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ANDREA (Texas) on 06/02/2022:
Re: Baby Oil for Matted Fur
I have a mean Maine coon who will not tolerate brushing. Every year he gets several large mats underneath on his belly and under his legs.
In the past, I have sedated him and had him shaved but the last time he came out of sedation, he wasn't the same for a long time. THE MOST IMPORTANT PART OF THIS METHOD IS TO USE A DROPPER AND PUT ONE DROP ON THE MAT AND ONE DROP ABOVE THE MAT.
The mats will loosen up in a couple of days and you can just gently pull them off or they'll fall off on their own.
Please do not use more than a couple of drops and please please do not cover your cats with olive oil or baby oil.. this is extremely dangerous as their livers cannot process these oils.
YEA on the oil part, but used olive oil instead of baby oil, since it tastes better when my cat licks it and probably better for her anyway.
My successful method:
Put a small amount in a shot glass and pour it over a small area on cat, then use Q-tip to massage it in between the clumps and on the skin where possible. Within 24 hours the clumps were gone, between the oil and her licking the oiled area. After a few days she'd lick off most of the oil. By doing a small section at a time, your whole cat doesn't need to be soaked in oil, and can work on a section at a time. Worked for mine! Good Luck! Also, my vet said either olive or coconut oil would be fine.
I was totally despondent due to my 18 year-old cat's matted condition. I'd never heard of the baby oil solution but since I had it on hand, I gave it a try. To my amazement, the clumps started coming off in my hand! I've applied generous amounts now and look forward to an end to my Zoe' nightmare.
I tried the baby oil on my older ragdoll and it did work on smaller mats (dime-sized), but the biggest (silver dollar sized and larger) didn't budge. He also became constipated from licking the area, so I have to say nay on really large mats. I ended up taking to a cat groomer at a local vet and she graciously shaved off the large mats. He looks a mess right now, but I know he is comfortable and the hair will grow back. I use a dematting comb daily so he won't end up in the same situation and to remove shedding winter coat fur.
I have always used baby oil on matted pets fur including horses manes' the secret is to apply a small amount and work it through with your fingers then comb
Hi, had a badly matted cat, and tried the baby oil, I ended up with a greasy cat and made everything so much worse. it never loosened up the mat and I believe just attracted more dirt. Unfortunately this cat passed away (from old age hence the lack of grooming on her part), right before her appt with the groomer. the groomer wouldn't shave her in the winter, we tried to explain the problem but she insisited we had to wait. That's why we tried the baby oil.
I have another cat with a small but very hard sticky matt on her back by her tail. I will be trying the cornstarch, I have a wide tooth comb and deshedder..if it gets worse, it will be a trip to a knowledgable groomer.
I tried the baby oil about 2months ago and it has totally worked my cat has no more knotted hair, so this does work took a little while though, but well worth it, thank you for the tip.
Thanks so much for the baby oil suggestion. Our long haired cat is 19 years old and has stopped grooming and coat covered in mats. We have been trying to cut out but frightened we might hurt her. Think she wouldn't cope with a full coat shaving as recommended on some web sites. Read your postings re baby oil and decided to give it a try. To our amazement it is working and mats are sliding off. Not sure how its working but it is. Be grateful for any advice re what to do now with one very oily cat. Mats are going but coat now covered in oil. Will it eventually wear off or do we need to do something to remove oil? Be grateful for advice.
Delilah (Never Never Land, Universe) on 08/24/2010:
Yes, Mineral oil DOES WORK! I was desperate because my baby had a really ugly mat right near the base of his tail. (He cried if I even touched it... But fortunately tolerated the mineral oil application)
Had to apply mineral oil twice - but it does seem like it just 'fell off' - amazing!!! TIP: one good way to apply: I used a latex glove - poured the oil onto the finger of my gloved hand - applied to entire mat (above and underneath) - SEVERAL applications at once to thoroughly saturate... Waited a day, and the evening of day 3 (last night actually, re-saturated) - an hour ago he came prancing in, with his old 'bounce in his step' and the mat was GONE! Found it on my bed, actually. :) SO HAPPY!!!
