# Any idea how to get sticky stuff out of cat's hair?



## kty78

Ollie has something on the top side of his tail. Like maybe he brushed underneath something that had something on it. It looks greasy and feels stiff so I thought it was just food grease of some sort. It has been there for at least a couple of weeks, I just got around to giving him a bath today. I washed the area with Dawn, then cat shampoo, then realized it was still stiff and washed again with Dawn. I figured that was good enough, but when he dried it still looks the same as before. My guess would be glue. My kids were building wooden cars with glue on my last day of school and I came home to a gluey dining room table. Would mineral oil or something like that work? Any tried and true remedies? I guess worst case it will eventually go away as he sheds and grows new hair, it doesn't bother him but it makes him look unkempt to me.


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## kty78

Oh, and when I first noticed it I tried using a warm damp wascloth but that didn't do any good.


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## doodlebug

You can try freezing it with an ice cube wrapped in a cloth. But if it's really glue, that won't do it. I'd very carefully cut it out...


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## marie73

Here's a combination of olive oil and peanut butter treatments:

How to Get Sticky Glue Out of Cat Hair | eHow.com


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## kty78

Thanks, I will try the olive oil and peanut butter. I really don't want to cut it out. It' s not like a glob, it looks like it is combed into a 2" section of his tail. It really just looks like greasy fur but if it was grease it should have washed out. Same with syrup or popsicle, etc, right?


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## lovetimesfour

If the remedy posted doesn't work, I really think you should cut it out. Hair matted together like that, regardless of the cause, hurts. The skin is pulled into points by the matted hair. His fur will grow back.


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## cinderflower

lol. sorry, your post just made me think of a pta-like message board years ago and one woman wrote, "HELP how do you get gum out of your hair??"

the peanut butter/olive oil/freezing works on people to some extent, but usually cutting it out is the only thing that gets all of it.

if it's glue, it's not coming out. just like i never found a way to get ink out of anything colored (or crayon, especially if it was in a pocket and went through the dryer lol), i don't know of a sure-fire glue remover. it's just one of those DON'T GET THIS IN YOUR HAIR substances. people get glue from weaves stuck in their hair and usually end up pulling a lot out. but there is a special remover for that. i doubt if you want to buy a bottle to use on a cat though.

i know exactly what you mean though, it's not like a clump, it's just sticky and weird. kind of cut the ends off a little and see if it helps. then it won't look like you cut a big hunk out of the cat's hair.

or you could use spiking gel and do it to all of his hair. (no one freak out, i'm kidding, i know the cat would lick it and get sick.)

and yes, if it were motor oil or a petroleum-based substance, washing it with dawn most likely would have gotten it. i think, unless it's axle grease or something. get a paper towel warm and hold it on there for a little. if it leaves a spot, it's probably something industrial that's just going to have to wear off.

or maybe you could use nail polish remover and see what happens, but you'd have to wash it off reallly well and good luck getting npr anywhere near a cat.


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## Penny135

I would try either mineral oil or canola oil. Gently work it through the hair then try to scrape it off with your fingers.


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## jusjim

What sort of glue was it?

How to Remove Elmer's Glue | eHow.com

I think Elmer's is that white stuff.

Search for removing spilled glue (or spilt).


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## jusjim

Please do let us know if you find something that works.


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## cinderflower

since i first read this this morning, diotima has something sticky on her side! LOL

i have no idea what it is. i'm tired and i'm just going to bed tonight but i'll wipe her off with something tomorrow. i've never given her a bath, i don't know what she'd think.


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## kty78

I know bathing cats isn't really necessary unless they've gotten into something but I have always done it. Not excessively but when I feel they need it. And I think it helps keep the dander down. The girl I got them from gave them baths, but this was the first bath they've had in the 2 months I've had them. Ollie didn't mind too much, Miley was another story so with her it was a quick shampoo and rinse, then she jumped over my shoulder and down my back flinging water everwhere. She was perfectly happy to let me towel dry her and brush her afterward, so I guess she forgave me pretty quick. Good thing she wasn't the one with gunk in her hair. I plan to set Ollie in the sink today and just work on his tail, not another full bath.


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## kty78

This cat cracks me up. I just sat him in the kitchen sink, poured mineral oil on his tail, combed through it several times with a fine tooth comb, waited a couple minutes, combed some more, sprayed his tail with the sink sprayer and warm water, combed some more, lathered the area with Dawn, rinsed well with the hose sprayer, and the whole time he just sat there, purring. It didn't feel stiff to me when I was finished but we will see when he's dry. The kitchen sink is one of his favorite places, he sticks his head under the faucet when I turn it on.


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## Jacq

When I worked in a bookshop, there's a product called Goo Gone that we used to get rid of the awful sticky residue left behind by other price tags. The shop cats were never interested in it, but I'd check its toxicity before putting it directly on them, where they can lick it off and ingest it.

Hopefully the epic bathing did the trick though. I bet his tail will be so soft and fluffy after that treatment!


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## cinderflower

if you have an eyelash brush you can comb through it too. i have one with metal teeth because the plastic ones kept breaking and i hate that.

diotima would let me bathe her but i'd feel bad. i don't think she'd like it much. baci: pfffffft. he's a big hunk of muscle when he doesn't want to be picked up (ever) plus he will dig his claws into the carpet and hang on.

houdini is another sink kitty. the only way i could get him out so i could brush my teeth was to turn the water on. he will stay if it's a tiny trickle but he doesn't particularly enjoy getting wet.


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## kty78

By George, I think we got it! His tail is dry and there is no more residue. Yay! I just noticed I left out a step when I posted earlier. I put the mineral oil on his dry fur, combed in with fine tooth comb, sprayed with warm water, combed again, washed with Dawn and rinsed, applied some apple cider vinegar (I was out of white), rubbed and combed that in, washed again with Dawn, rinsed, towel dried, brushed with slicker, allowed to air dry. I think the vinegar helps cut the oil and maybe even the glue. This would probably be hard to do if you don't have a very tolerant laid back cat like Ollie. I should have videotaped it. Remember, I did this to the sticky area only, which happpened to be the top side of his very fluffy tail, not the whole cat. If your cat doesn't likewater you could probably use a washcloth and a bowl of water sponge bath style. 

I looked to see what kind of glue it was, it's a no-name white glue that came with a children's wooden car building kit. It came with little pots of paint and the glue was in identical little pots. Probably a craft or wood glue similar to Elmer's. It doesn't specify on the box, it just says glue.


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## cinderflower

since you have kids this is probably going to happen again lol, or with them even, so you might want to get a bottle of that glue-remover shampoo people with weaves use. except it sound like what you used worked fine and i don't know how much that is. if it's cheap at sally beauty supply it might save a couple of steps.


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