Mazy cat has a MAT. I'm posting this in her arthritis thread because mats along the spine are not uncommon in cats with arthritis. This is because they have trouble bending and reaching certain spots. But with the amount of activity Mazy cat shows, and her ability to leap and fly around, I never dreamed she might be having trouble reaching certain spots on her body for washing.
Anyway I felt the mat one day when she was on my lap here, while I was on the computer. Well at first I thought it was an -almost mat- The hair there felt a bit stiff, not soft and flowing like her normal fur. She let me scratch there, and work the fur through my fingers, and then underneath I felt a sure enough mat.
Mazy cat allows very little in the way of grooming and I've let her slide on this. For years I worked on getting her to accept a few strokes down her back with the comb when she's on my chest when I'm reading on the couch at night. But I've let that slide over the past few years.
My reasoning was, I want her purring as long as possible (good for digestion and well being) and when she sleeps on me like that she purrs. When I start with the comb she tolerates two or three strokes then growls and gets off me.
Anyway, so knowing the mat was there, one time I picked up the comb while she was walking past me and swiped it down her back. She swore at me, and I missed the mat. So last night while she was on me purring and petted her until I found the spot. It wasn't right where I remembered it. I forgot to say she doesn't like a lot of petting when she is on me either. She just wants to lie on my chest and purr and doze (after kneading for a few minutes)
Anyway I had her comb at the ready. After finding the spot I stealthily reached for the comb and resting my hand where the mat was I quickly swiped the comb down, moving my hand at the last minute. I got a bit of the mat and stroked again, and again, each time the comb would snag on the mat and then come through. It wasn't very big, just a few tangled spots, which would have become a big mat if I hadn't found it.
In the tangled spots there was a bit of dandruff/skin flakes mixed in.
SHE LET ME DO THIS! Mazy cat let me comb out that mat. I couldn't believe it! I gave 7 strokes in all and I think I got all of it. She never growled or protested, even when the comb pulled a bit. And she stayed on me. I put the comb down and she went back to her snooze.
Obviously she knew she had a mat and needed help with it from me. However I've told her that she is now going to have to let me comb her down her back and especially in that area, again.
She's just been up on my lap here as I was typing. (left because I was typing too much) and allowed me to feel all over the area where the mat had been, and there's no more, so I did get it all.