December 18, 2005

• Probably a bit more expensive, but this is a job I think is definitely best left to a professional. You might get seriously clawed if she gets feisty. You vet can recommend a groomer, or possibly do it him- or herself.
• Man how fat is your cat?!! Yeah, doing that alone would be quite a job. I don't think shaving her down all the way would be such a good idea, though I have never tried. I second finding a professional to do the job.
• bring her to the vet. for serious shaving, cats are usually sedated, in my experience.
• Given the amount of trouble I had trimming my guinea pig in much the same fashion, and that cats are predators and far pointier than guinea pigs...A third, and possibly fourth, party in full-body leather armor to hold her down might help. Then make it very quick.
• my cat was shaved for a biopsy, and a friend shaved her cat for hot weather. the fur will grow back quite slowly in late winter/spring/summmer and more quickly in autumn, early winter. unless your cat is super super docile, i really would recommend going to the vet. *gnawing my own tongue off in resistance*
• She's not *that* fat, actually, maybe 2 or 3 pounds more than she should be, but I've seen her try to reach the goods and because of the way she's built, she can't reach over her gut. I guess too that just like people, some cats are more pretzel-like than others. She's pretty easy to handle; she lets me use the handheld shower thing on her ass in the tub, so I'm pretty sure she'd be ok with shaving, and I think she knows she's smelly and needs the help.
• roryk, did your friend use just a regular electric head shaver like you get in the drugstore hair trimming kits?
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• yes, a standard remington (i think) with the various attachments for length. i think she used a "number 8" (8 mm, i guess) on her cat, who was very long-haired and thick-coated and suffering dreadfully in a spanish summer.
• Excellent! I'm lucky in that my cat is a short-hair, meaning less life-risking moments spent shaving. I think I will try it myself, as getting her to the vet is quite awkward and risky. I'd have to walk with her in a carrier bag, and I'll get kicked out of my building if they know I have her. Naturally, the time of day the vet's open is exactly the time Mr. Manager is all over the place.
• Ha! I had a cat (more exactly I lived in an apartment that came with a cat) named Boo that had a 20 inch waist (that's 2.53 millifurlongs in metric). He couldn't reach his nether bits neither. So we had to "harvest the Boo berries" on a regular basis . That job didn't involve shaving (comb and scissors - don't ask) but did require two people (and Boo was very easy-going). But his fur was already very short (white! domestic short hair) yet he had serious unsightly build-up problems anyway. So I'm not sure how much shaving is going to help your cat. And I couldn't imagine trying to shave a cat that wasn't sedated and/or completely restrained (straight-jacket or pillory at a minimum). More info: we tried to put Boo on a severe diet recommended by the vet but we had another cat and it was logistically difficult to keep them apart long enough to give them different rations. Plus Boo'd cry all night if we didn't give him more food. After a few weeks of dieting he hadn't lost even an ounce (vs. his 18lb starting weight) so we gave up. (He eventually became diabetic and was euthanized by subsequent residents of the apartment after we moved out).
• All I can ask...is please, post pre and post pictures.
• Good luck shaving your pussy. well, someone had to say it.
• Hold on, you're talking about... *head explodes*
• Poop stuck to Cat's Butt advice
• I think you should consult a veterinarian... and a psychiatrist. Seriously.
• I'm going to die, aren't I? Maybe I'll try just a regular disposable razor (from Tracicle's post) while I've got her in the tub already. And damn you koko! I can't believe you managed to twist even this innocent topic, you devious hellion!
• 
• Eh, Butthole Bare, is that you?
• No practical advice, just seconding the leather armor recoomendation and raising the fear level a little. I have a sweet, docile tabby that turns into Arnold Schwartzenkitty when it's time for a pill or a claw clipping. Once she even managed to give me a mild concussion when I attempted to administer a syringe full of banana colored and flavored antibitotic paste. Yes, I do know for a fact that it was indeed, banana flavored. I guess I should consider myself fortunate that it wasn't tuna & liver flavored, which, y'know, would make more sense for cat meds.
