Q: I have a beautiful 7-year-old medium longhair tuxedo cat that is one of the loves of my life. He has put on about 1.5 lbs in the last two years or so, and I am trying to slim him down, but he is pretty resistant.
I am concerned about grooming him, as I can clip his nails (burrito style) and get in 30 seconds of delicate brushing before he becomes a tiger, no joke, no fooling around once the excitement button is pressed. I see him cleaning his tummy and nether regions with large clumps of hair in his mouth that he tries to eat (unless I get there first). I have some gabapentin, but I hate doing that to him, especially without a medical reason. I give him Laxatone, which doesn’t seem to have an effect on the thrown-up hairballs. Do you have any suggestions?
A: Thanks for getting in touch, and I understand your dilemma. Grooming cats is an important aspect of keeping them healthy, especially with cats that have long hair, as failure to groom appropriately may make them more likely to have problems with hairballs. This can be even more important if they are overweight, as this can make it difficult for them to self-groom those tough-to-reach spots! If he is overweight, please work with your veterinary team to develop a weight loss program for your boy, as being overweight may not only make it more difficult for him to groom himself, but it may also predispose him to health problems (i.e., diabetes, osteoarthritis).
From your description, the good news is that it seems that you can groom him, although not for very long. This is certainly preferable to having a kitty that will not allow any grooming at all, as it provides something to work with.
I think it might be worth trying gradual behavior modification to prolong the duration of time he will allow you to groom him. To do this, I’d suggest that you start by grooming him gently for a shorter amount of time (i.e., 15 seconds) than he will usually allow you to, then stop and reward him with words of praise, focused play time, and/or a small treat. Remember not to give too many of these if he is on a weight loss program, and to include the calories provided by treats into any daily caloric intake parameters you may be following for weight loss.
An important point here is that the session ends on a positive note, which is why you want to keep the time you initially groom him to a minimum. You can do this daily, gradually increasing the time you groom him by very small increments each day. Again, rewarding him for good behavior while grooming each time.
If he ever shows signs of aggression/unwillingness to accept continuation of grooming during this process, stop, disengage, and do not provide him with a reward. It’s important not to ever scold or punish him for not complying. Just ignoring him for a few minutes for bad behavior is best, and you can start up the next day with the smallest amount of time that you were previously able to groom him without protest and begin the process again.
The goal is to gradually increase the time he will let you groom him and have him associate grooming with a reward. I hope this is helpful. If this suggestion does not work, considering consultation with a veterinary behaviorist is a reasonable option.
