Removing Knots Without Shaving The Cats Fur

Question :   Is removing knots without shaving the cats fur possible? I have an adult white Persian male (Double coated). I was away for 15 days and the caretaker did not brush my cat regularly.

I saw lots of Mats close to her skin when I returned, which was removed after a good bath. However before the bath the places she licked created Knots of hair ... making it impossible to untie the knots in these places.

Few knots cover around 2 to 3 inches of her body, abdomen area. These now are right at the roots so they can't be cut out by me.

We don't have good Vets here however I was advice to get my cat shaved which I don't intend to do.

Is there any way to get rid of these knows without shaving the cat or cutting these knots because cutting them will also make my cat look ugly (having fur all over his body and some parts showing skin)

by Sam 
(Karachi, Pakistan)

Answer : Unfortunately if the knots are that bad and close to the skin then the only way is to shave the fur using special clippers which are designed to cause little pain. You may not have to have all the fur cut off and it will grow back fairly quickly. In the long run this is the best option for your cat, as she will be in pain with these tight knots in her fur.

A cats skin is very delicate and trying to pull any knots will cause a lot of pain for the cat. Plus at best all that will happen is that you end up pulling the fur out anyway, causing damage to the skin and bald spots.

If you do not have many vets in your area then try a pet groomers or if that is not possible then someone like a hair dressers who has clippers. is your best option. You can buy clippers over the internet too but if the knots are really bad then a professional is the best person to remove the matted fur.

For more advice about dealing with matted fur please see my full info page here:

Comments for Removing Knots without shaving the cat's fur

Removing knots by: Anonymous 

I have 2 longhaired cats and I have been able to use a small seam-ripper (for sewing) to remove just the knots. Be very careful not to puncture your cat's skin!

vets in pakistan by: Anonymous 

You are correct Natasha, there is not much respect (importance) given to Vets here reason is here people are not much caring about there pets. Over all there are less then 10 Vets here as far as know and only 3 are better but none is best

vets in pakistan by: Natasha Asif (Sydney Australia) 

Hi, 
in the question,Sam wrote that there aren't good vets in Pakistan. My parents were born in Karachi Pakistan, but I wasn't. When i went to pakistan for a holiday, i told my cousins that i want to be a vet. they started laughing & said that here (in pakistan) NO-ONE respects vets. that was mean. if sam tries to find a GOOD vet, they could find a solution

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