Cannot brush my cat!!!!!!

Tanya1988

I have 2 maine coon cats, for anyone who knows then they are quiet long haired similar to a persian. One is a cream colour (the problem one) and the other is a tortie which I have no problem with. The Cream Maine coon has been through alot and she is 5 years old I have her over the past year & half, before that she was with roughly 2-3 previous owners, she was passed on so much as she was locked inside a shed for most of her life and did not have much human contact but I managed to rescue her and tame her down EXCEPT the brushing park. She's a beautiful cat but she does turn against you when she see's a brush. . Her hair does tend to matt alot if it is not brushed. My local vets are the only people who seem to be able to brush her some times they may need to sedate her, I don't approve on this because its not good for her and I hate haven to take her out of her own envoirment. Can anybody please help me I don't know what to do, will it take more time before she trusts the brush or what can I do.

cotton

Find yourself a good groomer!
3 of my cats are long haired & one, Max, I couldn't get near with a brush. He was always matted until we shaved him. He always looked uncared for. Then I found a great groomer in Greystones that does them with no problems in a way I never could. It also cut down on mangled hands & the hair in the house!

Sundew

Tanya: I too have a coonie and he refuses to be groomed. Recently we had him sedated at the vets, got his nails and shots done too but I too would love to find a groomer like the one that was previously mentioned.
Have you tried the hand mitt for combing his fur?

Tanya1988

The local vets do cut out the matted hair and bathe her if needed, with her cream colour she is always ocming home filthy especially full of oil!!! I have tried the hand mitt but that now has more scratch marks and bite marks than ever!! I hope she eventually realizes if she lets me do it, it will save her the hassel of going to the local vets. Its unbelieveable and then the other Coon looks for more brushing when finished. It's just her furr looks uncared for the whole time even though she would be one of the best cats cared for and her colour is so beautiful its a shame

Shanao

Hey I have two coons as well, a cream like yourself and a blue. Thankfully they're no problem to be brushed but we have a persian(rescue) who tries to kill us if we go near him with a brush. I found using the handmit about the best, but you need a lot of patience. Basically it would start with you petting her; rubbing your hand all the way along her back with one hand, then using the mit on the other hand in the middle of rubbing her(just once). It shouldn't get a reaction, so you can continue on rubbing her normally again, then use the mit again. Its to try and get her to associate being brushed with being rubbed. Cats can be tricky though so it might take a while. If she has an particular spot that she likes being scratched, you could try scratching her there as well while you're trying to groom her- my guys all love being scratched under their chins (though one fella almost goes comatose when you do;))
Otherwise like others have said, ring around to a few groomers and see if any of them would groom her.

DerTierarzt

Nice breed, I'd try starting with feeding the animal as you're brushing it. If the animal is scared of the brush itself, leave it beside their feed bowl, then after a day start lightly stroking them with it as they're drinking/eating etc. Work your way up from there using positive association.

emer_b

Have 2 domestic cats and they are a joy to groom, absolutely adore it!
I know this isn't much help to you but I started grooming them when they were a few months old and that seems to have helped.
One of them is long haired, I just posted her on YouTube as it's so cute, "funny cat combs herself".