I’m not posting pictures because if I did Ronnieroo would come up here and kick my ass, but Steve apparently spent a day rolling in pine sap in the back yard and looked like a cross between Chewbacca and a komondor, so I tried to brush and cut some of it out of him, and he looks like a god damned disaster. I’m seriously thinking he might need a not to the skin shave but a real close cut so his coat can grow back properly for the fall.
We’re going to the groomers on Friday, but I had to do something because he was walking around with clumps of pine needles on his back. Oh, and he’s fucking pissed.
Princess (now General) Leia
Try Skin-so -soft to remove it. Worked for my cat.
Gin & Tonic
I’ve heard that if you smear him with mustard you’ll get the pine sap off.
Doug R
My wife trimmed the fur of our large long haired cat with electric clippers. Now she’s noticing I need a haircut….
Manyakitty
Ronnieroo notwithstanding, pictures are in order.
schrodinger's cat
@Doug R: I would hide somewhere, if I were you.
MomSense
My Maine Coon cat used to do that. I had to have him shaved many, many times. He would roll in pine tar and pine needles and then dirt. Just go have him shaved. It’s the only way. You’ll have to be careful about how much sun he gets while it grows out as they may have to shave very close to the skin.
Betty Cracker
Did he claw the shit out of you when you were hacking away at his coat? C’mon, man — we need pictures!
Tom Levenson
Pix. You know Gawker will get them anyway.
Elizabelle
Pictures, please. Chewbacca Steve before and after.
And maybe you too. Who knows if you will escape this unscathed.
lurker dean
a lion cut is definitely in order. before and after pics appreciated.
Adam L Silverman
@Gin & Tonic: and then wrap him in tasty lettuce while it works its magic!
debbie
@lurker dean:
Must Steve be forced to lose all self-respect?
Adam L Silverman
@efgoldman: So he’s got one of the dogs acting as spotter, estimating windage, drop, and range to target, and barking “send!” whenever Steve’s ready?
RoonieRoo
I promise not to come up and kick the crap out of you for fat Steve pictures. I’m in a pretty darn good mood today. My Labrador had his annual today (3 years old) and we finally achieved the much coveted “Perfect weight, don’t change a thing” from our vet. I’ve been fighting a 5 lb overage on him all freaking year and I finally figured out his calorie needs vs training goodies. So I promise to not yell at you today. :)
With that said, I might need to see Steve covered in pine sap just for the hilarity of it.
Gravenstone
Been nice knowing you, man. Hopefully you pass on the keys to the joint to someone trustworthy.
RaflW
Photo or it didn’t happen.
bystander
We all want pictures, but not if there’s too much of Cole’s blood splattered across the background.
Come to think of it, Cole’s life does have a certain Stephen King tinge to it.
Corner Stone
@bystander:
Who are we to draw a line in the sand?
RepubAnon
Warn Steve that he might end up trapped in amber:
Percysowner
Go buy clippers! I learned the hard way this month. My guy is getting older and he was so, so tangled. I cut out a few mats and then he moved and I cut him. I felt terrible! I then bought a clipper to help with the mats.
I have had long haired cats shaved/clipped in the past. With the heat this summer, Steve would probably be more comfortable, anyway and he wont be ingesting massive amounts of fur when he grooms himself.
1,000 Flouncing Lurkers (was fidelioscabinet)
Yes, Cole, go let someone else bleed for this good cause. They’re trained professionals, they’re used to handling agitated critters who need hygiene interventions, and you can tip like mad if he’s too cranky with them.
Also, their pictures will probably be clearer than yours and will be taken in better light. Please remind them to share with us.
I have no fond memories of dealing with the spring mats our longhair would get; she was a cupcake right up until it was grooming season.
TaMara (HFG)
I don’t know about Skin So Soft, but hand sanitizer takes tree sap off of cars without harming the finish – it might work on Steve – just make sure you clean it all off of him so he’s not licking it.
karen marie
@Percysowner: Pfffft. Steve ingest fur? JC furminates him.
But, yes, pictures or it didn’t happen.
TaMara (HFG)
@efgoldman: This made me laugh.
Adam L Silverman
@TaMara (HFG): Not until the FDA says it works!
http://gizmodo.com/the-fda-wants-proof-hand-sanitizer-works-1782816977
NotMax
You’re concerned and have trepidations about someone getting all up in your grille* about something?
