Mats in fur

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ann1

ann1

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Joined
Jan 31, 2009
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531
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WY
Hi does anyone know how to get mats out of a matted chin without hurting them? My friend rescued a chin that was pretty matted and we have tried a few different brushes and she doesnt like them at all. Idk if anyone has ever done this but has anyone ever had them shaved? (of coarse when it gets warmer) just trying to help a friend out.
I myself have one chin with a small mat (no where near hers) that ive been trying to get out with not a whole lot of sucess.

Thanks guys.....
 
Just tug the matts out. You can also use a chinchilla comb to get under the matt and tug...it comes right out. If they kack while you're doing it...don't worry it's momentary irritation for long term relief. The matts need to come out so that they don't create skin irritation or lock in bacteria and cause a skin infection.

Chinchilla fur is too dense to "work out" matts. The only way to do it is to pull it out and cause a small fur slip.
 
RDZCRanch said:
Just tug the matts out. You can also use a chinchilla comb to get under the matt and tug...it comes right out. If they kack while you're doing it...don't worry it's momentary irritation for long term relief. The matts need to come out so that they don't create skin irritation or lock in bacteria and cause a skin infection.

Chinchilla fur is too dense to "work out" matts. The only way to do it is to pull it out and cause a small fur slip.
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Hi and thanks for your response. I think for my chin that mey work since she has only one. My friends chin has a whole bunch of them and some are big. that is why i asked about shaving. i think it would be torture if not impossible to try and pull them out. She has tried many different brushes and combs already with not much sucess. The chin is really scared and definately not digging it. I dont believe she was handled much at her previous home. Its pretty sad.....
 
ann1 said:
Hi and thanks for your response. I think for my chin that mey work since she has only one. My friends chin has a whole bunch of them and some are big. that is why i asked about shaving. i think it would be torture if not impossible to try and pull them out. She has tried many different brushes and combs already with not much sucess. The chin is really scared and definately not digging it. I dont believe she was handled much at her previous home. Its pretty sad.....
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I had a chin that came to me covered in matts. After I pulled all of them off (one was the size of about three quarters) the matts alone filled up a gallon baggy. You can pull them all out and it won't be torture. Once I had taken out all the matts on this particular girl...she spent a half hour popcorning around her cage.

Shaving will cause more distress than just tugging out the matts.
 
I have a beige female who gets herself matted all the time. Don't know why, or how but she does. When I first noticed the matts (I don't handle the chins often, and she is MEAN), she was pretty bad. I took a pair of **professional** hair cutting scissors, loosened the matts and cut what I could. I then plucked the rest of them out over a few days. I did a few every day, as so it wasn't too much on her. I also dusted her like crazy.

I'd think shaving would be worse, and more stressful on a chin then loosening the matts and just plucking them out.
 
RDZCRanch said:
I had a chin that came to me covered in matts. After I pulled all of them off (one was the size of about three quarters) the matts alone filled up a gallon baggy. You can pull them all out and it won't be torture. Once I had taken out all the matts on this particular girl...she spent a half hour popcorning around her cage.

Shaving will cause more distress than just tugging out the matts.
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So should I tell her to grab her fur down by the skin and pull? Will it really come out if their that big? Even if there's tons of them? Will it hurt the chin? Is she going to get bit doing it or do you think its a two person job? I think I will try it on mine before I give her advice so at least I know what im talking about and if she needs assistance I could help.
Thanks again.....:high5:
 
Ann, If you can assist her and you are close, it wouldn't hurt. I did it on my own, but I have a bit of experience doing "two man jobs" on my own (hair rings, etc).

If the matts are big, I'd loosen them first with the use of the scissors like I did, watch the skin and put the pointy end through the mat, and gently snip. This way instead of taking out one BIG mat, you are taking out several smaller ones as the scissors are seperating them. I did mine a few each day, and left a dust bath in with her between the times that I pulled them.

When pulling, you want to do a quick "jerk" and try to get it out in one shot, don't pull extremely slow as i'm sure that would hurt. If you do a quick pluck, it will be better... As for getting bit, Mine is extremely fiesty and tries to bite--but I made it out without any bites.

I just don't think shaving a chin would be a good idea, and would stress them out more. If you think about it, chins let their fur out when something grabs them to escape, and in a similar way this is what you are doing.
 
Megan said:
Ann, If you can assist her and you are close, it wouldn't hurt. I did it on my own, but I have a bit of experience doing "two man jobs" on my own (hair rings, etc).

