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Cashmere question...

Snowberry

Wise Old Thumper
Bungle is hard enough to keep his fur under control but about 3 times a year he has a major moult and it becomes impossible.

It starts with MAJOR matting of the fur, right next to his skin, but the ends of the fur dont tangle so he doesnt look matted. If you run your hands over him he feels like he has massive lumps growing all over his body.

The fur near his neck falls out, he gets bald patches and then it regrows a darker brown colour. This slowly repeats down his body until it gets to his bum but takes about a month to finish. In this time we try our best to keep him short and brush him 3-4 times daily but we cant stop the matts and brushing them out makes him so sore.

Has anyone else experienced this with long haired bunnies?
 
I am having the same problem with spud and hedgehog at the moment. They look great until you touch them. I have slowly started shaving them but Spuddy finds it so stressful that he collapsed last time :(

Doesn't help that they live digging in the garden and their fur is full of dirt. Such a shame that they were deliberately bred to look all fluffy and cute but inside all they want to be is proper bunnies :(
 
I am having the same problem with spud and hedgehog at the moment. They look great until you touch them. I have slowly started shaving them but Spuddy finds it so stressful that he collapsed last time :(

Doesn't help that they live digging in the garden and their fur is full of dirt. Such a shame that they were deliberately bred to look all fluffy and cute but inside all they want to be is proper bunnies :(

We have trimmed him right back but he also gets very stressed at the clippers so we dont use them. All the grooming and tugging of his fur means he hates us and its such a shame that he cant bond with us.

We let him outside but not for long as he gets tiny flies and bugs trapped in his hair and I worry about fly strike.

I feel so sorry for him, its no life for a bunny.
 
How do you groom him ?
I mean what do you use and how do you go about it ?

Mr Bean has a cashmere coat which I keep clipped short. I never use a brush but a round toothed metal comb.
I use thinning clippers on the undercoat which prevents it from felting.
 
Have you throught about taking him to the vet and asking them to clip him all over maybe under sedation? I know that seems a bit extreme but once his coat is very tangled it may be the only way. I have 4 cashies and each of them have very different coats. I also keep them partly clipped particularly round areas they are likely to tangle.
 
How do you groom him ?
I mean what do you use and how do you go about it ?

Mr Bean has a cashmere coat which I keep clipped short. I never use a brush but a round toothed metal comb.
I use thinning clippers on the undercoat which prevents it from felting.

I use a metal comb which grabs the knots really well but it also pulls his skin and makes him sore. He hates being brushed and will lunge at us.

Usually he stays in good condition with daily grooming its just when he is having a moult he goes through this horrible phase of it all matting up.

I havent tried thinning clippers but if they make any sort of noise he will panic. He is such a nervy bun.

ETA- we have been brushing/combing/cutting away matts about 4 times a day for 3 weeks now. He will only tolerate a few mins at a time and I do it with him on the sofa, me holding and my OH cutting/brushing. Its the underneath thats hardest as he hates being handled and gets agressive if he isnt in the mood!
 
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Have you throught about taking him to the vet and asking them to clip him all over maybe under sedation? I know that seems a bit extreme but once his coat is very tangled it may be the only way. I have 4 cashies and each of them have very different coats. I also keep them partly clipped particularly round areas they are likely to tangle.

We do keep his hair short, its just when he has a major moult (about 3 times a year) it gets really bad.

I would prefere not to have him put under sedation but if it doesnt start improving soon then it may be the kindest option for him.
 
I have this problem with Barley. He's very fluffy and isn't very friendly, plus he seems to love sitting out in the rain. :roll: I have to wear my coat when I groom him because he will dig and bite my tummy if I put him on my lap. I've found the best thing to do is not to do him every day but to get him out once a week for a longer time and then he doesn't think I'm going to groom him every time I go near him. I find stressing him for a longer time, but much less often works out better for him as then he's only grumpy for a day or so rather than being grumpy with me all the time.

I hold his fur close to the skin and use a metal comb to literally yank the knot out (as his fur is very fine, it seems to 'tear' off, but I have to be really careful to make sure I'm holding the fur at the base so it doesn't pull his skin too). The worst areas for him are under his chin. If I put the comb (or my fingers!) anywhere near his mouth, he grabs it out of my hand and throws it. :roll: I also use a pair of very sharp sewing scissors on tough knots and very slowly snip a tiny bit off at a time, getting the scissors between the knot and the skin. Of course, this only works if he's sitting really still....

I groomed a biro lid out of his fur once :shock::lol:

This is about as good as I get him looking after a decent groom -



But he often looks a bit like the bunnies you see on the RSPCA cruelty adverts. :oops:
 
ETA- we have been brushing/combing/cutting away matts about 4 times a day for 3 weeks now. He will only tolerate a few mins at a time and I do it with him on the sofa, me holding and my OH cutting/brushing. Its the underneath thats hardest as he hates being handled and gets agressive if he isnt in the mood!

I only do a little bit at a time on our boys as they just can't handle it. They are very much a work in progress. Spuddy gets so stressed and Hedgehog is a wiggler/ kicker/biter.

I did try housing them indoors but they were not happy, they are definitely outside buns, but then it causes major problems with their coats. But I honestly believe they are happier a little bit knotted and the freedom to play outside than to have a perfect coat and be stuck inside.

I also have a problem with Dinkys coat even though she is inside. As she has a head tilt there is one part of her round her neck that I can't get too and it gets really matted. She is also a growler and lunger. I did recently manage to get it off with clippers so was really chuffed :D
 
I have to warn everyone when they come round- he is not a neglect case and we do groom him daily!

I know what you mean, when I am half way through cutting their coats I pray they don;t get ill as I would be so embarrassed to have to take them to the vets like that
 
I know what you mean, when I am half way through cutting their coats I pray they don;t get ill as I would be so embarrassed to have to take them to the vets like that

Bungle has this massive head, a shaved back and then massive fluffly bum that looks like he is wearing a skirt! He looks a right state!
 
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