MK’S Moment

We have been working slowly with MK (Mystery Kitty) since first contact a few weeks ago. This morning, MK sidled up to me at feeding time and head bumped me! I picked MK up, brought her  in the house and proceeded to de-mat this beautiful girl with a seam ripper, a comb and plenty of patience.

Because she is long-haired and I suspect also has Persian in her- she does mat every year, but until now, getting close to her was near impossible. I was able to gently extract dozens of mats and overjoyed that the entire time we spent in this grooming session- she never once got grumpy, tried to swat at me or bite. She growled a few times but that was when I was working in her nether region which was really matted and bad.

I took a quick photo and put her back outside and now when she sees me she runs! LOL  But that’s okay- I removed enough fur and matts on her to know she will be fine throughout the winter. Mike asked why I didn’t shave her? I don’t want her losing heat in this cold weather 32 again this morning- so the seam ripper did the trick. I love the ripper because unless you truly just poke the cat in the skin- you can’t hurt them removing the matts. Unlike the scissors that can cut their skin- or the clippers that can burn their skin. Using the ripper to loosen the grip the mat has on the skin then combing it out is a way for cats to not hate being groomed because it doesn’t hurt.

Here is our girl relaxing after her session:

I wish that I could keep her indoors but as the session wore on- she made it quite clear that outside life is best for her. She will never be adopted- she sprays like a fire hose and always has. (Yes sometimes, females mostly those who got pregnant before they should will spray without it being a health issue)- but she will always be loved here.

2 thoughts on “MK’S Moment

  1. That must have been a wonderful moment for you, and I’ll bet MK feels much better. No, shaving her isn’t the best as she’s heading into winter.

    I wonder if shy cats such as MK trust people much more when they are actually in their hands. She was apparently grateful for the attention while she was receiving it. Then, once released, instinct takes over.

    I’m going to have to look into seam-rippers. It sounds so vicious a tool!

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