# Considering 1st Lion's Cut



## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

Since Azalia is having a really hard time dealing with the heat and she is a mixed Maine **** and Tabby mix. Her hair is thick and medium length. She is also a big cat and seems to overheat in our apartment quite frequently. She just seems to miserable. I wanted to find out if anyone had any bad experiences shearing their kitties outside of the groomer being bad or inexperienced? I am still weighing this out, but more inclined to do it since it seems like a good way for her to stay cooler and avoid some hairballs in the interim.


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

I have two kitties that need periodic shaving, but that was due to us petting them 'wrong' and causing swirled and matted fur along their toplines. If I were going to shave a cat for heat comfort, I'd shave their belly so they had the choice of laying on a cool surface or curling up and keeping warm. 

As I type this, our home is about mid 70's in temperature with fans and a mix of hardwood and carpets ... but our fluffy Floofy is sleeping on a foam pad on the desk that is placed over the computer tower cabinet and that area of the desk is always warm and a 'hot-spot' (_pun intended_) of contention between the cats and who gets to snooze there.

Unless their tails are dragging or they are panting after minimal effort, I think cats are just fine with warmer temperatures. How warm is your apartment?


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## CataholicsAnonymous (Dec 4, 2006)

My neighbor's long-haired calico gets a lion cut every year in late May or June. The neighbor said that there is a complete change in Bootsy's attitude after the shave. She's much more happy and active. Bootsy purrs all during her shave; we think it's because she knows she's going to be so much more comfortable afterwards.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

Last night, the temperature in the kitchen, where the cats usually lay down since the floor is tiled and the tiles remain cooler than the hardwood, it was 91 F. And yes, she's been panting after being annoyed by the smaller cat and chasing her around for a bit. All she does lately is lie around in the kitchen looking miserable. At night, I take her into our bedroom since we run the A/C when we sleep and she parks herself right in front of it and enjoys the cool air.

This morning, I put ice cubes in their water bowls and they seemed very pleased by this. I am going to ask the groomer to not shave her to the skin, but maybe leave a bit of fur on her (like 1/16 of an inch) in case she scuffles with Egypt.


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

You could ask her to use a #7 blade to trim Azalia instead of the normal #10 blade shave down. It will leave the hair a little longer. 

Many cocker spaniel owners who keep their dogs in the longer coat will shave the tummies and chest area which preserves the look of the coat while still giving the animal some relief.

Oh, you can get a cooling mat like this one: http://www.petedge.com/product/Cool-Bed-III/47054.uts


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## Dave_ph (Jul 7, 2009)

Water mattress filled with cool water?

Mia likes to spend the winter on my overheated waterbed. A cold matress could work.


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## ogdred (Apr 7, 2009)

dweamgoil said:


> I wanted to find out if anyone had any bad experiences shearing their kitties outside of the groomer being bad or inexperienced?


I _did_ take Gizmo to a really awful groomer last year  but other than that part, it was great. I do think he's accustomed to being shaved down, though--when we adopted him he'd been shaved due to knots. Anyway, Gizmo is just like CataholicsAnonymous' neighbors' cat; he seems more playful and happy naked. If your cat is actually panting from the heat I think she'd feel relieved.

That said, I bet that some cats would find it uncomfortable, so you never know.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

I called around for a groomer and since my 1st pick wasn't taking appointments for 3 weeks (the cat groomer suffered an injury), I called the closest PetCo. I investigated further and found horrible reviews for PetCo grooming and it scared me. I then found another groomer, which is close to my job and seems to care greatly about his furry clients. He even said sometimes, if the cat is too stressed, he will not go through with the grooming. He works with them until they are comfortable and will take additional time with a new cat or one which has never been groomed before. Their policy is NOT to sedate pets and they have a vet in the shop in case anything goes wrong.

So, tomorrow is her big day. I am so gonna take before and after pictures


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## Heidi n Q (Nov 22, 2006)

Oh, kitty! I'll be waiting/watching for piccies!


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## Leazie (Apr 14, 2007)

It sounds like you found a great groomer.


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## dweamgoil (Feb 3, 2010)

A bit disappointed, but c'est la vie!

Azalia was bathed and her nails were trimmed, but she would not allow the groomer to shear her fur...so no Lion's Cut for her. Lesson learned, my cat and I definitely did not share opinions about this whole hair cutting thing. I am just glad she wasn't too stressed out over the whole experience.


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## AmberD (Dec 29, 2003)

Leazie said:


> You could ask her to use a #7 blade to trim Azalia instead of the normal #10 blade shave down. It will leave the hair a little longer.


I know this is irrelevant now, as the OP has been to the groomer, but I didn't see this before. I know there are a lot of groomers who use all lengths of blades on cats, but we will only use a #10 on cats because the teeth are closer together and therefore MUCH safer to use against delicate, tearable cat skin. The difference between a 10 and a 7 isn't all that much, and the extra that is cut off is worth the safety increase, IMO (on the other hand, I do reccomend a 7 to a 10 on dogs, but there is rarely a safety concern there).

I just shaved one of my cats for the first time, and he LOVES it. His fur was so thick on his back, he was always itchy and flaky (not a problem with any of the other ones). So I whipped a 10 down his back and sides, and I have a very happy kitty on my hands!


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