Is it cruel to shave a cat?

you could try that..you can always get her a sweater. might even make her feel fancy. =)

Oh my. Don’t use a razor, that might cut the city. Maybe she’ll shed it off.

Not at all. Long ago we had this white Persian mix who got outside only to be doused with motor oil; a real asshole move by somebody, which very well could have killed him if he wasn’t found. We both bathed and shaved him. He was surprisingly cooperative. I figure that he knew somehow that we were trying to help him. Anyway he ended up fine and the fur grew back fairly quickly.

maybe leave a little strip of fur?

a la Pepe Le Pew?

I think totally shaving her would be distressing for her as cats fur is important in regulating body temperature.

Since you mention that it’s only in a few spots, carefully cutting them away would be a better alternative. It may look a little strange but will grow back in soon enough.

Totally shaving her tlreally seems like overkill.

Cruel but fair.

Sometimes I have a big hair. I hate to say it but that was taken 120 seconds ago. I know that I need to cut it but it will be really cold if I do. I normally shave it to ¼ inch when I cut it.

It may be cruel, but it’s fun. Actually, we have a couple of Persians that are shaved in the summer for their comfort—however a professional groomer does the shaving.

Of course you’ve got to be prepared for all the “shaved pussy” comments you’ll likely receive.

I recommend a groomer.

Do you have to shave her or can you bring her to the groomer for a short cut? I’ve known cats with short hair cuts and they don’t seem to care at all.

Her fur isn’t long to begin with, and the waxy/sticky stuff seems to go all the way down to the skin. That’s why the scissors haven’t worked. :(

I agree with going to a groomer. You need clippers. I did it to my Flower(pot) one year because she got prickles in her coat. She hated the process, but I think she liked having smooth, short hair. She rubbed around on the floor a lot that summer.

@augustlan Have you smelled it? You can try using something that gets out oil and grease—baking soda or whatever.

If you’re going to get her shaved you should definitely take her to a groomer. The reason I say this is because cats have paper thin skin and can easily be nipped. It’s not cruel to shave a cat. Yeah they look kind of silly but the coat grows back, it’s not a big deal.

I’ve seen kitties (at shelters) shaved to look like lions…it looks ridiculous, but the cats could care less.

So, just cutting out the mats didn’t solve the problem? That’s odd. I suppose you could try snipping down low in those areas, then giving her (him?) a gentle washcloth bath to see if that helped break up residue. Maybe some Dawn to break down the grease? Dry shampoo might work, too.

Not in this situation. I have an ex-boyfriend who had a long haired calico that needed to be shaved every so often because of knots. We would try to cut the knots out, but shaving was the only thing that truly helped The family should have groomed her better

I think you should take her to a groomer. The fur will grow back and it’ll be like it never happened.

I’d take the cat to a groomer you dislike, just in case the cat blows a gasket during the process.

it’s only cruel if the cat goes outside in the cold.

Otherwise, it’s just vanity.

Personally, I just cut the mats out of my Maine Coon’s fur. Sure she has little spots of bald or short hair, but it’s free and saves the stress of the trip on the cat.

So I shouldn’t just use clippers and do it myself? I hate to make her more anxious and take her somewhere to get it done.

Edit: Dog just sent me this pic of the Lion Cut. Funny, but kind of cute!

Before bringing out the scissors try mayonnaise.

It cannot be lite mayo- it has to be real.
It is excellent at getting out sticky goop. It also took gum out of the neck fur of our yellow Labrador Retriever. It is non-toxic and worth a shot.

Unless of course you like lion cuts on cats.

@augustlan If you use clippers, I wouldn’t use straight clippers (the metal part) I’d attach a 1 to it (1 is the shortest attachment I believe) just so less risk of cutting the cat.
For me, we could never use a buzzer on our cats, they’re terrified of anything that makes noise like that.

@johnpowell Get thee a haircut, sir! If you were closer, I’d be happy to give you a clipper cut. :)

@augustlan I’ve shaved a cat with clippers…send her my way. I’ll give her a cut and pretty smelling bath, too ;)

No, really, you can do this yourself with the clippers and a ½” guard.

If you take her to a groomer and show them what the problem is they might have a better solution for you. If you don’t want her shaved all the way maybe they can just take out those particular parts. I highly recommend that you don’t try to do it yourself. Like I said before, their skin is very thin.

@augustlan :: Judochop pointed me to a place three blocks away that does clipper cuts for 12 dollars. I’m just lazy.

@augustlan I personally shaved my cat. No problem. But she’s a good cat and lets me do whatever I want to her.

