[tigerlilly3021]

Hello,

I have a long haired cat. I have had her for 3 years and never experienced this problem. She has a clump of feces matted into the hair on her behind. It is a pretty big clump.I have tried to get it off but she will not allow it. Now she is starting to stink and it is stuck in her fur really well. I don't know what to do. I was going to take her to get groomed but they want her current shot record. I just moved and don't have it.Please help.

[orange]

Ideally of course, it would be good to get her professionally groomed right now. But since you can't do that, do you have someone who could help you by holding her while you carefully cut out the clump? I've done this before with long-haired cats... I would suggest you get a "partner" who can hold the cat still on a table, or vice versa, you hold the cat, and your partner cuts out the clump. After you've gotten out as much of the clump as you can, give the cat a bath and get rid of the rest by gently washing the area. Again, a partner would be helpful for this. If you've never bathed your cat before, here are some tips:

Clip the cat's claws before the bath. This will make the cat less apt to cause some real damage if she scratches you. Use a cat shampoo, or if you can't afford that, baby shampoo works just as well. If you're bathing the cat in a bathtub, don't fill the bathtub up with water, as this will freak a cat out really badly. Instead fill a few buckets with warm water (I use old ice cream containers). Place the cat in the dry bathtub, and while one person holds the cat, the other can gently pour the water over the cat to wet the fur, soap the cat up well, and then use the rest of the water in buckets for rinsing. Wrap the cat in a towel and rub it gently to soak up excess moisture. Then, as long as it's warm enough in your place, just let the cat run around damp (blow dryers might scare the cat even further). She will likely spend a good hour or so grooming herself. Give her a special treat to relieve the trauma of the bath.

Good luck, I hope you are able to get someone to help you!

[fredg]

Hi, Tiger,
You can always have the shot records faxed to a Vet in your local area, or faxed to you at a given number, if you don't have a fax machine at home.
The answer before this one is good. Sometimes, the only way is cutting it off with scissors; with someone helping you.
Best of luck.