Why is my cat always so matted, and what to do?

Matting is a common problem that is often seen in cats due to their heavy density of fur. Do you know what is a more interesting fact about cats? They have at least 130000 hairs per square inch of their body, making it quite hard for them to keep all the hairs adequately maintained.

Cats are known as one of the best self-groomers; they do it best when it comes to keeping their furry beauty well-controlled. But most of the time, their body hair gets tangled due to various reasons, which cause the matting of their fur. However, if you have a feline mate in your home, you must make sure that you are removing the matted cat fur from their body so that it does not turn into any severe health issue.

But are you wondering, why does this problem keep occurring to your cat? And how can you keep it under check? Well, here is what you need to know about the matting of your cat’s fur.

What is matting in cats?

Matted fur is a common condition that is easily found in cats. It is quite popular among those cats who have long hair where their fur gets entangled and knotted. Matting in a cat’s fur mainly occurs in those places where their movement is relatively higher. Due to a lot of movement in areas like under their chest, legs, and near the collar, cats’ long hair tends to get matted due to the lack of care.

On the other hand, if the matted hair of a cat is left unattended for a long time, it can lead to many serious health issues. If it is not cared for at the right time, the longer matted fur tends to become more problematic as it starts getting tightened. It can cause much discomfort and health issues to the cat.

How do you know that your cat is getting matted?

The matted fur of your cat looks a bit different from the regular tangles or knots that you can easily find in the fur of dogs. The cat’s matted fur usually comes in the form of solid clumps made of dead hair, which is stuck together due to the oil produced from their skin.

As a cat starts shedding off their fur, some of the hair falls on the ground while some they eat on their own while licking for self-grooming. Matted furs are those that keep stuck with the other dead hairs on the body of the cat.

As time goes, more dead hairs tend to stick together along with the excess oil coming out of the cat’s body. Then the smaller clump of hair grows to turn into larger clamps and spreads more to form larger matting. As the matting gets severe, it becomes impossible for a cat to bear with its pain. So, either the hair clumps need to be shaved off or combed out of the fur to get rid of matting. Otherwise, it will get worse and painful for the cat.

Which cats tend to get the most matting?

Well, matting is a common condition in long-haired cats, but it’s not that only they suffer from it. Also, cats with shorter hairs are prone to developing tangles, knots, or mats.

Besides, the texture of the hair of cats matters a lot for developing a mat. For example, cats with silky smooth coats are rare to create mats. But a cat with a thicker and hairier coat will develop tangles more often that might turn into a thick and painful mat.

In long-haired cats, the reason for the clump is mostly tangling of their long hairs. But the reason for the occurrence of matting in a cat with short hair is the lump of dead hairs rather than tangling.

What are the areas that are most susceptible to get matted?

Based on the type of fur a cat has, the most susceptible area of matting can change. So, here is a list of highly risk-prone areas in a cat’s body that can get affected by matting.

What are the reasons behind the matting of a cat’s hair?

There can be more than one reason why your cat is developing matting on its body. So, here are a variety of reasons that influence mat build-up on the body of a cat. Have a look.

Cats are well-skilled and fastidious groomers. If you look at a cat sitting peacefully without moving, you will find them rapidly licking the various areas of their body, which causes natural shedding of their fur and keeps their skin healthy. But in some cases, many cats do not learn the skill of taking care of their furry coat properly. It can lead to the growth of the clumping of fur in the cat’s body, which can cause matting.

Cats use their mouth as the most used tool for grooming. They keep licking their body quite often, which leads to the shedding of their dead hair fast. But in case the cat has any oral disease, then it will be painful enough for them to perform self-grooming. In such cases, the cats will avoid grooming, which can lead to various matting-related problems.

• Usually, cats suffer from a common oral disease known as stomatitis, which is a kind of inflammation in their mouth.
• Also, cats might suffer from periodontal disease, a significant disease in their teeth and gums.
• Oral tumors are another reason why cats keep suffering from severe pain. Oral tumors usually stay hidden under the tongue of the cat.

