[daina]

Latchy has a massive dag in his britches ! I think I'm going to have to cut it out.

How do you get them out, and more importantly - how do you prevent them ?

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[RAGSRUS]

I would not cut it out but try some baby powder .......... plenty of it usually it helps lift the dag off the hair .. A teflon coated comb wil decrease the chance of tearing out lumps of fur too .

[*Crystal*]

Okay, please try not to laugh at me but I have to ask... what is a dag?

[charleycat]

Okay, please try not to laugh at me but I have to ask... what is a dag?

Me too. I get the idea of what you're talking about, but I always thought a dag was the equivalent of a bevan or someone hopelessly out of date or with no taste.... or something like that!

[*Crystal*]

LOL same here Jen!

[daina]

Okay, please try not to laugh at me but I have to ask... what is a dag?

I was wondering when someone would ask LOL

It's a knot in the fur - like a mini dreadlock. Don't know how or why they are created though ? Anyone ????

[Furkidz]

I find that moisture plays a huge part in the formation of these!
I would try to keep him out of the shower and on clean dry ground at all times if possible - no running in the wet grass!
To remove the matted hair - try prising it apart gently with your fingers, loosen it as much as you can, breaking it down into small knots. You might find some of it will pull away without the need to cut, but if you have to you can use small scissors to snip the worst bits away - just avoid cutting too close to the skin.
Regular grooming should help prevent them returning.
On my Samoyed dogs I use a Mars Coat King tool which breaks down matts easily but I would be hessitant to use this tool on a cat unless I absolutely had too - they are quite harsh but very effective.

[daina]

Thanks furkidz.

I managed to get the smaller one out last night. But I think Jen (Smudgewillow - my flatmate) is going to get the massive one out tonight with sharp sissors. She has more experience than me, and we have a show this Sunday and I can't afford to have a chunk of britches missing !!

The big one is about a 5c - 10c in size and its like a dreadlock. Eeeeek !

[charleycat]

I got a small pet comb with a blade in it from BigW. Seemed a lot less risky than using the scissors, especially when these matts get so close to the skin. I think I managed to save a lot of fur by using the comb - and Charley didn't seem to mind quite so much...

[sealhope]

I always wait until they have grown a bit and then cut and/or comb them out. In my case (well, in two of my boys' cases) they are caused them both of them hanging to the left when the widdle. By the end of winter their left britch is always scrawny from being thinned so many times, their right britch is still full and gorgeous.

[faerie_bel]

Willow seems to get these in her "arm pits" and we usually end up cutting them out with blunt-nose scissors. But if she was a show-cat I think it would be a different story! I'd probably try the pet-comb from Big W suggestion.