How to get rid of burrs?

[Darky]

Those little weed sticky-ball things that are like velcro to cat fur.

Honey, being semi-longhaired, comes indoors every day absolutely smothered in them.

I used to remove them fine, but now he is always so covered in them. They end up really deeply tangled in his tail and tummy.

He tries to be patient and is very well-behaved when I have to yank the things out, but obviously sometimes he gets annoys and ends up giving me a warning nip.

I hate having to put him through that, though I try to be as gentle as possible.

Plus I can't get them out with a brush because he's prone to attacking them.

Any ideas???



I've just spent about an hour removing the bloody things.

[dandysmom]

He's a handsome cat! I suppose cutting them out isn't an option as it would mess up that lovely coat. Do you know where he's getting the burs from? If it's your garden or somewhere like alongside the road, not on someone's property, you could go whack down the plants and eliminate the source.....

[Darky]

I don't know, to be honest.

He really only seems to go in our garden and next door's garden.

Anywhere else he may go is an utter mystery.

[Mags]

You could try using a wide-toothed comb to ease them out, that would probably be less painful than pulling them out by hand....

[calismum]

Alfie gets them too. Never found an easier way than taking them out by hand. Long and laborious as it is. I always worry it hurts him.

CM

[angieh]

They are nasty things aren't they? I have never had to try to remove them from a long-haired cat's coat - always fairly easy to get out from short fur. I usually find myself getting them out of next-door's cat's fur - I have an idea it is important to get them out sooner rather than later.

[angieh]

Wikipedia says:-

"A burr is a seed or dry fruit in which the seeds bear hooks or teeth which attach themselves to fur or clothing of passing animals or people. The hooks or teeth can be irritants and very hard to get off of clothing, such as wool or cotton. It was the inspiration for Velcro.

Plants with burrs are found in many genera:

* Acaena - Piri-piri
* Agrimonia - Agrimony
* Arctium - Burdock
* Bidens - Burr marigold
* Circaea - Enchanter's Nightshades
* Galium aparine - Goosegrass
* Geum
* Hackelia - Stickseed
* Osmorhiza - Cicely"

I didn't realise that the burr could come from such a wide range of plants.

Good luck!

[yola]

On the rare occasions my long-haireds get garden stuff trappedi in their fur I use their metal hairbrush to remove grass seeds, burrs etc. It's quick, less tricky and less painful for the cats then removing them by hand.

[calismum]

Originally Posted by yola

On the rare occasions my long-haireds get garden stuff trappedi in their fur I use their metal hairbrush to remove grass seeds, burrs etc. It's quick, less tricky and less painful for the cats then removing them by hand.

Is it the kind of brush with flexible teeth yola? I'd love to try something else Alfie does get quite a few on him and I'd love to make it less of an ordeal for him. He is so laid back and has such a good nature I just don't want to push him.

CM