@tinyfaery: you should take a trip to New York. I would invite you for dinner and see what you could do with my queen-of-the-castle :P

@poofandmook I don’t call myself the cat whisperer for nothing = ^ . . ^ =

@tinyfaery: lol! :) she loves me to death but if she doesn’t want to… she won’t. She’ll cuddles, but she still won’t. lol

lighter fluid—stay with the cat while doing this. when it’s done give her a bath

Ok, I’m not comfortable with the lighter fluid idea, mayo seems like it could work, but after one bath already, I’m in no hurry to give her another this soon. It takes a lot out of both of us! I’ll see what I can do with clippers and a guard. If she ends up with a lion cut, I’ll post a pic. Thanks everyone!

@augustlan Good luck! <crosses fingers> I hope she cooperates for you!

I am not sure on this but perhaps the kitty will bathe herself with the Mayo trick once the bulk of it is wiped off?

Either way it is great fur conditioner. :)

The first time we shaved my dog she walked around acting all naked and embarrassed. Cat’s HATE to loose their cool, but I’m sure she will get over it eventually.

No, it is not cruel to shave a cat. Skinning a cat is a different matter altogether.

@Dog She’s a little fattie of a kittie… she can’t reach the areas in question. Poor girl.

@eponymoushipster landing strip?

I don’t think you will get anywhere with a plastic guard on the blade. Most clippers come with a short blade, one that is thin and the teeth are close together, that is what I would use. There is less chance of cutting the cat with the fine teeth. Also do not pull the skin up to cut, put the clipper head flat against the skin and proceed slowly, let the clipper do the work. Since it is winter coming where you are, I would only do the spots that are yukky. Mayo sounds good, peanut butter is another that will remove gum, it takes forever but it will do it.

Remember the thinner the blade and the closer together the teeth are, the shorter it will cut. If it has trouble going through and it is taking a long time, test the blade periodically against the inside of your arm, they can get hot as blazes and burn the cat which doesn’t help the sitting still situation.

Cats are usually hard to do so if you don’t succeed go to a groomer and tell them you just want the yukky spots done and no bath, they will be thrilled not to have to do the whole job, hehehehe.

Good luck. And let us know how you do, doing cats is always such a treat!

@Dr_C shhh!

It’s not cruel—Qingu has had to shave his cat for various reason at various times—at least once out of kindness because they didn’t have A/C when he first graduated from college and his long-haired cat was too hot in the summer. And here is what I have learned through his experiences with this: the vet will do it for a small fee. If you really get to the point that you need to shave the cat, your vet will do it for a small fee. Or any animal groomer would work, most likely.

No, not cruel. I had to do it to my kitty after she’d gotten into a fight as an older kitten with an adult cat trespasser. The bigger cat gouged her right side pretty good and I had to keep the area shaved as the wound (and subsequent infection) healed.

I will add another vote for groomer. They may be able to get the stuff out without making your cat look ridiculous. Of course, if ridiculous is what you’re going for, feel free to DIY

I believe that may be the shortes post I have ever seen my friend @dalepetrie post!!

I use old-fashioned nail scissors, the type with the curved blades, to cut out just the knots on various cats. I combine the cutting with copious petting and none of them ever seem to mind. My cats hate riding in the car so much that a trip to a groomer would be serious trauma for all of us.

Yep.

@dalepetrie, even shorter? This must be a record! lurve

Even shorter? That’s what she said!

Ours would certainly object. The vet had to do it once (only a small part) when treating an injury.

@mattbrowne sometimes it is like a child objecting to going to the dentist. Of course they don’t want to go, it’s miserable. But their teeth will feel better after. In Willow’s case, of course he doesn’t want to get shaved, but he has always appreciated it afterward.

Actually, I was watching a program last night (possibly Cats 101, or the feline version of It’s Me or the Dog called Housecat Housecall) where this lady shaves your cat (the cats didn’t seem to mind it) and then turns the fur into yarn and makes a purse out of it for you to keep. She gets between $45 and $2000 per purse, so it must take some real work, or she has a lot of chutzpah..

Please, please, please refrain from using scissors on your cat! Their skin is paper thin, and it is VERY, VERY easy to accidentally nick them. This is harder to do with clippers. If you are unsure of yourself, please just take the animal to a groomer. But please never use scissors of any kind of your kitty. :)

@wyrenyth Welcome to Fluther, and thanks for your concern. I used clippers, and that worked fine. Her fur has all grown back now. :)

She’s a little touchy about being petted in the areas that were once bald. Anyone know why that might still bother her after all this time?

@Auggie

Cats are sensitive little things, easily offended, and they have long long memories.

Perhaps she’s sensitive about being petted in those areas cuz she wants to avoid another bald spots episode.

After all, she had no idea the clipping of those spots was necessitated by goop in her fur.

All she knows is that after those crazy humans were spending a lot of time futzing and obsessing over those areas, her fur there just up and disappeared.

Being petted there gives her anxiety about a repeat performance.

That’s just my guess as an attempt to see things from her point of view :)

But cats are idiosyncratic, so who really knows ?

@augustlan I have to admit, I laughed when I first seen this worded question as I was looking through your list of all your personal questions.