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Cat with fizzy hair

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wolf63 | 19:02 Wed 04th Apr 2007 | Pets
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I adopted two siblings over a month ago - they have settled in and made the house theirs, they are allowing me to stay on to look after their needs.

Frankie is a smooth coated cat and is glossy and looks really healthy. Merlin (his sister) looks like she is having a bad hair day.

She is long haired and the hair is fizzy. I sit and tease the hair apart, but it clumps so quickly. She is not very tolerant and as soon as she gets fed up being groomed she is off. I bought a little slicker brush and it helps, but is there anything I can feed her that will make her hair more manageable?

Her hair is fine at present, but it is just so fizzy.

When you look at them it is amazing to think that they came out of the same litter. Their character is very different as well. Frankie is a laid back surf dude sort or guy. Merlin takes no prisoners and I have already had medical treatment for my wounds, I thought girl cats were supposed to be calm and good tempered.

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Hi wolf. As you know my monster is long haired and the brush I use on him is a zoom brush

http://www.pet-supermarket.co.uk/erol.html?gcl id=CPCshY6cq4sCFQntlAodRSbOMg

It's really good and he loves it - he comes running when I show it to him! He actually keeps himself pretty tangle free so I'm lucky in that sense but it might be worth trying this one.

In terms of food - he gets a complete dry food (usually Whiskers) which is supposed to have things in to condition his coat and it seems to work as his coat is lovely and soft all the time. It all sticks up and he looks permantly scruffy but it's very soft and in good condition.

I'm a real sucker for long haired cats and am currently resisting the temptation to adopt a chap called Alex from the rescue place I volunteer at. http://www.celiahammond.org/index.php?module=p agemaster&PAGE_user_op=view_page&PAGE_id=26&MM N_position=35:35
Scroll to the very bottom of the page to see Alex - he's the last one on there - isn't he gorgeous!
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Alex is a good looking chap, so are some of the other cats. Why don't people get their cats neutered? It really annoys me that they don't.

Merlin's coat is soft, which is probably the problem. I feed her a mix of mainly Iams and some meaty sachets to treat them. Her brother's smooth coat is so sleek and shiny and she looks like me on a bad hair day.

And even taking into account the size of your monster's paws she could take him out in a fight. She is one feisty lady - Girl Power!
I'm sure Merlin could take Sam any day -despite being huge and having huge paws he's the biggest wimp in the world - he came up to me a couple of nights ago just after coming in from the garden. He was mewing in a particularly pathetic fashion, jumped on my knee and held up his paw - he had a blade of grass stuck between his toes!

I think some cats are just supposed to look scruffy - its part of their character. There might be natural oils or something in her skin which make it clump together and if that's the case I doubt there's much you can do about it.

I get really annoyed about that as well - there are so many lovely cast in that shelter - I have great fun cleaning out their pens, feeding them and playing with them but I wish they weren't there. What annoys me the most is the people who just dump them. There was a lovely tabby in there a couple of weeks ago who's owners were moving and they phoned the shelter one evening and said we're leaving in the morning, either you come and collect this cat or we'll drown him. Some people don't deserve to be loved by animals.
Evenin all! I don't have a particular answer to the frizzy fur problem Wolf, but just wanted to comment that my two cats fur seems to change texture at times. When they are particularly contented with that catty smug look on their faces (normally after I have catered to their every wish), their fur is extremely sleek and soft. If they are a bit wound up for any reason, their fur is a lot rougher to the touch. I am sure this is not common to just my two cats, anyone else notice this?
Annavac, I too hate irresponsible pet owners, I have heard tales of owners using rescue homes as temporary boarding houses when they go on holiday and then picking them up afterwards when they are back. They think they are clever by saving money, but I think it is disgusting. I also remember an ex boss telling us at work that if he could not find a home for the runt in the litter of cats at his house, he would drown it in a bucket. We were all disgusted and I told him in no uncertain terms what I thought of that. Of course I would not have let that happen and would have taken it in, but he found a home for it luckily.
Cheers Sue
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I love animals. I had to give up work due to Bipolar Disorder and can be a bit obsessive at times.

When I phoned my brother to tell him I had got cats after looking for a suitable one for a while he latched onto the "cats" as opposed to "cat".

"How many cats?" he said nervously.

