Caring for your pet’s undercoat may require both education and assistance
When Bianca moved back to the Yukon, she felt ready to welcome a cat into her life. She was looking for an animal that resonated with her character, stage of life and lifestyle. A slightly older cat, perhaps with a calm personality, she thought may suit her best.
Bianca and her family had been keeping their eyes out for some time before Bianca’s granddaughters called and said, “We’ve found her, Grandma.”
Nine year old “Callie” has a unique appearance (her extended family described this to me as her “resting snarl face”). From the start, her pugnacious looks, combined with the personality of a lover, spoke to her people.
Callie adores attention and human company, once she has had time to warm up . She is diminutive, often shy. In her original home, other household cats were not always friendly to her. Her then-owners worried about her and wanted to find her a new life situation in a one-cat household. And so, she and Bianca have found each other and, a little more than a year later, they have bonded and are well-suited to each other.
Callie enjoys sitting with Bianca, receiving pets and sharing lap time, but she politely does not allow combing or brushing. Her long-hair coat has started to develop small mats. Bianca feels them forming; however, with Callie unwilling to allow her to help, she is not able to do much with them. I met Callie and Bianca in the comfort of their home when I came to trim Callie’s nails and assess her mats.
Mats in the hair of an animal, if left unattended, can increase in size and density and eventually become close to the skin. This is problematic for many reasons. Mats can become painful, pulling at the skin. In the worst cases, lesions may develop and potentially lead to sores and infections hiding underneath the mats. In short, they are uncomfortable, possibly painful, and can lead to further problems that may be hidden from sight by the mats.
Mats can form for multiple reasons and occur in many species including cats and dogs. Mats can simply be a consequence of long hair or hard-to-reach places where an animal may have difficulty self-grooming. They can also occur as a result of certain underlying health conditions such as obesity, arthritis, diabetes, and kidney disease, for a few examples; and an animal that is not grooming appropriately for their species is recommended to have an examination by their veterinarian to rule out any health concerns.
Due to the nature of mats, when they occur close to the skin and may be painful, an animal may benefit from pain control and/or sedation to remove them safely, especially if shaving is required for a significant length of time (scissors should never be used for removal, to avoid inadvertent accidents).
There are different ways to assist. With cats, their humans can help by removing mats as they occur, when the cat allows. As mentioned above, some cats, who are prone to matting, can be fully shaved while under sedation at their vet clinic. Some cats allow routine brushing that can assist with prevention and, of course, some cats may either not experience mats or may self-groom to a degree that prevents them in the first place.
In Callie’s case, Bianca’s keen observations had caught these mats when they were mostly small and minor, with only one trickily close to the skin. Despite the look on Callie’s “snarl face,” while using soothing hands on her and supporting her calm personality, I was able to quickly shave these mats out of her coat. She tolerated this brief interaction while also flashing expressive eyes as she retreated to her special chair to groom herself, once we finished.
As always, no matter the plans that humans have, it is the animals themselves who set the pace for these at-home interactions. Bianca expressed relief when the mats were removed, and we discussed what to monitor moving forward, should Callie continue to experience frequent matting.
All of this was great news for Callie and Bianca, to have this issue taken care of promptly and before it potentially grew into a larger concern. Bianca was relieved to find support for Callie, despite Callie’s aversion to being brushed, and Callie could get back to enjoying her lap time with Bianca without the added stress of organizing transportation to a vet clinic. Where appropriate, homecare can be an excellent solution for a cat and their human. Sometimes, as for Callie and Bianca, even extended family (such as granddaughters) can feel supported by these services.
Author’s Note: The names of animals and people have been changed to protect privacy.