• I had a friend who bred Persian cats, and this is a "known issue" with long-haired breeds. He used to trim the area with grooming scissors. You can buy grooming scissors from a pet store, they have rounded ends (so nothing gets jabbed by mistake). I'd definitely recommend against actual shaving, unless you wanted to take her to a groomer. They have special cat restraints for that kind of job. One can attempt to restrain a cat by wrapping it in a towel, but I've never had much luck with that, myself. If she lets you hose her down, I'd say be thankful you're lucky, and call it good! If lingering odors are an issue, try some Nature's Miracle Deodorizing Pet Spray. That stuff works WONDERS.
• Eh, Butthole Bare, is that you? Pfft! /considers changing name again
• Seems to me that fur isn't the issue. If she's too fat to clean her fundament, she needs to lose more weight, not fur. Some kitties just don't seem to want to clean there, no matter what (and who can blame them!) - the thinnest of my three kitties has a perpetually stinky bum, but luckily another kitty likes to clean it for her. That's what friends are for, right?
• *faints*
• We have a domestic medium hair who has occasionally needed a shave. With two of us to do it (one holding, one shaving) it all gets taken pretty much in stride. We use a battery powered clipper. It can be done, but maybe our cat is just a little more laidback.
• I'd be afraid with a disposable razor that if she jumped you could cut her. If you decide to do this yourself, please be very very careful.
• wax.
• MJ, I wouldn't be surprised if you could get a groomer to drop by and shave/bathe your kitty for you. If you got a head start, you could probably keep up with the tail end. Ooooohh, that almost hurt to do that: head/tail start/end
• You might want to make sure that she doesn't have some sort of infection (vaginal, or otherwise.)
• You might want to make sure that she doesn't have some sort of infection (vaginal, or otherwise.)
• We're working on kitty losing more weight; the way I have things set up, she has to exercise to get food. I feed them on a shelf on the wall about 6 feet up, and they have to jump up three steps to get there. I'm adding a fourth step, higher up, that's to be the new feeding shelf soon. I want to give them some practice with three first. I'd be afraid with a disposable razor that if she jumped you could cut her That's my concern as well.I may first try the trimming scissors with the blunt tips, and see how that goes. Sounds like the least likely to nick the funky fundament.
• If ye have electric hair clippers you could shorten the fur, which I would recommend doing before shaving her. Knew there was a reason we quit having cats!
• Whatever I do, I'll do lots of stuff to prepare her; if I get a shaver, I'll give her treats while I let her get used to the noise it makes. I think the noise will be the biggest problem, as she's fairly tolerant of me messing with her backside what with all the hosing down and the wiping. Believe me, of all the cats I've had, this is the only one I'd dare try this with. The other cat present would; 1. Gut me. 2. Scratch my eyes out. 3. Laugh heartily at my twitching body, steal all my money and set my apartment on fire before leaving for the Turks and Caicos for a life of extravagance and illicit high stakes gambling.
• *a life of extravagance and illicit high stakes gambling* Maybe I woz too hasty in decatting the household?
• I love this place. Oh, and take the fat bugger to the vets for this. Everyone likes a professionally trimmed pussy. FNAAAR!!!!!
• > 1. Gut me. 2. Scratch my eyes out. 3. Laugh heartily at my twitching body 4. eat your toes note that many people consider the cat to be innocent
• Gack!
• Gag!... when I think of those toenail-balls!
• Moneyjane, it's a bit concerning that it's risky to take your cats to the vet, because you'd lose your housing. Have you considered at what point the possible risks to the health and well being of the cats would be important enough for you to take the personal risk of taking them to the vet? (Believe me, I am not one of those ultra-animal-rights folks who would put the cats first every time. Having a properly housed moneyjane is certainly more important for a big part of that risk spectrum!) I would certainly take the cat to the vet myself in this situation. I've had 20lb cats that are able to "play the cello" as it were, and the fact that your slightly overweight cat can't - the lack of flexibility - might denote another problem, such as arthritis. Even if the cat's agile in other ways there may be some sort of hidden injury in the back. Remember it's much more difficult for an animal to express pain, and I'm sure you don't want yours to be in pain.