I could not believe that using baby oil would get rid of mats. My Norwegian Forest cat (long-haired) is over 16 and has stopped grooming herself and the mats have just multiplied. I did not want her to undergo any shaving which would mean being "put under" and wouldn't know if she could take it. I applied some virgin olive oil that I had in the house and put it on a couple of her mats. I couldn't believe my eyes today when I found one of the oily mats on the floor! Unbelievable! I figured if she licked herself, it would be good stuff for her! Thank you all so much. More tonite! .... A little at a time!
Our poor 16 yr. Old longhaired cat had many areas of matted fur, as he doesn't groom himself as well as he used to do; also, he wasn't allowing us to brush his fur. Read comments about the baby oil, and he does let us put this on the mats, and I did soak them well! It's amazing how effective this is; we did reapply baby oil to several stubborn areas. It has been a week now and all but a few spots are mat free. The mats mostly fell off; I did have to clip a tiny bit at a very large one which was loose and hanging. I sprinkled a little corn starch on his fur to get rid of some oil, and brushed it very lightly in the areas which are mat free. Will do this to his legs and tummy once those mats are gone. The baby oil works like a charm and hasn't made him sick; he is now letting me brush him for brief periods. I think brushing was hurting him before.
What I did because the cat was intolerant of me going anywhere near her Large Matted areas. They were right up to her skin. These are of course painful. I took the bottle and just squeezed a large amount right up against her skin where the matt was. They fell off within 24 hours. The ones that did not fall off, I just put more baby oil on them. Again, right up against the skin. I did not rub it in. I used a plentiful amount. It did no harm to her. 18 years old. She has the some again and I have the baby oil ready. Be patient and apply again heavily maybe. You might not be putting enough on. It works.
We have an American Bob-Tail cat and they have very thick hair. She got matted hair all on both side, put baby oil on just the matts and worked into the hair, it works great, matts are gone and she is so happy!! Don't try to comb or brush then it does no good and is very painful to the cat. They will fall out or be gone in about a week , it is wonderful. Hope this is a help to someone.
It did not work. We left the baby oil on our Persian cat's severely matted fur for over 48 hours, and it did nothing whatsoever to help the problem.
I am wondering if the people who said that it worked allowed their cats to groom themselves freely after the baby oil was applied? I'm asking this because on another website, it mentions that baby oil is scented mineral oil, and that mineral oil will block the intestines when consumed.
So, we put a cone on our cat to prevent her from grooming and thereby consuming the baby oil.
In other words, the baby oil by itself does nothing. It's more likely that it is the constant licking the cats do to try to clean the baby oil off of themselves that actually pulls the matted fur out over 24-48 hours.
How is the health of any of the cats whose owners used this remedy? Did they encounter any problems from their cats consuming the baby oil?
Prissy100 (Santa Barbara, California) on 10/14/2008:
I poured some Baby Oil first on just a couple of matted/tangled fur lumps. Yes indeedy, this definitely works. Within a few days they fell off. Thank you so much, my cat I'm sure feels better now laying down on his sides, it must've hurt. I have about 4-5 fur lumps left to do. I've been brushing him daily and this has helped too. I looked at other links for answers and there weren't any that mentioned anything about using Baby Oil.
Thank you for the advise on the Baby oil for the large matts on our cat. I applied it close to the skin and the small ones came off the next day, and the large matt came off in two days. I have tried everything in the last few months trying to get the matts out. I couldn't believe how easy it was and how fast it worked.
Jill (West Long Branch, New Jersey) on 08/11/2008:
I tried the BABY Oil this past weekend. It is truely amazing. The cat was very uncomfortable and I just squeezed the baby oil close to her skin soaking it with the baby oil. I did not touch or rub it in because it hurt her for me to touch her. The large matts fell off in 2 days. I gave it a second doze of baby oil on the second day. I usually shave her twice a year but I didn't get to it.
