the first out in the morning, rain or shine...not anymore.

She is terrified to go outside and hides upstairs, sleeping on the bed all day. If she does venture out its very brief and then scurries in again. We had her shaved last year around this time and no problems.

Any ideas on what she's afraid of? We thought maybe without the fur the outside sensations are overwhelming, but why did it not effect her last year? It's not as warm as last year...is she cold? Should I get her a sweater?

Just wondering if anyone has come across this? At least she's a little more affectionate I think she likes to be petted now.

Happy Canada Day
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Old July 1st, 2013, 09:02 AM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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Maybe she feel too undress now as her fur protected from being hurt.
I would be careful about putting anything on her that could get caught onto something and she will not be able to get free. Once her fur start to grow back you should try to brush it a little each day , this way it will not hurt and she may get use to it.
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Old July 1st, 2013, 09:10 AM
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cats are weird sometimes. It might be that the shaving got her all anxious. If so, in my experience cats usually return to their 'normal' behaviours after a few days to a couple of weeks. It could also be the cold.

Barkingdog makes a good point about a potential sweater getting caught, but nobody knows their enclosure better than you. Just survey the risks or maybe supervise the cat directly to see if she feels any more comfortable with the sweater.
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Old July 1st, 2013, 10:31 AM
tiggy2 tiggy2 is offline
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Originally Posted by Barkingdog View Post
Maybe she feel too undress now as her fur protected from being hurt.
I would be careful about putting anything on her that could get caught onto something and she will not be able to get free. Once her fur start to grow back you should try to brush it a little each day , this way it will not hurt and she may get use to it.
I think you might be correct on the being hurt. I have 2 kittens, which were not present last year, that like to "play" and I think now that she does not have the fur to protect her from claws, she's more skittish.

Any suggestions on some cat attire? She is pretty safe with the fence, but there are trees to climb and bushes to hide under that could hook onto a sweater.

I just hate to see her so unhappy.
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Old July 1st, 2013, 01:44 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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Originally Posted by tiggy2 View Post
I think you might be correct on the being hurt. I have 2 kittens, which were not present last year, that like to "play" and I think now that she does not have the fur to protect her from claws, she's more skittish.

Any suggestions on some cat attire? She is pretty safe with the fence, but there are trees to climb and bushes to hide under that could hook onto a sweater.

I just hate to see her so unhappy.
Maybe you could buy a small dog coat that has Velcro straps to keep it on. If the coat got caught on something your cat may be able to pull it off.
I am not sure big or strong your cat it. Or see if there are coats made for cats that can come off easily when you go outside . The kitten claws could caught in a sweater.
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Old July 1st, 2013, 05:24 PM
tiggy2 tiggy2 is offline
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Good idea. I'll see if I can get a Velcro little doggie jacket, maybe something like a rain coat, slippery for claws and tree branches.

I'll let you know how it goes)
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Old July 4th, 2013, 01:28 AM
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Might be not so bad for now to stay in until the coat grows a bit. It's summer after all and sometimes they can get really Sun burnt when shaved. Happened to our goddess once and it's not something you want your cat to experience. I mean, it doesn't necessarily mean that'll happen but since the kitty doesn't want to go out... Might as well stay in the shade. After the sunburn the goddess slept a lot, had hot skin and she was cold, not to the touch (she was hot to the touch) as if she was running a fever.
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Old July 4th, 2013, 07:45 AM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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Might be not so bad for now to stay in until the coat grows a bit. It's summer after all and sometimes they can get really Sun burnt when shaved. Happened to our goddess once and it's not something you want your cat to experience. I mean, it doesn't necessarily mean that'll happen but since the kitty doesn't want to go out... Might as well stay in the shade. After the sunburn the goddess slept a lot, had hot skin and she was cold, not to the touch (she was hot to the touch) as if she was running a fever.
That is a good idea. I knew of a Samoyed husky that got cancer because it owner had his fur shaved off for the summer. The poor dog got a sunburn .
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Old July 4th, 2013, 06:45 PM
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That is a good idea. I knew of a Samoyed husky that got cancer because it owner had his fur shaved off for the summer. The poor dog got a sunburn .
Yeah there's that too. even more in white cats and dogs or mostly white but they're all exposed. Their skin's not used to receive direct Sunlight since they always have their coat to protect them.
I wonder how that works for bald cats cutesters! might be different since they're born that way... Or not....
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Old July 4th, 2013, 07:39 PM
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Yeah there's that too. even more in white cats and dogs or mostly white but they're all exposed. Their skin's not used to receive direct Sunlight since they always have their coat to protect them.
I wonder how that works for bald cats cutesters! might be different since they're born that way... Or not....
But it's importance to warn pet owners about the risk of shaving the fur of a white dog , I am always reminding the groomer not to cut Marty fur too short as he is a white dog.
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Old July 4th, 2013, 11:18 PM
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But it's importance to warn pet owners about the risk of shaving the fur of a white dog , I am always reminding the groomer not to cut Marty fur too short as he is a white dog.
Oh yeah. That is a related topic I just meant the part where I start to wonder about bald cats because my mind easily starts to wander off.
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Old July 5th, 2013, 08:20 AM
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Bald cats eh? - I know a couple.

