hobbykat1955

We also adopted a yard cat...or she adopted us...That would be my picture of our "Big". She kept her distance but one day made up her mind and came to us...She loves to be brushed, she gets a bath once a mth and is the best ever cat...I feel the best cats are the ones that chose you.

cherrio

knotted hair pulls at the animals skin. a vet and some groomers can sedate and shave/trim the worst mats if kitty is really bad/matted

craftyone27

You will probably need to take her in to be groomed.My mom had a LH indoor cat that would get all matted and the vet would shave her and then it would all grow back lovely. The vet told my mom that once a cat gets a matt or two in their coat they stop grooming themselves and their coat gets progressively worse. Good luck with your new furry friend!

NikkiLu

The only way that I could cut off the knots on my Persian/Himalyian was to snip one snip at a time with a very sharp pair of cuticle sissors. One snip and he would be gone - and he was quite a friendly guy - don't know how you could do it with a wild sort of cat. But after days of getting after him and snipping every chance that I could - with the help of others in the house petting him, etc. we would get off some of the very biggest knots.

sarahconner

I have a 10 yr old long haired cat, that is part Maine Coon. I take her to the groomer, about every 7 wks and they shave underneath her. I have seen cats, that are totally shaved for the summer. That would take care of your new cat and her messed up hair. Am not sure how U would get her in a cage to get her to a groomer.

Dolphyngyrl

This is your best bet, when they are matted like that it can be very painful to try and brush that out, your vet can sedate and shave the cats matts off

Dolphyngyrl

You should never ever clip a cat this way, you can clip huge portions of the skin off, scissors are a no no with cats, i have seen some nasty cuts from people doing this when i worked at a vet, always use clippers, cats usually don't like them which is why you need the sedation

softpatches

Thanks for all your input--Let me clarify--she is not wild or feral just always been outside in the country and very nervous. After the sun goes down she will come and sit at the back door and when I go out she will run away but if I sit down she will come back and let me pet her, no picking up.
The matts I know are painful as they are under her hair and very close to the skin. Her little tummy is a mess, of course her most tender part. She has been fixed and stays iin the carport (in her hiddy hole) until dark and then comes out to visit. She is really pretty and sweet, abt 7 yrs old and will make a great quilt buddy if I go slowwww- I know I will probably have to take her and have a pro take care of the matts but I don't want to scare her more. Need to do something soon as it is sooooo hot here in MS and humid. She rolled over on her back tonite and let me rub her tummy for a minute, big move for her. I thought abt getting some baby oil and rubbing her tummy with it. What do you think????I'll try and get a pic of her soon and show a before and after, :)

earthwalker

Definitely take her to the vet, she probably could do with a check up and she will definitely need a light sedation and be shaved. Baby oil will make a terrible mess and it's not too good to have her licking it, or trying too. She is too shy and scared for a groomer to tackle the job, and if the mats are bad, she could well have some ulceration you can't see. Cats have extraordinarily fine skin, much finer than ours, and it doesn't take much to cause a lesion or tear it.

Don't forget to put her in a suitable container, if you dont have a cat carrier use two laundry baskets tied together...or use a wicker laundry basket with the lid attached, don't forget plenty of paper/old towels in the bottom...sometimes the timid ones get scared and pee.

Good luck with your cat taming/beautification...would love to see pics. Oh, I forgot...while she's being groomed get yourself a good grooming tool, so you can keep on top of it....Furminator is good, but ask your vet to recommend the right one for her type.

Janebird

We had to do this with a cat that wandered into our lives. He needed sedation before it could be done, but the mats were so tight to his skin that the vet said it probably hurt him when we petted him. He was much more receptive to attention when the mats were gone. He had such long fur that it needed to be done each year.