Why Would Someone Shave Their Cats

[Treacle71]

My neighbour has 6 cats and I've just noticed today that two of them (one gorgeous long hair) and another short haired one has been completely shaved. Why would someone do that? I feel so sorry for them.

[lankeela]

The long hair I could understand if it was matted, but not the short hair - unless they have some sort of skin condition that needs treating. Maybe misguided thinking they are better off in the heat, but of course that is competely wrong as the coat acts as a vacuum keeping the cat cool in all weathers.

[choux]

I don't think it is cruel, Treacle. I have had 4 persians and every summer I would cut off their coats prior to giving them a bath. The coat grows back very evenly and they are spared the problem of heat in the summer months. One of them was a tortoiseshell and her coat would mat despite regular grooming. She definitely benefitted from the shearing as it would take hours of painful grooming to remove those clumps. It can be difficult to ensure persians have no fleas if their coats are very dense, easier on the short haired cats.

[ladybirder]

Surely both cats will have very sore skin if they lie in the hot sun?

[Ringlet]

I have long haired and short haired cats and each year in springtime I take the longhairs to the vet for sedation and a close clip. If I don't do this, their hair becomes horribly matted and tangled, and pulls on their skin, causing redness and soreness. No amount of brushing prevents this. Indeed, the cats hate getting brushed and a once a year clip is much less stressful for them.

I am not sure why the short haired cat would be clipped. However, some short haired cats also get matted fur, if their fur is particularly dense. But that is much more easily dealt with by brushing if their hair is short.
Why not bring it up in conversation with your neighbour, and mention that you wondered what the advantages are of clipping the cats' fur.

[Hopkirk]

Perhaps there was an infestation

[MWG14]

We have had cats for over sixty years, mostly short haired but one long haired.

I have never seen a shaved cat and have never heard of doing that to one. It is reasonably easy to keep a long haired cat in good condition with regular grooming.

[davebro]

ask your neighbour?

[Redhelen72]

Tatty was shaved every spring as she was getting in a right mess with matts and twigs leaves and slugs!
I have also had piper shaved as she was pulling her hair out in clumps due to anxiety

[bookbinder]

https://www.hepper.com/shaving-a-cat/

[Old_Geezer]

I ask the same question about men.

[Canary42]

... and I ask it about women ;-)

[calmck]

We have large Norwegian Forest cat. She loves having her tummy shaved and lies still purring and kneading while it is done. Despite brushing she matts easily. Possibly both cats had a bad flea infestation and shaving them was a last resort

[Buenchico]

I can't find any directly relevant links from UK-based websites but I trust this US one, which makes it clear that shaving a cat in hot weather is NOT a good idea:
https://www.petmd.com/cat/shaving-cat-good-idea-keep-them-cool-summer

Anyway, it can take me two or three weeks just to be able to get hold of one of my cats for long enough to put flea treatment on the back of his/her neck. I can't imagine how long it would take me to shave one of them!

[pastafreak]

I used to have a semi long haired cat with very fine hair that got matted every summer. I was usually able to clip it off...he was quite an easy going cat. But one year the matting was worse so he needed shaving. He was perplexed but not really bothered by it. He did look a bit ridiculous with his naked body and fluffy tail.

[Treacle71]

Thank you for your answers and the humorous ones of course!