"Two" said I "brother and sister"

"Do THEY know that they are brother and sister?"

"How the h*ll would I know" I answered.

"Like are they going to turn into 120 cats this time next year?" I could hear the panic in his voice.

"They're neutered" I answered "I may be crazy, but I am not stupid".

He said that he had the vision of my living in the house surrounded by hundreds of cats. Crazy old cat lady!
Maybe I should do that - would take him years to get rid of the smell before he could sell it!

Sadly - it happens. I saw an animal programme about the US version of the RSPCA/SSPCA and they visited one family who had an interbred colony. Some of the cats were deformed and had to be put to sleep. The US people carry guns - good idea. Shoot the owners and save the pets.

Animal charities are often willing to pay for neutering if you can't afford it. There is no excuse at all for unwanted kittens.

Like mine, your girl probably has its thicker winter fur which it will be shedding, so grooming out the loose fur will help avoid knots and tangles.

A moulting comb (has a combination of long and short teeth) is what I use. The zoom groom brush looks interesting, since I have to follow up a stroke of the comb with the palm of my hand in order to get him (the Growler) to tolerate a session.

If a clump is loose enough to pick apart with my fingers, I'll do that, then comb it out, otherwise I'll tease it out patiently with the slicker.
If it's too matted, or in a sensitive place, I'll wait until he's in a very deep sleep and cut it out carefully with a sharp pair of scissors. I had to do this last night - he had a couple knots at the back of his thigh and in his groin. Much safer and easier to do while he was asleep.

p.s. always love hearing about Sam, and I can see why you've fallen for Alex, annavc - I don't think I've ever seen a long-haired black cat before (apart from Persians). Remember that you were thinking about volunteering at Battersea - Celia Hammond seems like a much less 'impersonal' place.
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The Big Gill - how do you manage to creep up on a sleeping cat and cut out a matt before being shredded to death? Are you a really fast super-hero? Merlin is really fast with the claws and teeth, I have never had a lady pet before and thought that they would all be softies. But Merlin is obviously into Girl Power.

What's The Growler's ''Sunday name''?

You are right that annavc's Sam is one cuddly looking boy and Alex looks handsome too.

I had my brother yelling down the phone the other night "they're CATS not babies" - is there a difference?

You have to wait until they're deeply asleep, and it helps if they fallen asleep next to you, so you don't have to sneak up on them. Mine conveniently uses my desk as a favourite sleeping spot (inconveniently most of the time).

Also, you have to have them curl up on the right side, as it's impossible to turn them over without waking them (mine, at least).

The groin tangle was obviously trickier, but I was able to 'get in there' during a tummy rub session - these can go either of two ways; either it turns into playfight, where he attacks my arm with claws and teeth, or where he luxuriates in tickllng bliss.
Fortunately, it was the latter. I had to turn my arm around so I was tickling his tummy with my forearm, and his chin with my elbow. and then get to work on the lump.

I don't know about superhero - I felt more like I was trying to defuse a ticking time bomb.

On Sundays, he's called 'NotNow'.
Forgot to say: I know you were asking about feeding, but I think if you just groom her well you won't have to mess about with her diet, and the pair can eat the same.
Haven't been here for a few days so its lovely to come back and see Sam being mentioned! There is very little difference between cats and babies - Sam is definitely my baby! Talking of babies I had my 9 month old twin nieces to visit on Saturday and Sam was not impressed as the attention was diverted away from him. He sulked on his beanbag all day then after they'd gone he jumped on to my neck and basically glued himself there for the rest of the evening. It's not easy trying to cook dinner and wash up with a large furball wrapped round your neck breathing in your ear!
annavc, that reminds me of a cat I had when I was younger - she was a rescue too, and I think she'd been badly treated but was oddly hungry for affection - she'd love to climb up you, and would always be on the lookout for an opportunity to pounce.
This would be when I was bending down; I'd see her out of the corner of my eye, staring at me wide-eyed. I'd shout, 'No!' but it would be too late - the pounce was on - she'd jump on my back and I'd straighten up. This only made her dig her claws in and scramble up my back, so I'd have to bend over again to let her get up to the back of my neck where she'd start licking my hair and purring...

Too painful to be able to stand up with her attached like yourself, I'm afraid, otherwise I'm sure she'd have made a great fashion accessory. That would have gone down a storm with anti-fur protestors!

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