Our cats are strictly indoor cats but i used to worry about the sunbeams they bask in since they are bald. But after a couple of years it seems like their skin can take it. It doesn't appear to get overly red or blotchy.

Plus...we have nearly no blinds in our home and trying to keep a cat out of a sunbeam....well that would just suck the joy out of being a cat.
Already twiggy has no hair, no claws and almost no teeth...
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Old July 5th, 2013, 12:39 PM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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http://www.greenstudentu.com/our_wor..._a_window.aspx


I was told you can't get a sunburn through a closed window but I guess whoever told me this was not right.
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Old July 5th, 2013, 11:53 PM
binkybuff binkybuff is offline
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As a retired groomer, one thing people don't realize that when you pick up your animal at the groomers and laugh about it, it does make the animal feel bad, because it had been shaved.

I also tried to talk people out of doing it.

I have seen dogs sitting so proud and the owner laughed at them when picking them up, and the dog drops it's head and cowers, they would often hide when getting home.

I always told my clients, no matter what, do not laugh at them, praise them. They feel good when praised, and to please tell those at home to do the same.

This poor kitty could have had something like that happen, and it is embarrassed to go out now. It could also feel unsafe to be outside.

take care
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Old July 6th, 2013, 12:41 AM
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heh I knew marko had bald cats because i've seen pics of the cuties. As I thought maybe since their skin is designed a bit different.
In the case of Hilda she got it bad so we never shaved her again after we just trim her fur shorter even if takes more time and work. Plus she gets depressed after bath/shave and very angry. Now that I think about it maybe that's what happened to Akira.
(btw once I had an Akira kitty. I miss him).

btw I totally believe what binky said about dogs feeling bad when people laugh after being shaved. They're sensitive enough to pick up on that
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Old July 7th, 2013, 11:09 PM
tiggy2 tiggy2 is offline
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Hi everyone

Well it seems our girl is over the fear of going outside. I think it was a combination of being cold and now having "stuff" touch her, like kitty claws and juniper trees. The good thing is, she also likes to be petted more, again I think she can feel it. She's still a little nervous about going out, but once she's out she's happy. I'll keep an eye on the sun and burning, too hot to be in the sun.

I certainly agree with the laughing at animals and having them upset. I have a few cats that are very sensitive. I was worried sick over one cat who was very sick and my boy licked his belly bald from stress. I had another one who would nip and bite at me if I was crying, even if I was in another room she would come running) you can see them watching you to see what's going on.

I like her shaved, she looks sleeker and boy does she have long legs) and a lot thinner than I thought, no more dieting for her.

Again thanks for all the suggestions. I'll be posting more issues shortly...never ending). Does anyone have a muti-cat household where the cats get along? If so what's your secret?
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  #17  
Old July 8th, 2013, 09:05 AM
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Quote:
Does anyone have a muti-cat household where the cats get along? If so what's your secret?
Not all cats will get along but eventually (months...) they will probably tolerate each other. Some cats though will never get along w/other cats.
In my experience most cats do become friends after a while but the depth of that friendship is variable. Often the depth of the friendship will increase slowly over time.

