Trimming an angora mix

[Laurenlauren]

Hi all! New here and loving reading all the forum threads.

I have a couple of bunnies (Fluffy and Cinnamon) who we adopted as rescue rabbits. They're a bonded pair of desexed male rabbits but we don't know much more than that. I was told Fluffy is an angora rabbit but I think he may be a mix.

Either way, Fluffy has an incredible amount of long fur. He's a backyard rabbit with free access to the whole yard and loves running free and rolling in dirt.

I usually brush him once a week however my health took a turn and I was unable to brush him for a couple of months. Poor Fluffy was left ungroomed and has ended up very matted as a result.

I've attempted to give him a haircut today with some scissors, but being a hot day and a stressful situation, I have only managed to trim the fur on his back. He's currently nestled in his cage with Cinnamon taking a break.

I'd love your thoughts on the following:

• While trimming him I nicked his skin and he has a cut. I feel awful about it because I know how fine rabbit skin is. I applied pressure and washed it with saline but the cut didn't bleed at all. Should I do anything else or just keep an eye on it for now?
• How long should I let Fluffy rest before resuming the haircut? The most stressful part is to come (tummy, legs, under the chin and rear) so I'm torn between just getting it over and done with, and giving his plenty of rest to not stress him out.
• Is excessive saliva a sign of stress? He doesn't normally drool so much but while getting his haircut today he was very slobbery. His teeth appear fine. While getting his haircut, he would switch between signs of stress (rapid breathing, pinned ears, crouching) and relaxation (reaching up to sniff at my face and even a flop).
• Any tips on trimming the matted fur? On his back just above his tail it is so matted that I can't feel his skin through the fur when I pinch it. I have tried to softly brush it as I go but am concerned his skin may be feeling tender and don't want to cause any damage.

I'm very embarrassed that Fluffy has been neglected to this point so would appreciate some help in getting him back to himself again.

 

[zuppa]

Hi, it happens sometimes with the fluffies, I have lionhead/angora mix and jersey woolies myself and they are extremely fluffy, but Fred (lionhead/angora) never has matted hair I have no idea why he is extremely tidy probably he takes care of himself very well I don't even have to brush him, although he loves it and I do when I have time or when he's molting to reduce the amount of hair flying around. But other fluffies really need to be brushed at least once a week and still there's sometimes knots around their neck and bum, sometimes I just cut them off too, but sometimes it is possible to loosen hair around them with my nails and remove knot with some fur without any scissors. it takes a bit of patience but there's no bald spots on them as result so maybe worth to try.

If your matts are so bad you can cut them off just use blunt end scissors or I use my nail clipper and make cuts a few times not between knot and skin but directly in the middle of a knot so half of it is easier to detangle and there's no bald spots after all. You can also shave him with pet or human hair trimmer it is summer and he'll be very grateful for that. You can do same trick shave not too short to skin but like half length and after that brush what's left out using pin brush, again, you know how thin is their skin so very carefully.

For the cuts I think just watch it for a few days maybe use saline a couple times a day as there's hot season now, I also use herbal teas on cuts, sage, yarrow, even usual black tea would be good. Just a couple times a day make a little compress for a few minutes, that is if it doesn't look good, but I find that wounds are generally heal quite quickly on rabbits so hopefully he'll be fine soon.

 

[Miffythebun]

I have a pure breed angora and a lionhead- lionhead never has matts but loves brush time and the angora is a matted mess and HATES being brushed, especially on the belly ect.
I have opted for trimming as far as I can and then using hairdressing trimmers to shave her right down when she gets so bad so that way I can just start fresh with the trimming process, just make sure they’re safety trimmers and that way it’s near impossible to cut skin with them!! Also make sure they won’t get cold without their long coat if it’s cold out!
I once cut my poor angoras skin while trimming too I felt so awful!! I cleaned it up and kept an eye and tbh she wasn’t bothered by it at all- I nearly didn’t realise I had done it cause she didn’t flinch and it healed nicely really fast- one of those things so don’t beat yourself up!
If all else fails find a local groomer who will take the bun on!
Good luck

 

[Laurenlauren]

Thanks for the tips! Fluffy seemed to be quite relaxed a few hours later so I finished off the rest of him that day. His mats were beyond brushing out and very close to the skin. I cut off a bag of fur which was bigger than him! Now he looks so incredibly small and scruffy.

I'm brushing him daily with the furminator and his cut is healing nicely.

 

[Dayle]

Also in future I use a fine tooth comb and work it between the skin and the matt as a gard to protect the skin. And it's okay to cut the matt out in sections sometimes if it's not so bad I'll cut the matt in half and brush it out. As for clippers I use a facial razor because the teeth are very fine and less likely to cut the skin. But because the teeth are fine it does take longer.