Knew ought to have made that investment; can’t tell which dimension we’ve slid into without the guidebook.
*(Is that how the yutes say it?)
Major Major Major Major
Is Ronnieroo anything like a Roogaroo?
lurker dean
@debbie: it’ll give the dogs something to chat about. and as a maine coon steve can handle it, it’s cole’s dignity that may suffer :D
gogol's wife
I remember that pine sap routine from when I used to let my cats go out. Smells good, though.
greennotGreen
Just because I want pictures and was rather insistent about it, I’m in moderation?
Omnes Omnibus
@bystander: There will be blood.
Ruviana
Steve adventures bring out front pagers by the bucket-load!
Gravenstone
@TaMara (HFG): Most hand santizers today are gelatanized ethanol. You most definitely do not want Steve licking that (Cole either, for that matter).
Miss Bianca
@Corner Stone: Or would that be, “a lion in the sand”?
Gravenstone
@Omnes Omnibus: I suspect there has been blood.
Baud
I wonder if George Stephanopoulos dies a little each time he has to report on the email “scandal.”
Gin & Tonic
@Gravenstone: Was there a “not” missing in there somewhere?
Gravenstone
@Gin & Tonic: Indeed there was. And of course I can’t edit the fucking thing. Ah well …
Omnes Omnibus
@Gravenstone: Good point.
kdaug
@Gin & Tonic: Only works naked with a mop
ETA: might work on a roof, though…
Adam L Silverman
@Gravenstone: But I can! And have. You’re all set and no longer recommending dangerous activities for Steve or his minion.
Shell
Ugh, pine tar in pets fur. Its like getting bubble gum stuck in your kids hair.
kdaug
@Adam L Silverman: *whispering* “send”. No barking. Just a flick of the tail, really. Wouldn’t notice it if you didn’t know what to look for…
kathyp
My brother’s cat got into pine sap once and the vet shaved most of the fur off but not all. My brother was quite upset because “he looks like a French Poodle now”.
RoonieRoo
@Major Major Major Major: I could be a werewolf. It would certainly explain a lot of things.
Chet Murthy
Delurking to add my vote for steve pics too
SiubhanDuinne
@Gin & Tonic:
Yes, and where would one go about finding the mustard in the first place, mmmm?
schrodinger's cat
Pics or it didn’t happen.
Mary G
@lurker dean: Lion cut. My old Sophie never did forgive me for that. I think Steve could rock it. Pictures are a must.
Frank Wilhoit
We call it a scissorbath.
WaterGirl
Cole, I had never gotten haircuts for any of my cocker spaniels, but one February my cocker escaped into some field of endless burrs that all attached themselves to her coat. I tried everything and she was just a total mess. So she got her first haircut ever – I think she was seven.
She LOVED it! When I pet her, she would just shiver (on a good way) like oh that feels so good! We always got haircuts after that – not the traditional cocker cut, just a short length all over. So I think you’re probably on the right track for how to deal with the mess. Plus, if you’ve already started cutting parts out, I’m not sure you have much choice.
It will be interesting to see what Steve thinks. Let us know, please!
TaMara (HFG)
@Adam L Silverman: So you’re saying my car’s finish is now antibiotic resistant? Horrors!
Smedley Darlington Prunebanks (Formerly Mumphrey, et al.)
I think I speak for everyone here when I say, We demand pictures! Forthwith!
Omnes Omnibus
@efgoldman: Then get me a damned sammich.
Major Major Major Major
@TaMara (HFG): This is why we can’t have nice things.
Omnes Omnibus
@WaterGirl: My Cocker got a haircut like that every summer.
khead
How can this grooming happen without sedation? We have one, maybe two cats that will tolerate a bath. Gracie actually gets a bath every so often due to allergies. But there’s no way any of them would sit still for a de-sapping without being knocked the #%& out first.
Corner Stone
Damn back button fail. Fuck this place!
*Flounces off*
Adam L Silverman
@TaMara (HFG): This may explain my lingering respiratory chest infection.
Mezz
Cole – I don’t have a Maine Coon, but I have an “enormous” (seriously; that’s everyone’s preferred adjective when they first see him) longhair. I won’t even bother to try posting pictures, but like you I try to keep on top of the grooming and it proves impossible. Four summers ago I decided that every summer I would get him shaved to the skin for the summer, to deal with the matted fur and dandruff, etc.
