My cat has hairballs stuck in her fur. How can I safely remove them?

We do routinely shave cats that have matted or soiled fur. How easy this will be will depend on your cat's personality, so you may need to enlist the help of a professional groomer! They have special groomer clippers to shave the fur to different lengths so hopefully they can keep some of her hair, or they may be able to remove the burrs. It also might be helpful getting a detangler or creme rinse made for pets and spraying it on the areas and then trying to comb over the areas with a fine comb, as it may loosen the burrs from the fur and help you avoid having to shave her! I wouldn't recommend using scissors to trim her down as it is very easy to accidentally cut a cat's thin skin. You will also want to keep her indoors if it is cold in your area and her coat is still short.

Thank you for submitting your question regarding Little Bit. I recommend having her shaved down by a veterinarian or groomer. A veterinarian is a good choice in case in sedation is needed. I hope this information helps!

There is nothing OTC that you can safely give that will effectively calm her down enough for grooming. You may need to have her lightly sedated by your veterinarian so she can be safely shaved or clipped. Using scissors at home can lead to a laceration if you aren't careful. An exam is also a good idea to determine why Xena is not grooming herself.

Removing those clumps will be stressful for your kitty. The best would be to make an appointment with your vet for a shave under sedation. There could be sores underneath the mats which should be taken care of as well. Once the mats are gone I suggest you regularly brush and later comb Star to help with his grooming and clumps and mats will not reoccur.

Matts can be very painful to a cat, and if Buttons gets upset when you try to pull the hair apart or comb it, I would not do that anymore. Likely these matts will need to be shaved out. You can take her into the groomer to get that done, or if you have pet clippers, you can do it yourself at home. I do recommend having a groomer do it, however, as cats sometimes don't like being shaved and a groomer would have more experience on how to do it without stressing her out. Good luck, I hope this helps!

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! Poor Tulip! The mats are painful, cause itching and could cause skin issues. If she will allow you to shave them (do not use scissors) then great. Other options are traveling groomers that come to your house or scheduling a sedated shave down with your vet. Maybe they can provide an oral sedative before hand so you can catch her and make the car ride less awful. I hope this helps and happy holidays.

Yes, it would be safe to trim Cherry Blossom's fur around her feet, but I would use clippers instead of scissors so you don't accidentally cut her feet. If you don't have clippers and are afraid you may cut her feet with the scissors, you can make an appointment with a groomer to have her feet trimmed. Best of luck.