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  #1  
Old March 16th, 2006, 08:37 PM
t.pettet t.pettet is offline
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dry food for persian cat

2 yr. old part persian is constantly getting matted clumps on sides and under chin. Was on royal canin but made no significant difference in her coat. She gets combed/brushed almost daily and is an inside kitty. Any suggestions re: dry food appreciated.
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  #2  
Old March 18th, 2006, 08:21 PM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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There is no food that will keep her coat from matting. Persians are extremely high maintenence, needing constant grooming and brushing. The only other option is shaving.

Royal Canin is not good food, IMO. I would put her on something better, preferably canned.
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Old March 18th, 2006, 11:30 PM
t.pettet t.pettet is offline
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dry food

This persian is one of my customers and obviously her people aren't doing a very good job of brushing but I hate to clip her down - she has to be sedated, looks terrible and the whole process stresses her out so was hoping I could recommend a dry food with omega 3s to help with her fly-away, matted coat. The owners don't like to feed her the canned as she tends to get diarrhea. Any suggestions?
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Old March 18th, 2006, 11:36 PM
Prin Prin is offline
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What about just an omega-3 supplement or fish oil supplement? I'm not sure it will help with the mats, but if what you're looking for is omega-3, that might be the easiest way of getting it into the cat...
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Old March 19th, 2006, 09:52 AM
Lucky Rescue Lucky Rescue is offline
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This cat's owners need to know there is no magic forumula to keeping mats away, except working at it.

I agree with you that shaving is not an acceptable option, but for people who get Persians and are too lazy to groom them properly it's often the only answer. At least it alleviates the discomfort the poor cat feels.

Without exception, every Persian/Himi that we get in our rescue is a matted mess, often to the point that the cat cannot move at all!!
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  #6  
Old March 31st, 2006, 08:52 AM
Snooky'sMom Snooky'sMom is offline
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If you find a good dry food I'd like to know too. I have two long haired cats and give them both Royal Canin Persian Dry and Eagle Pack Holistic canned.

As for the Royal Canin, I've seen some posts here on the forum that it's not a good food. Why I wonder? Because of the corn content in it? I like it because of the fibre added to help control the hairballs (and my older cat has constipation too). I bought the holistic dry food from Loblaws. They eat some of it but don't like it as much as Royal Canin. However, it doen't have any fibre stuff in it. With Royal Canin Dry I noticed the first ingredient is Chicken but for the Holistic Blend stuff the first ingredient is Chicken meal. I would think the one that has chicken as the first ingredient would be better regardless of having corn it it. BTW, none of my cats seem to be bothered by the corn.
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  #7  
Old June 8th, 2006, 08:50 AM
SugarbearPaws SugarbearPaws is offline
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Hi. I'm new to the forum and am just having a browse through some of the threads. I read this one because I used to have a persian. He was a real special cat, and I miss him very much. His kidneys started to fail last June, finally quit altogether last September, and we had him euthanized. There were times that we had the matted hair problem. Partly he did not like being brushed. Since he was 4 1/2 years old when I got him, I can only imagine that whoever brushed him when he was young probably pulled too much and it hurt. I don't know. Anyway, brushing was a challenge.

What I want to say though is that maybe this client's persian is not being brushed properly. Either they aren't using the right tools or they aren't using the tools properly. When we would leave on holiday, a very good friend of ours would take care of all our pets. But every time we came back, the persian would be terribily matted. She says she brushed him every day, and I believe her. But I don't think she was doing it properly. The top of his coat would be fine, but the undercoat would be all lumps. He even picked up the nickname "Lumpy". Maybe you should have your client show you what brushes she uses and how she uses them. It might be that simple.
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Old June 8th, 2006, 08:54 AM
SugarbearPaws SugarbearPaws is offline
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Sorry, I should have added that it is amazing how many people think they know how to groom/brush an animal, when they don't really know at all. They just drag the (wrong)comb or (wrong)brush through the hair and think that's all there is to it. That works okay with short or medium coats, but with the really fine-haired, long-haired animals, it can make things worse.
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  #9  
Old June 8th, 2006, 05:12 PM
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Shamrock Shamrock is offline
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I love long haired cats, and have a Persian, a Himalayan and a Ragdoll.
LOTS of grooming, but I have more time available to tend to this that a lot of others would.

As Lucky mentions.. Persians/Himmies are VERY high maintenance cats.
They not only require vigrous attention to the coat, many need daily eye-wiping, and their back-end fur usually needs to be kept clipped short to prevent feces from sticking to the fur.

The key for the coat of course is keeping on top of it.. not letting it "get away" from you. If it does... you have big problems. :sad:
For some persians - reaching this point might take a week or two..others can become quite matted in just a matter of days.

I agree with Sugarpaws - while diet is obviously important to the coat and general condition .. the right grooming tools and technique are all- important in keeping the persian coat matt free.
So .. as mentioned.. it could be that these cat owners are using the wrong method, and getting poor results.

Brushes are useless, in my experience, as this doesnt reach their undercoat - where the matts generally form. I use a steel comb, and pay special attention to the areas most likely to form matts.. the chest, the tummy and the armpits.
A lot of Persian owners reccomend a greyhound comb.

Gently seperating and pulling apart a matt when first noticed is generally easy...but if they are allowed to become large and tight... some carefully use a seamripper on these.
A tummy shave at the groomers will often solves a localized problem...and a lion cut the only answer if the whole coat is past the point of no return.

As with people's hair.. the coats differ in texture.
My himmy has a massive thick and long coat, but a thorough combing every day or two keeps him looking great. He rarely matts.. although watching him try to groom himself sometimes bothers me. There's just too much fur to contend with.:sad:

My persian girl has a cottony coat that matts in the blink of an eye. Unfortunately, she despises grooming, and so its on ongoing problem.
I do get her a lion cut every so often. This is not from laziness, but to allow us both to have a break from the stress of the daily battle, and to ensure that she doesnt have to suffer the awful discomfort that matting brings.
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