If the matts are big, I'd loosen them first with the use of the scissors like I did, watch the skin and put the pointy end through the mat, and gently snip. This way instead of taking out one BIG mat, you are taking out several smaller ones as the scissors are seperating them. I did mine a few each day, and left a dust bath in with her between the times that I pulled them.

When pulling, you want to do a quick "jerk" and try to get it out in one shot, don't pull extremely slow as i'm sure that would hurt. If you do a quick pluck, it will be better... As for getting bit, Mine is extremely fiesty and tries to bite--but I made it out without any bites.

I just don't think shaving a chin would be a good idea, and would stress them out more. If you think about it, chins let their fur out when something grabs them to escape, and in a similar way this is what you are doing.
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Oh trust me Ive had my fair share of doing two man jobs!!! lol Ive done many a hair rings in my time (one time where the penis wouldnt go back into the shaft....boy was that fun) i've hand fed sick chin, baby chins... even helped deliver a chin. I've dealt with wounds of various types as well....BUT...this will be a first for me...
I wasnt sure about the shaving thing myself.....ive never personally seen a shaved chin but I thought maybe it would save her more stress (doesnt hurt to throw it out there and see what everyone thought)...no biggy...I will try and run over there in the next day or two and lend a hand.
Some of her mats are definately on the large size (i'd say maybe the largest was golf ball size?...Just a guess tho) I will bring some scissors with altho I think im more scared of cutting her then getting bit...lol....

Anyhow thanks everyone.....I appreciate the advice
 
I buy cheap plastic flea combs from my vet and they work the best, imo, because the teeth are closer together than any other comb/brush I've tried. You could burrito the chin to reduce wiggling.
 
My boy Fleury had a TON of mats and was a real mess when I found him (probably because he was outside for who knows how long). I first dusted him a ton for a few days, even putting dust in my hands and just rubbing it into his fur. He had mats, dirt, leaves, and I don't know what all else I had to retrieve from his fur. With the mats though, I found that if you tug on them gently at first and then pull them out they come out a lot easier and it seemed like he didn't even notice. When i just went right in and grabbed on and yanked he looked @ me with a mean look and cacked a little, so the gentle tug (maybe like twice or so) and then pulling it out really worked best for me. It also seemed to work best right after I dusted him....Im not exactly sure why. Hope that helps some!
 
kdr13 said:
My boy Fleury had a TON of mats and was a real mess when I found him (probably because he was outside for who knows how long). I first dusted him a ton for a few days, even putting dust in my hands and just rubbing it into his fur. He had mats, dirt, leaves, and I don't know what all else I had to retrieve from his fur. With the mats though, I found that if you tug on them gently at first and then pull them out they come out a lot easier and it seemed like he didn't even notice. When i just went right in and grabbed on and yanked he looked @ me with a mean look and cacked a little, so the gentle tug (maybe like twice or so) and then pulling it out really worked best for me. It also seemed to work best right after I dusted him....Im not exactly sure why. Hope that helps some!
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Why was your chin outside?? I would never leave a chin outside....

I know my friend has been dusting her everyday anyhow. Just cuz she looked soooo rough. Im sure the chin loved it.

Thanks guys
 
Ash said:
She said she found him outside, Ann.


Good luck with getting the mats out.
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Oh I thought she meant she lost or left hers outside or she adopted him from someone outside.....how sad if she found him outside....that would freak me out if I seen a chin cruising around outside....I would think I was loosing my mind....LOL
I've been trying to get a hold of my friend all day and she hasnt answered so i dont know what's up. I think I will try one more time and then she will just have to wait...
anyhow thanks again everyone
 
I would highly suggest not taking clippers to the chins. I have a feeling that would do more damage than good. I would probably not even do the scissors. We stitch up alot of animals at the vets office from people who thought they should just cut the mats out of their animals themselves!
I just pull the mats out of my chins when they get them! I have never had any huge one but I imagine they would come out the same way.
 
Chins skin is very thin, much more so than say a cat, which is easy to cut anyway. Trying to shave a chin will probably end up in a bloody mess.

Eventually the mats will work their way loose with daily, or bi-daily dusting. If you tug and the fur doesn't come out, dust more and try in a couple days. If the chin is very excessively matted, to the point it would be bald over large sections, not just sections the size of several quarters I would only do small sections each week to prevent other issues, like it getting cold, or skin problems. Sometimes when you get something in bad shape it's hard to remember that it didn't get that way over night, and sometimes it will take a while to get it all undone.
 
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