Shaving a long haired cat

[JDG]

Minou appears to be a long haired cat (9weeks old) and this week she 'fluffed' out. . .its very very cute. . . she looks almost twice the size of her brother now! (Marty is short hair)

. . .anyways. . . my husband asked me if/when/how often we should shave her? I said I didn't know - but know some people who might!

Minou sits very nicely with Colin every night for brushes. . . .and has nice silky fur. . . She is very elegant!

Thanks for the help!

[CyberKitten]

I don't think you should shave her be/c the hair never grows back in the way it was. You can cut the hair tho with no probs. She will get shaved when she goes for her snip surgery of course but that will be on her belly underside.

[Prin]

I know people who shave their long haireds every spring to get rid of all the mats and open it all up for summer. (you should buy a kitty muzzle if you do it though.)

[CyberKitten]

Gosh! I would never do that - I''d have it done properly by a groomer. Mind you, I've never owned a long haired cat but did have a poddle who required mega grooming. Never shaved him completely either! (People who show cats receommend you NEVER shave a cat completely or yuo ruin the original hair). Not that I show my cats, lol

[JDG]

*LOL* Poor shaved little babies!! I can just imagine what those cats look like. . . .probably like Spinxes!!

Shaving Minou is not something we were planning on doing (at least not anytime soon, and only as a last resort) She is only a wee baby!! :love:, and definatly not by ourselves (groomer all the way!!! )

. . . we were just curious because me and my family with all the cats we had we've never had a long haired cat. . . .

I would hate for her not to have her fluffy new fur. . .she is just so pretty and elegant. . .

*bliss*

[Shamrock]

Hi there. Your Minou sounds very lovely. Do you have any pics of her and her brother? Maybe I missed them..
As you've said she has a nice silky coat, and enjoys being combed and brushed... I'd say that you will never need to have her shaved at all. This is ideal, as there is no "benefit" to the shaving - other than to give them a fresh start for matted fur.

I have three long-haired cats - 2 Persians and a Ragdoll. Only one requires shaving, and I get her done at the groomers, in what is called a lion cut.
I would never attempt it myself. The average cost for this is $60.... though many groomers do not do cats.

Miranda is a long haired cat who hates being combed, and to make thing worse... has very fine cottony fur that matts easily. It's a battle of the fur that stresses us both. Getting her a lion cut twice a year gives both of us a break. It takes about six months to grow out the coat fully, although a cats tail takes about twice as long.. up to a year, so I never have her tail shaved.

Incidentally, shaving down the coat doesnt hurt it in any way - it grows out very nicely. The "only" exception is the "pointed" cats such as himalayans. If you shave them down, their fur sometimes grows back in much darker - the colour of their "points". This gives a kind of blotched look to the nice cream colour they should have. This may lighten up in time - but not always.

[Cflat]

Unless your cat is totally adverse to grooming, and I mean an older "set in their ways" cat that possibly has "issues", shaving is totally unnecessary. You already have begun the first important steps, and that is to get the kitten used to grooming and to enjoy it! Dogs and cats that have fur that is "not meant' to be shaved should only be done so in an emergency. I truly believe that you put your cat or dog through mental anguish as this is totally against the normality of being a cat or dog.

[Shamrock]

Cflat,... yes, I completely agree that shaving down a cat is something that should generally be done as a last resort only.

That is why its so important to stay on top of their coat - and to introduce grooming at a very early age. The same with bathing your cat - if this is something that is required for the type of coat A clean coat is less likely to matt as quickly as a dirty one. But if you intend to do this - have to start at kittenhood. and even then it may not "take".

There shouldnt be any problems in this case, as the owner and kitten are both on the right track - to make this a pleasant and relaxing time.

Shaving IS drastic...but sometimes the only way.

My cat is one with "issues" - and is also five years old.
She is very tempermental, hates being handled or held for "any" reason. So to restrain her for combing is stressful and upsetting to her. She struggles, becomes angry... then retaliates by scratching and biting. This is stressful ( and painful) for me.
So in my situation,a twice a year shaving is far less mental anguish than a daily battle with her. She just gradually grows out a new coat, by the time its fullly back in.. she is ready for another. We're both happier this way.

[Shamrock]

Here is a pic the same day of shaving...

[Shamrock]

A couple of months later.. half grown out...

[JDG]

Minou's Fluffy new fur. . .

