How to help my Persian cat with chronic skin, fur plucking, and matting?

Grooming long haired cats can be a difficult endeavor. I can understand your concerns about trimming all of the matted, or tangled, fur off of Cyrus, but these mats can be quite painful. If Cyrus' fur has become matted, it would be best to trim all mats. It is quite common for long haired cats to be groomed in a "lion cut" to avoid these mats. While their appearance isn't quite the same without the fluff, they can still be quite cute with a shorter haircut! Instead of using scissors, consider using electric clippers, as it is much less likely to damage or cut the skin accidentally. The lesion that you noticed on his skin appears to simply be a small, healing scab. If he has numerous scabs, conditions such as flea, environmental, or food allergies are more of a concern.

This could be due to Kitty's age. When cats are older, they can groom themselves less effectively than younger cats, sometimes resulting in hair matting, skin odor, and inflammation. It could also be that she has arthritis, making it painful for her to reach around to groom her backside and sides. I would make an appointment for her with a groomer. They can brush out her matts (they may need to be shaved), and get her coat back into a better condition. Then you should brush her daily to prevent further matts from occurring. It's very important to get those matts removed asap, as they will be pulling on her skin and it will be painful for her. I'd also make an appointment with her vet for a health check, geriatric blood panel, and urinalysis just to see if everything is ok health wise for her. The vet can also examine her to see if she has arthritis, and can prescribe pain medications as needed. Please do not give her any human pain medications, many are toxic to cats and are fatal if given. Give a groomer and her vet a call today. I hope this helps!

The most common problem causing Milly's symptoms is a severe flea allergic dermatitis. Regardless I recommend brushing her to remove the old fur and skin, giving a bath with a hypoallergenic shampoo and using Advantage flea prevention on her. You can purchase it at PetCo. She may need antibiotics to heal the skin and your veterinarian will do an exam to determine the cause of her problems. They may run a blood panel in addition to determine if she is anemic or has a metabolic problem. Once they have a diagnosis they will give her the appropriate treatment and hopefully she will recover quickly. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach to help you care for Milly.

It is likely this will not heal until all the matting is removed and it is kept open to the air and bathed daily - manuka honey can help with such slow healing wounds. It is possible she may require sedation for a full groom if she is very uncomfortable and a blood test to rule ot any additional complicating factors also

I would take Dotty into a vet for treatment. They can sedate her and shave all the matts out. Then they can diagnose if she does have a flea allergy (which is likely), and can prescribe treatment for it. I hope this helps.

If Chubbs' fur coat is heavily matted, this can be quite painful and he may be pulling out the mats due to discomfort. Cats typically groom themselves well, but when cats do not do so, they can have underlying skin or endocrine conditions. Start by having Chubbs groomed to remove all mats, be sure to apply a high quality flea preventative (such as Advantage) once a month, and monitor his behavior and appetite for changes. Laxatone is an over the counter medication that can be helpful if Chubbs develops a problem with hairballs.

If her hair is matted then she will need to have the hair trimmed with a pair of clippers. She could develop a skin infection if the matted hair is against her skin. You could also bathe her and see if that helps.