help - long fur and big matts :(

Hi all

I feel such a terrible bunny mummy at the moment.

Our long haired bunny Boyce is such a grump and as they live outside, whilst they are visited all the time, he is only actually picked up once a day. He is brushed but he hates it, we brought him in last night to do a more thorough brush and found two really tight matts of fur

There is one matt on each side of his head, behind his lop ears, ones really close to his eye, but they are both really close to the skin, can't believe we missed them for so long. We tried to get rid of them and have managed to get rid of some but could only hold him down for so long!

Does anyone have any advice on the best way to get rid of the existing matts, someone previously told me to wet the fur?? And also clearly need some advice on the best brush for a long haired bunny - i dont think ours are working.

Thanks everyone :wave:

you could have a word with your vet they might do it for you, but it can be expensive.

Don't wet the fur, it makes it harder. Trimming then out with round ended scissors or gently pulling them apart works best for me when Smudge gets matts. Also i find a comb works much better than a brush in general but with matts I tend to use my fingers initially to break up the matts and then using the comb after.

Also i find a comb works much better than a brush in general but with matts I tend to use my fingers initially to break up the matts and then using the comb after.

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Ditto this.

i use combs on my longhaired bunnies.. the best one i have is like a cat flea comb but alternate teeth are longer than the others and it teases knots out really well.
Dont feel bad i find matts on Simba sometimes when ive been combing him regularly. If you arent able to tease out the knot with your fingers/comb or get at it to cut it then its best to go to the vets.. maybe you have vet nurses who can help.. my vets have nurse clinics

All my cats are long haired and some of the rabbits. I've never found brushes to be of any use except for fluffing up afterwards. I use a metal dog comb for all my furries. It has quite long, rounded teeth. One side has wider spaced teeth and the other is a flea comb. I use the same method on all the animals.

I find that a thorough combing once a week with the wide teeth keeps on top of knots & mats. I start at the head and work down the back, then sides, underneath, 'trousers', tail and armpits. I always work down through the fur - start on the surface and gently work down to skin level. I feel for knots as I go along and tease them out with fingers first.

Rabbits have VERY thin skin which tears easily if you try to pull knots out. It can take time to fully remove mats but a bit of work regularly works wonders. Scissors can be used carefully to cut the worst bits out if necessary. Cut upwards (away from the skin) so you only cut fur.

Mats & knots will grow out a bit every week so you can get underneath them, but they can cause damage underneath as they pull on the skin. If there are several mats, just work on one a day so bun doesn't get fed up. Once out, it is much easier to keep on top of the problem areas for each animal.

Sometimes I use a bit of baby talc rubbed into greasy areas to make it easier to comb through. You need to be able to brush it out again afterwards or it can make matters worse. They do smell nice afterwards, though.

boyce buttons said:

Hi all

I feel such a terrible bunny mummy at the moment.

Our long haired bunny Boyce is such a grump and as they live outside, whilst they are visited all the time, he is only actually picked up once a day. He is brushed but he hates it, we brought him in last night to do a more thorough brush and found two really tight matts of fur

There is one matt on each side of his head, behind his lop ears, ones really close to his eye, but they are both really close to the skin, can't believe we missed them for so long. We tried to get rid of them and have managed to get rid of some but could only hold him down for so long!

Does anyone have any advice on the best way to get rid of the existing matts, someone previously told me to wet the fur?? And also clearly need some advice on the best brush for a long haired bunny - i dont think ours are working.

Thanks everyone :wave:

Click to expand...

Hello :wave: it may be worth ringing round your local dog groomers may sound mad but im a dog groomer but obviously we do bunnys too! mainly to shav thier bum but it may be safer letting a professional have a look and maybe clip the matts out and give you advice on how to maintain the coat as every coat it different :wave: if the matts are tight pulling them may cause soreness. hope this helps xx p.s dont went the fur it only makes knots tighter.

Thanks everyone!! :wave:

Going to try one mat a day, get a new comb and if all else fails off to the dog groomers!

Thanks for all your help

similar situation at the mo, I could see mucky matts around harly's tail and hind legs after he had been out, I tried to bathe it off, and trim bits, but it is still matted, if anything, its worse matted around his tail, but clean. Planning taking him to vet on sat