The Most Dangerous Cat Groom I've Ever Attempted

Today's groom is one of my more difficult cases. Hello Lucy! Oh Lucy, you are a mess. Lucy, look! Lucy, look! Oh, you're so tiny. Would you like a tube or not really? No tube for you? Oh, oh. Thinking about it. You can't exit though, okay? Hi Lucy. Want to try a tube? Yeah, you're probably really, really itchy. Meow. That's what I thought. I'd like you to meet Lucy. What just happened there? So she is crazy matted. I'm really hoping I'll be able to shave this, but it's pretty bad, so I'm not sure. You're going to have to stay still. You're also really old and really skinny. Girlfriend, I need you to stay still. It's really important that you stay still. Now, Lucy is not a difficult cat. But what is difficult is the fact that she is completely pelted in matting. And removing a coat like this is not only time consuming, it can be genuinely dangerous. Don't scratch. Don't scratch me with those back legs. It's okay, girl. You're doing your best. Sadly, Lucy's owner passed away, but her new owner brought her in for some much needed TLC. When I first examined her, I'll be honest, I wasn't entirely convinced this was a job I could safely complete. With matting this severe, the skin often gets pulled up into the mat itself. You can't always tell where the fur ends and the skin begins, which means one wrong movement, one sudden twist, and a cat can be seriously injured. Girl. Oh boy, I need you to stay still. Lucy was working against me in more ways than one. First, she wouldn't stop moving. And second, she's tiny, skinny, and wearing what can only be described as a full body wool sweater cast directly onto her skin. Where are you going? Oh my god, this cat must be so itchy. I can't even imagine what this feels like. Look at her paws as I do this. Halfway through the groom, I actually contacted the owner to confirm that she wanted me to continue, fully understanding that despite every precaution, the risk of injury was very real. Please don't scratch me. Nope, nope, nope. That's not nice. She gave me the okay, so we proceeded with maximum caution and a small amount of blind optimism. Oh man, I can't even cut through this to take this chunk off because it's so thick. I don't even think my scissors will cut through it. You're being really good, even though you're moving a lot, but you're still being a really nice cat. Look how little she is under here. So little. She's purring. She's like, this feels so good. You feel good? Tail's starting to get frustrated with me. She's so cute. Her skin is so dry. What's wrong, baby girl? I know. Okay, don't bite my hand. I'm sorry. I'm gonna try to cut some of this off. Like, this is insane. I can't even rip it. It's just solid. I know, I was just thinking that. I had to switch to the bubble because she's starting to get trying to bite me a couple times, which I don't blame her. Halfway done. Still got a lot of matting here. The most difficult area was her belly and groin. For this part, the camera had to go off and I recruited my cameraman for assistance because every millimeter mattered. Oh, oh, oh. Okay, okay, okay. Listen, your skin's really bad, girl. Okay, fine. Here, come over here. No, no, no. Your skin's just in really poor shape. It's gonna feel so much better. And somehow, shockingly, miraculously, against all odds, and honestly beyond my comprehension, I removed every single mat without one nick, one cut, or one injury. I genuinely don't know what kind of grooming guardian angel clocked in to work with me that day, but I'm extremely grateful. Okay, I'm sorry. Don't look on her face right now. She's so mad. Okay, I'm gonna rinse you down. Please don't panic when I turn the water on. Once the dangerous part was over, Lucy got a nice, soothing bath. Her skin was incredibly dry, flaky, and itchy, which is very common under severe matting because the skin can't breathe properly and oils get trapped underneath. Since she was now missing approximately 94% of her fur, I popped her into the hair dryer to dry, where she marinated peacefully like a tiny, naked rotisserie chicken. Go take a nice, relaxing blow dry, okay? Hello? Hello. Oh, you ready? Yeah. You feel so much better. Want more tubes while I finish up your haircut? Once she was dry, she received the highest form of payment known to cat kind, tube treats. I did a little finishing work to tidy up the haircut, but honestly, aesthetics were not the goal here. My only priority was getting this cat clean, comfortable, and free from a coat that had essentially become body armor. And I am thankful to say, mission accomplished. I'm not really doing an excellent job. Just a quick smooth over because obviously she's really uneven. But I don't really care that you're uneven, as long as you're mat-free. Really likes her tubes. Want to go back in your house? Back in your house? Go on. Hey, you. Hey, you. Go back in your house. Look, it's open. Go on. You're so tiny. Yeah, you feel so much better. Go in your house. Come on. Let's go. Go in your house. Go on. Go. She says, I'd rather stay. There's tubes here. Thank you. Please come again. Hopefully not matted. Go back.