As I'm sure you've noticed, Ivy is a sweet little long-haired cat. Turns out it's very matted long hair. Ivy has tummy-dreads, leg-dreads, back-dreads, tail-dreads and even (ick) butt-dreads. You can get an idea of the tangles from this pic:
She's pretty much given up grooming, and only copes with combing for so long. We finally had to resort to the most drastic measure, the Lion-Trim!
Go ahead. Laugh. I know where you sleep, primate.
As you can see, we made sure Ivy's favorite treat, vanilla ice cream (Hagen Daz) was waiting for her at home. You'll also notice that the trimmers didn't touch her front legs. Seems the wee tuxedo cat has some absolute no-go zones. The vet said Ivy got positively fierce defending her arm-dreads. We also had some blood work done on the old girl. Her hyperthyroid is a bit more hyper than last time, so we're upping her meds for that. Ivy is also hypertensive, so she's now on blood pressure meds. The good news is that her kidneys are holding their own and we're delighted about that.
Ivy seems to be adapting well to her new, more streamlined condition. At least fur is a renewable resource. When we get some more cute pics of the little velvet Elvis, we'll be sure to post them!
Oh sweet Ivy, the indignity of it all! But is must feel so much better not to have those tangled dreds pulling at your skin.
Posted by: Scooby, Shaggy & Scout | April 12, 2008 at 02:11 PM
Oh My Goodness! The lion trim! Hope the fur grows back fast.
Posted by: Yaffa & Sebastian | April 13, 2008 at 11:57 AM
I like the front leg-warmers ... makes her look all "Flashdance."
Posted by: iamfelix | April 17, 2008 at 02:29 PM
Do you think she stopped grooming herself because you let her go outside but then put a leash on her. I bet she would have come back to you, let her have a little freedom. Maybe she misses being outside and free.
Posted by: evin | November 28, 2011 at 08:00 PM