[JDG]

Marty and Minou on the couch.
(Minou in the front, Marty in the back)

[Lucky Rescue]

Long haired cats, if properly groomed and maintained, should not be shaved.

Get her used to being groomed now, and make your life a whole lot easier.

Teaching kittens to accept grooming (nail clipping, brushing, examinations, being touched everywhere) is SO worth it!!

[Rita]

Oh JDG, your furbabies are just adorable!!! Minou looks so much bigger than Marty!!
The best thing is just keep up with the brushing regularly ... hopefully she likes it!! Marty should be brushed regularly as well as that will help with shedding.

[JDG]

Thanks everyone, Thanks Rita. . .

. . .Minou is sorta 'Colin's Cat' when it comes to grooming, she sits much better for him, she is a big softy for him. . . when he gets home she follows him around. . .

We don't forget about little Marty - he is just a little more laid back about the whole grooming thing. . .

Its amazing because when you hold them at the same time they feel the same size. . .

[Rita]

Originally Posted by JDG

Its amazing because when you hold them at the same time they feel the same size. . .

Our Merri (long hair) and Sam (short hair) are like that too!! Merri looks bigger because of the long hair, but he feels so much lighter than Sam ... and they both weigh the same!! Pippin is also long haired and is all around bigger than the other two ... and he feels much heavier when you pick him up too ... I keep calling him my big brute

[Princesss04]

Both of my kittens are long haired. And I mean LONG! LOL We have started working with them on brushing them and doing their nails now so they will get use to it. If you wait and start to brush them when they get a little older it will be hard for them to get use to it. SO start messing with them now so they will be fine.

[happycats]

I have 2 long haired cats (Tuffy and Boowee) aged 11 and 9, and have NEVER shaved them. they are indoor cats and take care of themselves very well, so I rarely even have to brush them. the odd time we have to cut a very small matt out of Boowee's arm pit area, but other then that they don't matt at all.
I guess Boowee knows he's beautiful (thats how he got the nick name Boowee, his real name is actually Chase) So spends "large" amounts of time grooming to make himself Booweeful :love: .

[BeagleMum]

Here are pictures of one of my cats after we got them shaved. They didn't mind it at all.

[BeagleMum]

And here is the other one.

[Trinitie]

Grover,
I can understand why the second cat was shaved, as it has longer hair. But why on Earth did you shave a DSH cat? It can't possibly have matted hair! Way too short for that.

[BeagleMum]

The problem with him was that he was hacking up a hairball every week and my cats refuse to let us brush them. It is more than a 2 person job to brush the cats. That is why we shaved them both and have not seen a hairball since. Believe me, I did it for his sake, not mine.

[Trinitie]

I'm not too uncertain that a weekly hairball isn't out of the question. Perhaps someone else can shed some light on how often a cat should cough up hairballs.

If your cats don't like you brushing them buy them a grooming arch. Here's a picture of one.

[happycats]

You can buy hairball formula foods, or just hairball treatment that you give them (comes in different flavors and cats love it) .
My long hair cats only cough up one maybe every few weeks or so, and my short hair ones rarely cough up any.
Maybe it's the food you are giving them?

[BeagleMum]

I have the cats on Nutrience Hairball formula food so I think that is a good one. I have tried them with that pasty stuff that you give to them and my long haired cat refuses to eat it. I have to smear it on her paw to het her to lick it off. I had them on that stuff for a while and nothing changed.

Also, Storm might get a hairball up once a week but that doesn't count the daily throwing up (usually just a bit of liquid) when he starts to hack at the hairball. I'm telling you, I felt bad for him. Like I said earlier though, since I got them shaved, there has not been any throwing up (2 to 3 months now)

[Shamrock]

JDG - your babies are just adorable! How pretty they both are!
Grover, have you tried the various flavours of the hairball stuff.? Putting it on the paw is a good way to get them to eat it...
One of my cats throws up hairballs frequently, but this paste does help.

Trinitie - I've never seen this grooming arch before! Are these from an online ordering? I wouldnt mind trying one of these...

[Trinitie]

Shamrock,
Those arches are just super looking aren't they? I did a Google for "grooming arch" and just grabbed a photo of one (I hope the cat doesn't want royalties!). I'm pretty sure you can either order one from your local pet supply store, or find an online store (if you don't mind buying them online). Maybe if you e-mail the store here at Pets.ca, they maybe able to guide you to one, or could start stocking them if there's a demand. You never know.