I have a Himalayan I received as a Christmas present. I love her but feel really bad about the heat she is suffering. It is only June and already the temperature here is hovering around the high 90´s with the heat index even higher. We also do not have air conditioning in my house. The only saving grace for my Mia is that we live in a rural area surrounded by trees. I have always swore I would not shave a cat but Mia is so miserable. She has never liked to be groomed. I´ve tried to groom her from the first day I had her but she fights and squalls and carrys on like I´m killing her.

Does anyone know the good and bad points of shaving a long haired cat? Is it not recommended? Is it bad for the cat? Will it hurt her physically? Or would she feel relief?

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In my opinion they don´t need it because their bodies find the way to get cooler but it doesn´t harm them either.

I´ve heard that cats feel better after getting a haircut though. I´m going to take mine on wednesday to get a haircut because of 2 reasons:

1) the summer is coming
2) he has mats the size of China in his belly and bum.

I pretty much have no option I have to shave him like it or not. If you want I can ask the groomers about it and let you know what they say.

I had my bella shaved because when i got her from the rspca she was really mattered! She didnt seem to mind and it kept her cool in the summertime which she seemed to enjoy. I dont think their is anything wrong with shaving ur cat. Bella´s furr has now grown back ( took like 5 months tho) and it is beautiful

so sorry to hear she is suffering with the hot weather. Our cats are long haired especially Merlin our persian. He lives indoors and finds the coolest spots so we leave his fur. I must admit we have never had to do this with our cats but our dog is a long haired bearded collie and we keep her clipped all the time especially short in the summer and I know she prefers it. I can´t see why you can´t trim her fur a little but I would ask professional advice first!

My deepest thanks to each of you who have responded to my questions.

msamso, I would appreciate any information you can find out from your groomer.

mollybellashakes, I´m thinking if I have Mia shaved now, her fur will have grown back by the time cold weather returns.

perrinsatwitsend, I remember we have had dogs that needed shaving in the past due to their fur being matted. Some didn´t like it and some did.

Again, I appreciate each of you answering me. I think at the very least I´m going to have Mia trimmed really short.

Thanks again.

You could also just think about having Mia´s tummy shaved. That way she can lie on her tum on a cool surface (if you have tiles, wood floors or lino) and keep cool that way.

I am a cat groomer and shave quite a few daily, they seem so much happier and lighter after being shaved, I suppose they feel like a new kitty.They look so cute and are so cuddly too after shaving.
For longhaired cats that hate being brushed shaving is their only other option.
Once a cat came in to get shaved and the poor thing had so many matted knots it couldn´t even stretch it´s legs out at all, it couldn´t jump or do anything, knots are very constricking to their skin (never try and remove the matted knots with scissors), after we shaved the poor kitty it ran & sprinted around the salon for about 10 mins before receiving cuddles, it was so happy to be free from the knots.
If you own a longhaired cat, make sure you groom it daily from kitten age, as you will have to do this for the cats whole life and its not much fun trying to brush an aggressive old cat.

My cat has long thick hair and we have very hot summers. He´s not really big on combing either, so he tends to get matted. Last year I did get him shaved, and he hated the whole ordeal, but when he came home and found out he could enjoy the screened porch for more then five minures, he loved it! His hair grew back beautifully, in time for winter. He doen´t know it yet, but he has an an appointment tomorrow for a standard shave!

My cat has long thick hair and we have very hot summers. He´s not really big on combing either, so he tends to get matted. Last year I did get him shaved, and he hated the whole ordeal, but when he came home and found out he could enjoy the screened porch for more then five minures, he loved it! His hair grew back beautifully, in time for winter. He doen´t know it yet, but he has an an appointment tomorrow for a standard shave!
You have an appointment for the groomer tomorrow too? so Desmond and Bo Bo would be together in their agony!!

I haven´t clipped my cats for summer, but I used to clip my dog. Abbey, A golden retriever. As she got older she started feeling the heat terribly to I shaved her for summer. It did make a difference and she was more comfortable. I would go for it, it will grow back.

My cat has long thick hair and we have very hot summers. He´s not really big on combing either, so he tends to get matted. Last year I did get him shaved, and he hated the whole ordeal, but when he came home and found out he could enjoy the screened porch for more then five minures, he loved it! His hair grew back beautifully, in time for winter. He doen´t know it yet, but he has an an appointment tomorrow for a standard shave!
You have an appointment for the groomer tomorrow too? so Desmond and Bo Bo would be together in their agony!!
BoBo has had his summer cut. He looks handsome if I do say so myself. I bet Desmond will look great!

Desmond didn´t he was rejected by the groomer because he was acting like a little rebel, so she told me to take him to the vet to get his haircut sedated!! so tomorrow I´ll try to take him!! poor baby!! is not his fault having such cattitude!

tootsie gets shaved about every 5 months or so---she is a very fluffy kitty and her fur gets badly matted on her back and sides. we brush her, but that doesn´t seem to help. She HAS to be sedated at the vet´s office otherwise she would wipe them all out with her 26 claws once she comes home from the vet and the sedative wears off, she is prancing around the house like a kitten--she really does love the shave!

I also shave my cat Zeddy every summer. He runs around in the forest behind my house and gets very matted every spring. I usually have him shaved right down to the skin around this time every year. He is always a bit put off at first but then you can really see how happy he is a couple of days later. I think he not only appreciates the matts being gone but also appreciates the coolness of having no fur in the summer. I keep him out of the sun for about a week or so... just long enough for a bit of the fur to come back and provide some protection from the sun.

I have a very good groomer by the way... she has never left even a single nick on Zeddy´s skin. If you take your cat to a groomer that is not used to cats you may end up with a very sore and nicked up cat. Ask around first to find a trusted cat groomer in your area.

Remember these cats came from a completely different climate originally (Way back when) but there aren´t suit to a hot humid one. I´ve shaved my Persians as needed and they grow back quite quickly. I´d highly suggest having a groomer do it as they aren´t the easiest and the worst thing you could do would be to cut them.

I DON´T suggest sedation. I´d see if you could find another groomer.

i hate that the vet sedates her-----but her mats seem to hurt her, and we haven´t tried taking her to a groomer yet------i worry everytime i take her in

My Persian had a quite serious skin problem b4 and he only 4 month old. so i decide to shaved all his hair to better treatment. It´s work!! after shaved a few days the skin become a clean and healthy. Now the hair growing and look so beautiful !!! better than before....

Guy´s Don´t worried to shaved. the ugly look become so beautiful soon. Just be patient

We´re getting Arwyn shaved next week because her coat was so badly matted when we found her.
I have attempted to cut the worst of the matt´s out so I could groom the rest of her coat out, but she won´t tolerate it at all. I think they must be pretty painful though since they´re so tight, so hopefully once she´s been shaved she´ll let me keep her nicely groomed in the future.

We´re getting a vet to do it under sedation, because she´s far too aggressive when you attempt to get near the knots around her back end and belly.

Desmond got shaved and he seems fine to me... he has been more awake and active than before, for some reason he changed sleeping spots though.... I don´t know if it has something to do with the grooming but he doesn´t lay in the back of the couch anymore.

Mugger´s not a long hair - more like a short to medium hair - but he suffers in the hot weather, and I don´t have air conditioning at home. So does anybody ever shave a short-haired cat? Would the vet look at me like I was crazy?