Cat With Dreadlocks Loses 2 Pounds Of Fur

[Little Tich]

Source: The Dodo

Everyone can relate to having a bad hair day. A cat named Hidey knows all about it.

Hidey's bad hair day probably lasted for years. When people found her, she had 2 pounds of matted fur on her back — about the weight of a pineapple or a small bag of rice.

An elderly man in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, owned Hidey, as well as a Siamese cat named Siam. The man had Alzheimer's disease, and when he'd gotten too ill to live by himself, his family moved him to a nursing home. The cats, unfortunately, got left behind.

Paul Russel, a distant relative of the elderly man, was the first to think of the cats. Well, really, one cat.

"When they put him in the nursing home, I thought, 'Hey, he has a cat,'" Russel told The Dodo. "The house was still open, so I went down and left some food for the cat until we figured out what we're going to do. Then somebody mentioned that he had a second cat. So I started searching around, and suddenly this huge creature darts out from under the bed and runs down to the cellar, and I thought, 'What was that?'"

Hidey's fur was so matted that dreadlocks had formed. "At first I thought it was a cat who had a blanket draped over her that she dragged down," Russel said. "But no — it turned out to be Hidey. She hid down in the corner of the cellar. I'm down there with a flashlight looking — it was almost like a horror movie. And I found her hunkering in the corner. Probably very scared. Probably in a lot of pain."

Russel took Hidey (so named for her inclination to hide) to the Animal Rescue League and Wildlife Shelter in Pittsburgh, which will is affiliated with the Western PA Humane Society.













Read more: https://www.thedodo.com/calico-cat-matted-fur-2157871011.html


Animal Rescue League Shelter & Wildlife Center FB page:
https://www.facebook.com/animalrescuelg/

[Liberal_in_LA]

1. Holy moly

so glad the shaved her

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

2. I'll bet she feels a thousand times better now.

Had no idea mats could get that bad.

[mopinko]

3. i'd jump if i saw that come out from under the bed.

poor kitty.
i really fear the day that i cant take care of my menagerie. i hope i see it coming, and take care of it.

[MissB]

4. I'd run and scream.

Looks like poor kitty had an octopus or two on her back.

[JudyM]

9. Or a pack of rats!

[Warpy]

5. I hope her next people are able to care for her

Long haired calico cats are absolutely gorgeous but they, like all long haired cats, are high maintenance.

I hope somebody at the Humae Association knits her a sweater. She looks chilly.

[progressoid]

6. Oh. My. Dog.

[IcyPeas]

7. OMG - I have never in my life seen this..

that can actually happen to a cat? it's not some abnormal hair growth thing?

So happy she's been taken care of. uugghh that must have felt horrible.

[Silver Gaia]

11. Older cats can get matted if they stop grooming,

especially if their coat is long and fine. They may stop grooming for various reasons. Pain in the mouth, obesity, and arthritis are common reasons. Some cats are also difficult for their owners to groom because they will bite and scratch. So, if you have a long-haired cat, make sure you get them used to letting you groom them at a young age. Combs are best because they go deeper into the coat than brushes to reach the fine underlayer that mats easily. I know this because we have an ancient cat whose fur mats easily. We have to wrap his feet and cone his head to groom him because he will bite and scratch. He is a rescue, so we weren't able to train him to allow grooming. He HATES it!

[Bayard]

8. Blame the family!

If anyone had been checking on this gentleman, they should have been checking on his cats. Sounds like no one did that for years.

[Buckeye_Democrat]

10. I wouldn't have known that was possible for a cat!

Poor kitty!

My parents had a calico that would walk with me when I was a kid, stopping and meowing if I pretended to not know my way home. She acted proud to "lead me home." Or maybe she just knew I'd give her treats? Awesome cat, regardless!

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

12. I am horrified that this cat was allowed to reach that condition.

Some time back I was a volunteer at a local animal shelter. I'm a cat person, so I paid more attention to the cats. And the saddest cases I saw were cats whose owner had died, or gone into a nursing home, and there was no one willing or able to take care of the cats left behind.

(I'm sure this happened with the dogs, but as I said, I'm a cat person so it's the cats I noticed.)

I NEVER saw a cat in this awful shape, but I did see more than one whose fur had become matted because it hadn't been combed or brushed properly.

I just want to say that we all owe a huge responsibility to take care of our feline (or canine) companions.

[Raine]

14. Poor kitty, thank goodness the relative

found & rescued her. I hope she gets good home.

[pansypoo53219]

15. OH MY. my boy cat could have turned into that. only short hair i had that ever had matts. someone

w/ a cat w/ matts said, the vat can fix it. NO THEY CAN'T.

[KT2000]

16. that poor cat

how does that even get like that. Incredible. Beautiful kitty.

[Javaman]

17. Cthulhu cat nt