Butt Matts - help!

[m.e.]

Peanut has fourlarge matts on her back end (she's a lop with a big ole' "buttruffle"). I didn't notice them until I had her flipped over for nailclipping last night; I brush her once a week, but they're obviously inan area that neither she nor I groom very well.

I'm not quite sure how to deal with them:?Like I said, they're big, rather close to the skin, and theonly way to see them is to have her upside down.I feel kindabad for not noticing them before

Any tips on removing the matts?

~Emily and the Fuzzbutts~

 

[JimD]

When I went to the Agway the guy there said thathe uses the MATbreaker for his dogs and it works better than anythingelse he has tried. He wasn't sure how it would work for the bunniesthough.

Petco also has them for $13.99.

 

[naturestee]

That looks awfully sharp, Jim. Rabbitshave such sensitive skin. I was thinking of using a flea combto pick them apart. M.E., is she shedding? It wouldbe easier to work them out then, especially if you can wait for theshedding to hit that area.

 

[bunnydude]

I agree with naturestee, Amber just went in tothe vet on monday with a mat on her foot. The vet used a flea comb tobrush it out.

 

[Snuggys Mom]

Toby and Shadow get those, too.

I have blunt-tipped scissors I use, but I'm still a nervouswreck. Sometimes letter openers will do the trick, thesmaller, the better, like this one:

Laura

 

[naturestee]

Now that I think about it, I remember someonesaying a while back that they used razor combs (don't know the actualname) to remove mats on their angoras. I know Peanut isshort-haired, but it might help. It's the comb that stylistsuse for making layers.

 

[Snuggys Mom]

I tried those and cut Shadow's leg. I thought they were worse than scissors.

Laura

 

[Kricket]

Can you gently work them loose with yourfingers? Kind of gently pluck the mats out (not pulling tohard)? Some stores sell spray-on leave-in conditioners towork mats out. I don't know if they are made for bunnies, butworth a try

 

[cirrustwi]

When I recently adopted my Angora, he had awfulmats around his butt. I took tiny manicure scissors and cutthem out as close to the skin as I could. It took some timeand I'm still working on making sure they are all out, but it seems tobe working pretty well, but he's an amazingly good boy and sits verynicely on my lap.

Jen

 

[angethespaz]

Kilie gets matts on her bottom too. I flip herover and trance her. Then when she is out cold I use a small red brushthat I got at the pet store to brush out as much as I can. It lookssimilar to below. It has short bristles that get into the hair withouthurting her.

For those extra tough matts, I also keep a pair of small scissors. Makea couple snips and back to brushing. Similar picture below.

Just remember, if you act like it is no big deal, the bun will feellike it isn't a big deal either. And it is okay to do a little tonightand little bit more tomorrow night.

 

[angethespaz]

Whoops. I only attached one image.

Oh! If you have a good vet, your vet will give your bun a "bikinitrim." He/she will understand that rabbits get mats. And giveyou pointers.

Ange and the killer rabbit

 

[m.e.]

Thank you for all the helpful suggestions!

naturestee wrote:

Thatlooks awfully sharp, Jim. Rabbits have such sensitiveskin. I was thinking of using a flea comb to pick themapart. M.E., is she shedding? It would be easier towork them out then, especially if you can wait for the shedding to hitthat area.

Nope, she finished molting a month ago:? Their weekly brushings are just to keep the dust bunny population toa minimum

I too was a little concerned about using something that sharp so closeto her skin. Given that they're in a tricky area already (she doesn'tlike have her butt touched, as you can imagine), I'd rather not riskhurting her.

I do have a flea comb, though.

Kricket wrote:

Can you gently work themloose with your fingers? Kind of gently pluck the mats out(not pulling to hard)? Some stores sell spray-on leave-inconditioners to work mats out. I don't know if they are madefor bunnies, but worth a try

Ooooh, now there's an idea. I'd beconcerned about her ingesting any spray, but they might have productslike that for animals. It's definitely worth looking into, thanks forthe idea!

angethespaz wrote:

Kilie gets matts onher bottom too. I flip her over and trance her. Then when she is outcold I use a small red brush that I got at the pet store to brush outas much as I can. It looks similar to below. It has short bristles thatget into the hair without hurting her.

For those extra tough matts, I also keep a pair of small scissors. Makea couple snips and back to brushing. Similar picture below.

Just remember, if you act like it is no big deal, the bun will feellike it isn't a big deal either. And it is okay to do a little tonightand little bit more tomorrow night.

I have a brush like that, too. I'll takesome of these ideas and see if I can start working on those mattstomorrow night. And you're right about taking it a little at a time. Ifthis is something that might need regular maintenance, I'd rather nothave a negative experience.

On another forum the members mentioned shaving, but I would only dosomething like that as a very last resort. She'd never forgive me

Again, thanks for the ideas everyone! I really felt awful when I firstfound those matts, and now I feel like a much more informed andprepared bunny mommy

~Emily and the Fuzzbutts~

 

[Kricket]

Oops! I forgot to mention thoseleave-in conditioners I used were on my dog made for dogs.I've seen them for cats too

 

[bluebird]

The razor combs work great but they should onlybe used with the gaurd on.i am a professional hairdresser so i haveused these many times.Actually i prefer to use clippers ,I have some ibought for my dogs i have seen them at tack shops for as low as $10 onsale. they can be used with a plastic gaurd that prevents cutting theskin.bluebird

 

[Mr. Stee]

m.e. wrote:

Nope, she finished molting a month ago:? Their weekly brushings are just to keep the dust bunny population toa minimum

So why are little balls of dust called dust bunnies anyway?Do they look like bunnies hiding under the bed (I got you now, ohwait. Thats just dust and hair.)? Are bunnies sodirty they acheived fame (kind of like you smell like a pig)?Is it because the dust bunnies are 100% naturally made from bunnies(kind of like the way easter eggs are left around the house and moneyleft for teeth. We have dust bunny fairies!) Or didbunnies do something horrendous in ancient myths so that they areforever blamed for the dust build up (kind of like Jack's wanderingspirit story being the base of the Jack-o-lantern. Wayback when, there was a bunny ruler who decreed that no person was totouch the dirt under their beds for sacred reasons...)? onder:
This has been an idle mussing of a writer, sorry to have exposed you all to such meaningless chatter.:wink:

James

 

[m.e.]

hehehehehe...interesting question

Our dust bunnies are more like dustcabbits -and with four catsin addition tothe two rabbits, it takes a good deal of brushing to keep their numbersunder control .

~Emily and the Fuzzbutts~

 

[jrobinsonuk2]

Why is it harmful for the bunny to have matts?

 

[m.e.]

It's not so muchthat they're harmful, just that they can be very uncomfortable,and even painful if they are too close to the skin.

~Emily and the Fuzzbutts~

 

[Lissa]

I think I might know what's wrong with Iszy now.

 

[angethespaz]

Mats
can make for a cranky bun. When Kilie starts giving me attitude for no apparent
reason I check her for mats. Basically the mat will keep growing and getting
tighter so if left unattended it will pull the skin when they move
around.(ouch)
As
far as shaving goes, Kilie gets a sanitary trim at the vet's office during the
winter when her fur is extra thick. (I only let the vet do this.) Mats near the
bottom can become very unsanitary and their skin become irritated andpossibly infected. It is a well-spent $10 and the vet always gets akick out
Kilie. She isn't short on personality.

Angethespaz
and Kilie "oh it is breezy."