One thing i have done to ease and encourage friendships in cats that have already been together for a few days to a few weeks is put catnip on the actual cats, or on one of the cats. It's helped in a couple of cases. BUT these are cats that don't hate each other, they just don't seem to be establishing a 'friendship'. Of course this would be done under direct supervision.

In cats that actually hate each other (meaning one of the cats physically attacks the other in an effort to hurt the cat (versus cat play where biting still goes on but it's tamer biting and they understand when they have gone too far), I still might rub catnip on the weaker cat or both cats...but again only under direct supervision.

swapping scents through towel swap rubbing can also help in some cases.
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Old July 8th, 2013, 10:15 AM
Barkingdog Barkingdog is offline
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Originally Posted by tiggy2 View Post
Hi everyone

Well it seems our girl is over the fear of going outside. I think it was a combination of being cold and now having "stuff" touch her, like kitty claws and juniper trees. The good thing is, she also likes to be petted more, again I think she can feel it. She's still a little nervous about going out, but once she's out she's happy. I'll keep an eye on the sun and burning, too hot to be in the sun.

I certainly agree with the laughing at animals and having them upset. I have a few cats that are very sensitive. I was worried sick over one cat who was very sick and my boy licked his belly bald from stress. I had another one who would nip and bite at me if I was crying, even if I was in another room she would come running) you can see them watching you to see what's going on.

I like her shaved, she looks sleeker and boy does she have long legs) and a lot thinner than I thought, no more dieting for her.

Again thanks for all the suggestions. I'll be posting more issues shortly...never ending). Does anyone have a muti-cat household where the cats get along? If so what's your secret?
When I took my hearing dog shopping with me some people would sometime come up to my dog and start whining to him " Oh you poor thing , blah blah blah " I would have to tell the person to get away from my dog as I did not want my dog to start thinking he was being mistreated by me. .
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Old July 8th, 2013, 09:38 PM
tiggy2 tiggy2 is offline
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Originally Posted by marko View Post
Not all cats will get along but eventually (months...) they will probably tolerate each other. Some cats though will never get along w/other cats.
In my experience most cats do become friends after a while but the depth of that friendship is variable. Often the depth of the friendship will increase slowly over time.

One thing i have done to ease and encourage friendships in cats that have already been together for a few days to a few weeks is put catnip on the actual cats, or on one of the cats. It's helped in a couple of cases. BUT these are cats that don't hate each other, they just don't seem to be establishing a 'friendship'. Of course this would be done under direct supervision.

In cats that actually hate each other (meaning one of the cats physically attacks the other in an effort to hurt the cat (versus cat play where biting still goes on but it's tamer biting and they understand when they have gone too far), I still might rub catnip on the weaker cat or both cats...but again only under direct supervision.

swapping scents through towel swap rubbing can also help in some cases.
I'll have to try the catnip Some of these cats have lived together for years. I have no problem with the tolerating each other, it's the random attacking that's bad. I have a calming collar on Rosie to try and get her to stop picking on Callie. These 2 have been together for 12 years. Callie was a kitten and Rosie was around 1 when they met, they actually played together..Rosie was a great mom, now she attacks Callie for no reason, has her afraid to be in the same room as Rosie. Callie is a drama queen so it's always 10X worse then it really is, you'd swear she was being killed

The 2 kittens are doing very well, they know their place, as soon as anyone does a hiss or growl they either lie down or leave the area..smart boys

I'm trying to put together some calming fragrance like lavender to see if that helps. Right now they are outdoors most of the time, so lots of space..come winter <sigh>

I'll definitely try the cat nip..thanks
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Old July 9th, 2013, 10:06 PM
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I might try some catnip rub actually in here. Scully and Bobandit don't get along too well. Nothing major, but sometimes he chases her off the bed or she lets out a hissy sound, etc. Sometimes I find them taking naps side by side but usually only when we're not at home cats
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