On an itchy note!

ShoppingTelly

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Can I ask some more advice please - sort of connected to this thread. Since our "visitation" and two doses of Frontline etc, his Lordship has decided that he can't/isn't able to groom himself very much and is fast developing clumps of matted fur - he's always been ultra fastidious about washing.

He's 18 and a little arthritic in the back legs so I think that's probably the reason. Fortunately, apart from being deaf and the usual kidney issues of an elderly cat (annual check up with vet each August), he's in very good nick and purrfectly content (when there are no fireworks!).

I won't bore you with the details of why we ended up with two free unwanted pedigree kittens when we were intent on going to Battersea Dogs & Cats home for one cat but he's a Birman with longish, thick fur that breeders recommend is never brushed - so this is new to me.

He likes a thing called a "Love Glove" that is like a gardening glove with a very soft rubber spiked palm but it is ineffective on the clumps. I borrowed a friend's Furminator with undignified and upsetting results!!! I've tried teasing them out manually and cutting them out but he hates that.

Anyway, back to my question - can anyone recommend a particular style or make of comb or brush that would do the trick?

Thank you.
 
disenchanted - i've no idea but what i would do is ask the vet. if it was me, i'd phone and ask to speak to one of the nurses. if they couldn't recommend anything, they would probably do it for you but i understand that entails a trip to the vet that he wouldn't enjoy.
 
Thanks Janie but I know the vet would insist on doing it under sedation and, because of his age, I would rather investigate all other avenues first.
 
they do sell specialist stuff though - at least mine does. i didn't know about feliway untill they told me.
 
Thanks Mam - showed your post and the Amazon reviews to OH and I've sent for one. I think if that doesn't work I'll discuss it with a friend's son who is a vet to find out if there are alternatives to sedation. Fingers crossed!
 
I have a tangle teezer for me, my hair is very long now (can't remember the last time I got it cut, but it is in fab condition, thanks to "Mythic Oil" AND I can highly recommend Olia hair colour, smells nice and leaves your hair in great condition) and extremely thick but very fine, I wish I'd waited for this, sooo much cheaper! Wonder if it would work on Sidney, he has a coat like a Russian Blue, very thick with what looks like three double layers, it is short so it does not matt, but he sheds loads, he loves being groomed but isn't good at presenting both sids to the furminator! We are both still scratching a little bit and I have to recommend good old fashioned extra virgin olive oil for healing the sores left by scratching off the heads of the bites, they are healing extra fast! I was so worried as I'd already had one non-healing wound, but I read about a Spanish study done on pressure sores and they found that hyper-oxygenated fatty acids speeded up healing significantly and the best was based on extra virgin olive oil, i found a fillipo berio oil spray and have been applying night and morning. It seems to work.
 
I'm sure he won't but I could have paid more for a black one!! As if..........
 
Well, the brush arrived and he likes it even better than the Love Glove and I think it will be great for keeping the clumps at bay. It doesn't seem to go quite deep enough into his fur to deal with the existing ones but we have gradually cut them out with scissors. A great buy, thank you Mam!
 
Oh I'm glad he approves Disenchanted. :clapping: They're great little brushes aren't they? Better than the tangle teezers as they have a handle and better still because ther're cheaper!
 
Update, we are still a little bit itchy, gave Sidney his third dose of Frontline (well, the Petsathome equivalent) yesterday. We only seem to be finding live jumpers every other day now and the number of suicide bugs in the water bath in the living room has significantly reduced. He is such a mad cat, he has two radiator beds, but he is asleep on the floor underneath as I look at him, go figure, as they say! Just had to share with you his latest trick, when I get home at night he will come to greet me then reach up like a small child as if he wants to be picked up. If I don't pick him up quickly enough, he jumps up me and climbs onto my shoulders, purring like crazy and bunting my head. The funniest was the other evening when I was taking my shoes off, bent down to undo them, he jumped straight onto my back, do you think he may rather like having me home? I still have a dead vacuum, I have been trying so hard to find a replacement filter. Next time, even if I've got to buy it on credit, I'm getting a machine that is easier to get spares for, probably a Dyson!
 
a little info regarding frontline , when you apply it make sure the coats not been washed for at least 48 hours before & after you apply the spot on or the spray, its distributed via body oils & dosent go in to the blood stream like other veterinary preparations

frontline ISNT a repellent , it will kill fleas on the host on application, but your cat or dog will still get fleas jumping on & off them even AFTER application, you need to break the fleas breeding cycle , so you have to treat the environment as well, the best way to treat the home , is steam clean the floors , sofas etc it does work & is a lot better on the pocket rather than having to buy household flea killer at 30 quid a can

As long as your frontline treatments are done regular any stray fleas they pick up will be killed
 
Sidnay and I are free of bites, finally, however, I suppose now I am going to have to buy Frontline every spring and summer, but better much than what we went through last year, I still have scars all over my legs and one bite on my arm that is still healing!
 
You may find flea treatments you get from the vet a better option. I'd have to check the name of what I get for Alf but he has a tendency to over groom and ends up covered in sore infected bites because he will keep biting and scratching. Frontline etc doesn't work for him. He needs stuff that stops him being bitten. Harve is fine with anything.
 

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