• Also, reading it again, the reek itself could come from an internal infection - especially because you are doing the exterior grooming for her and the reek isn't going away. She shouldn't have to be shaved not to reek, if you're grooming her that often.
• *Quietly congratulates self on never having owned a cat.*
• *quietly castigates self for never getting any pussy*
• MJ look hard. In Oz there is a brand of clippers (Breville) designed for pets - i used to have a longhaired dog who would bite any hand who held her as soon as she heard normal clippers - bought the "pet" ones - designed to be quieter worth their wait in gold!!! No more bites and shearing time became much easier- I think it was the lack of noise that calmed her - (more expensive yes but paid for themselves in bandaids and bleeding in 2 months!!!!)Oh and i second (3rd 4th 5th???) the vet check - sounds like there may be an infection happening if u are still having smell problems - either that or change the cats diet! I have a cute one - but if i feed her the wrong stuff then she is extremely squiffy ugh
• Drug your little animal. There is something called acepromaline that vets use to calm cats down. Wait for her to get drowsy and stupid. Then cut, using scissors that were made to cut off casts-blunt tipped scissors. Be patient. This might be best done in concert with a bath-if she's getting fooled with everywhere she might not notice the fringe shaving. Also, I agree-if she can't get to the back (you'll notice a pathetic lunge and roll maneuver followed by an embarrassed silence) she needs to diet.
• All things considered, I hope you let us know how this all turns out. If you have any fingers left, that is.
• Take the cat to a vet. If the cat smells that bad, there may very well be something wrong. As well, my wife the veterinary technician has told me that she has to be very careful when handling cats because they are more susceptible to stress than dogs and can simply die if messed with too much. She also has scratch scars on her arms that make her look like a Filipino knife fighter.
• Good luck with the trimming, MJ. But I join the suggestion of having her checked out. A friend had an old cat that started having trouble cleaning herself so she stank plus refuse kept clinging to her behind. Turned out her diet was making her constipated; more liquid food, plus a little bit of butter now and then helped with bowel movements. Is she and old cat? she lets me use the handheld shower thing on her ass in the tub Mmmhh... /flagpole stares at screen for way too long. Runs to bathroom for cold shower
• My vets advocate adding cooked pureed squash (pumpkin) to the diet of the elderly dachshund for this very reason. And it works. The dachshund weighs eleven pounds and gets a rounded tablespoon daily. Can't imagine that wouldn't work on a cat as well. Outdoor cats ingest veggies in the guts of mice and small birds.
• I've fed pumpkin to my cats before on vets advice. The cats like the taste, and eat it without it even being mixed with anything. I just buy a can (not the kind with pie spices mixed in). Also, some cats just like veggies. Mine will kill for butter beans, green beans, corn and cooked carrots. Whatever you do, good luck!
• I know dogs and cats are different, but when I switched to a lamb and rice based food rather than a corn based food my dog got way less farty and smelly. Turns out his tummy couldn't process the corn very well and it made him smell like poo.
• Also, my cat Houdini didn't use to groom very well so his fur would matt up and get yuck stuck in it. He was very good about letting me use scissors to cut the matts (and various debris) out, but he wouldn't let me near him with a brush or clippers. So I third the blunt scissors suggestion. Also, if you can't take your kitty to the vet, could you call one on the phone? I've settled pet health problems over the phone with the vet a few times (including finding out that cats can tolerate kaopectate, which was a gross weekend).
• MonkeyFilter: my dog got way less farty and smelly
• I manscaped and showered last night. You'll be happy to know that my undercarriage smells like sweet summer jasmine.