Can my senior matted cat be safely sedated for grooming?

If he isn't grooming as he once did, there may be an underlying medical cause, especially given his age. A physical exam by your veterinarian would be recommended along with blood work to assess major organ function.. If he gets a clean bill of health, you can discuss mild sedation and a clip down with the veterinarian.

Hi, thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach! i would see if your Vet can do it first. They will be more gentle, it may not look the best, but they will be conscious over her age and fragility. If she can not tolerate it then they can discuss maybe using light sedation. I hope this helps!

Thank you for contacting Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach with your question about Lily. Poor girl! Yes I would get those matts shaved out, they will be painful to her. I'd also recommend having her seen by a vet. She's stopped grooming herself for a reason, and it could be it's painful for her to groom. Arthritis is common in senior cats. A chronic illness, such as diabetes and kidney disease, could sap a cat's energy and lead them to not grooming. Both of those are common in senior cats. I recommend having her seen by a vet this week, and getting her a geriatric blood panel and urinalysis. I hope this helps!

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!

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.

Hello and welcome to Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Although frequent sedation is not ideal, sometimes this is needed for some animals. There are a few things that can be done to help decrease the frequency of the nails needing to be trimmed, and also ways to ensure the sedation is 'safer'. Firstly, make sure you have lots of scratching post options for Sweet-Tart. If she is overweight, getting that weight down as well will increase her activity which will cause the nails to file down naturally more, requiring less frequent sedation. If she is going to be sedated frequently, doing bloodwork and a urine check every year or two is a good idea to make sure her kidneys are doing ok, as sedation can be hard on the kidneys. Also, depending on what type of sedation is being used, they can be 'harder' or 'softer' on the body. So just make sure your vet is using the 'softest' possible sedation to get the job done. Best of luck with Sweet-Tart.

Hello. I am sorry but legally we are not allowed to prescribe or recommend a medication for an animal that we have not directly examined. You can contact your veterinarian and ask them about providing you with a prescription. If your cat has not visited a veterinarian in a long time, you will have to have her examined and brought up to date on vaccinations including FDVRCP and Rabies before any grooming facility will accept her for an appointment. Please contact your regular veterinarian for the medication you need and it is likely that even they will need a current physical exam to prescribe something.