The idea of Baby Oil to rid my cat of matted fur worked great! Chyli, a jet black himmy, had numerous clumps hanging from him like saddle bags on a horse! This episode was the second of this. The first time this happened to him, we had our vet shave him. She could find no health reasons for the clumping, other than his age (16 years), and may not be as nimble when it comes to him cleaning himself due to his age. Not wanting to shave the poor guy again, I tried the baby oil and the mats fell off on their own. His fur grew back to its normal long silky texture quickly and he has not had any clumping in the last 8 months.
I tried this method on my cat, Blondie. Unfortunately, it was not effective, and we have quite an oily mess to clean up. I'll be bringing her to our vet so he can remove the mats. :( Had hoped to avoid shaving her -- you know how self-conscious our cats are about their appearance.
I read your brief article and the few comments on using baby oil to remove matted fur knots from dogs and cats. I'm delighted to find an alternative to shaving my cat's fur. 1. Where can I find the original article commenters referred to? How much do you use - any directions for applying? 2. How do you keep from getting the oil all over your house while doing this cure? 3. Would pure mineral oil would work just like baby oil (isn't baby oil just mineral oil with fragrance added)? Big thanks, Linda (and "Blondie")
Regarding BABY OIL FOR CLUMPED HAIR, this method is a miracle. My Himmy Chily was a matted mess! He's 17 years old. All efforts failed to remove his clumps. Until the Baby Oil came along. It's true. On the second day there were clumps all over the carpet. Chily was acting more of his spry self. It took two more applications, but he enjoyed each one more than I thought he would. His fur is quickly returning to it's former grace and he is most happy for it!
My Himalayan cat Sophie was so unahppy with so many mats. When I read and tried your suggestion of baby oil - we were all very relieved. The only challenge we faced was getting her to hold still wrapped inside a large towel. Needless to say, Sophie wound up with baby oil all over her. You advice was true! within several days a couple of the mats did fall our. The huge ones did need an extra application to work. My mom, who is skeptical about everything, was amazed at the success. In any case, after about a month of looking pretty unhappy and a bit oily, she was as proud as every about her new look. For the first time in the three years we have had her (she was a pre-owned cat, she now allows us to pet and groom her. Thanks for making Sophie and her family so happy.
My cat had two large hair mats and no matter what my husband I did to remove them our cat just would not let us near them. We tried the baby oil on one of them and much to our amazement it was off in two days. So then we put some baby oil on the other one and also in two days it was gone. We cannot express how happy we are and also our cat is even happier. Thank you so much.We really did do alot of fretting about his mats and never realized the problem would be so easy to get rid of. Again thank you so much.
My long haired calico developed matted fur in a section on her back near her tail, i tried everything, brushing, buying expensive so called detangler from the pet store... NOTHING worked. i read this about the baby oil and the results are amazing.. within 2 days, a mat on her back the size of a half dollar completely loosened from her skin where it was once attached, and now, the 3rd day, it is barely hanging on!! i was skeptical at first because i didnt want to make her sick because i knew she would lick that spot after the baby oil was applied.. but she was fine! thanks for the advice!!
Baby Oil is the ultimate best cure for clumped hair on dogs or cats. I had a cat that would not let you touch her she was so completely miserable from this matted up hair that was the size of my hand it was pulling on her skin and making her uncomfortable and very mean. no scissors no electric anything just get baby oil and squirt it on the matted fur generously and the animal does nothing the baby oil loosens the hair off the skin and the clump in 4 days just drops right off. baby oil didn't make any of the cats or dogs I have encountered sick they were so relieved and comfortable it didn't matter to them that now there is a bare spot where the fur was i mean it drops and loosens immediately within 4 days or less there will be no more matts but very happy cats. you may want to test an area just incase your pet is allergic to something somehow. it is amazing. some animals may be embarrassed if there all matts and they become but naked. I never had a complaint yet. thanks please let me know what you think.