Suppose your cat is suffering from any of these or other oral diseases. In that case, the pain can make it quite difficult for them to lick or eat anything. If you see oral bleeding or lack of appetite in your cat, you must consult a veterinarian as soon as possible.

In case you notice that your cat is developing matting in its hind end, then the reason for it might be the loss of flexibility in its spine. Such spine-related problems can stem from arthritis in their limbs or the areas around the spinal cord. If a cat is too fat, it will become quite difficult for them to move or twist its head. In such cases, the fur build-up and clump development can become a severe condition in your cat.

Like the lack of flexibility, too much movement can also be the reason for matting in cats. The areas, which involve too much movement can see tangling of fur. It is a common problem among long-haired cats.

Not feeling well or general malaise can be another reason why your cat is not indulging in self-grooming. If your cat is not sleeping well or lacks the necessary energy for grooming, it can lead to mat build-up. The matting of fur in your cat’s body can be taken as an indication that your cat is either having anemia or any other issue related to breathing, kidney or diabetes, heart disease, or even cancer. You must take such signs quite seriously.

Stress build-up in your cat can also be the reason why your cat keeps avoiding self-grooming. If a cat is much stressed, it can indulge in much vulnerable and severe grooming to release endorphins from its brain and eliminate its anxiety. Besides, when some cats face extreme stress or anxiety, they tend to avoid even the urge of grooming. In such cases, the matting is very likely to develop on the body of the cat.

What problems can matting cause in the cat?

Matting in a cat can lead to various serious health issues. As time goes by, matting in your cat can turn much tighter and spread in multiple places left untreated for so long. Matting at the hind end of the cat tends to turn out to be a cosmetic imperfection.

Also, the mat of fur build-up around the hind portion of your cat can lead to obstruction in urination, develop various infections, cause moist dermatitis, and even lead to constipation.

What can you do about the matting of your cat?

As time passes, matting or clump formation in the body of your cat tends to get worse. Being a responsible and caring pet owner, you must not want your cat to go through such problems. So, you need to help your cat early if you are finding any signs of matting or clump build-up on their body and skin coat. So, here is what you can do about it.

Before you take any step about the mat build-up of your cat, you need to consult a vet first. Go to a vet to perform a complete diagnosis of your feline pet to know if it is matting or any other skin infection. Also, it is essential to understand why matting is happening, if your cat is suffering from a severe health issue or not.

Even though your cat is capable of self-grooming from time to time, you need to help them with better grooming. You need to comb your cat regularly so that it can get rid of the unnecessary tangle build-up on its body. You can also consider using a damp cloth to rub it on the cat’s body in the pattern of massaging. You can use Ruff ‘N Ruffus Stainless Steel Professional Grade Pet Grooming Comb to comb your cat.

As the mat tightens on the skin of your cat, there are no other ways to get rid of it rather than shaving. If you are not shaving it out, the mat will become painful for the cat. But make sure that you are not using scissors to cut out the mat from their skin. Instead, you can take the cat to a clinic to shave the mat out. Besides, you can also consider visiting a professional groomer to groom the fur of your cat, which will help you get rid of the mat. Moreover, it is a better practice to ensure your cat’s coat is not becoming the home of worms, fungus, or other skin-related diseases. You can consider using any Pet Grooming Tool to get rid of the dead hairs.

The quality of your cat’s fur is highly dependent on what kind of diet you are giving them. A good quality diet is always recommended that leads to a healthy coat for your cat.

However, before starting a diet for your cat, you must seek professional help from your vet. Ask your vet what diet is more suitable for your cat’s age and coat type. Ensure that diet you are offering renders a good impact on your cat’s health and prevents matting on their skin.

Conclusion

Being a cat owner is quite a hectic task as you have to take care of many things to make sure that your cat is healthy and contracts no diseases. Matting of your cat’s coat is a much common problem that can occur due to lack of grooming. So, make sure you are helping your cat to groom regularly. Also, if your cat cannot groom itself, find out the reason for it as early as you can before it gets too late.

Originally published at https://purrpetrators.com on June 27, 2021.