I’m positive he hates it, but when he gets it done (he’s going in Friday as well) and for a few months after, when he can clean himself fully and without ingesting all that fur and the attendant hair barfs, I know he appreciates it. Up in Boston I don’t know how warm it gets in WV, but do it. Steve will thank you in the end.
Plus if your groomer is cool like mine, she or he will offer the “Lion” – do it. My wife refers to Franklin as “Her Lion” for like three months after he gets buzzzzzed.
TaMara (HFG)
@Adam L Silverman: I long ago quit buying anything that claims to be antibacterial. I saw a health demo once that showed washing and drying cleans off more bacteria. So I thought, why waste the money? I keep baby wipes in the car.
But Belle (my Soul) needed something to remove the tree sap – it was the only thing I found that works well – palmolive works, too, but you have to use so much I was afraid it would harm the finish.
hellslittlestangel
Is John Cole Steve’s biological father?
rikyrah
You really need to become a reality show, Cole. The stories you tell….HILARIOUS.
But, you know you can sneak us a picture or two.
Gvg
Supposedly cooking oil gets sticky stuff out.
In an earlier thread I mentioned googling Siberian huskies and cats and accidentally found out about a breed of cat called Siberian cats who seem to be about twice as furry as Maine coons. Seriously go look for pics and imagine grooming one of them! Huge furry mounds of cat.
Major Major Major Major
@hellslittlestangel: Ew.
Patricia Kayden
Off topic but I couldn’t resist this link where Canadian MPs chant “four more years” for President Obama. Too sweet.
https://twitter.com/globalnews/status/748289337243033601
hellslittlestangel
@Major Major Major Major: Behavioral traits can be inherited.
I had a cat who fell into a barrel of used deep-fat frying oil. Cleaning her up was hilarious. And painful.
satby
@TaMara (HFG): geeky soap trivia here: in lab tests they’ve actually coated bars of regular soap with (non-infectious) e-coli bacteria and then measured bacterial levels on the hands of people who washed normally with it. No bacteria found, regular old soap washes away bacteria; and there’s some speculation that it breaks the cell walls of bacteria, killing it too. You don’t need all that antibacterial stuff they sell, normal washing with any old soap does the trick.
Major Major Major Major
@hellslittlestangel: Well don’t make me spell it out for you.
MomSense
@Gvg:
Wow. There’s a feral cat named Mufassa that adopted my friends. We assumed he was a giant orange Maine Coon but he looks a lot like a Siberian.
trollhattan
@Corner Stone:
You flounce with conviction.
Beezus
Just three weeks ago I had my explosively fuzzy/furry cat Bunn shaved by a mobile groomer (mats that were impossible to detangle). She was not happy with the processing but LOVES her new look. She can groom herself, she feels ccooler and lighter, and she is impossibly soft and velvet-y. Impossibly cute, too.
Shana
@TaMara (HFG): What about Dawn? Don’t they use that to clean off birds that get stuck in oil spills?
Central Planning
@TaMara (HFG): QFT:
One of my kids turned their hands brown with tree sap, diet, and pine needles. Only thing we had was hand sanitizer. It took that stuff right off. We were amazed
serge
He’s pissed? Serves his ass right…
(Major dog person whose own animals “never” roll in smelly, gooey shit.)
Bill_D
This is going to sound pedantic at first glance, but it has practical application.
Pine “sap” isn’t sap at all. People almost always assume that any fluid coming out of a plant stem is sap, but that’s often not the case. Sap is the plant equivalent of blood – a water based fluid that circulates via vessels throughout the plant bringing nutrients to tissues. Think of maple syrup and maple candy, both water soluble and consisting of concentrated maple tree sap.
Some plants also have other fluids in separate vessels. White “sap” from various plants such as dandelions is actually latex, still water based but protecting the plant against herbivores rather than having a circulatory function. Most cone-bearing trees have pitch, which is hydrocarbon based (*not* water soluble) and which protects against bugs that want to burrow into the tree.
So when it comes to cleanup of plant fluids, you need to know whether they’re water soluble or not. Thinking of and calling all these fluids “sap” doesn’t help here, however truthy it may seem.
PurpleGirl
I watch a show on Animal Planet titled “Animal Cops — Houston SPCA” about rescuing different animals in the Houston area. They have video of cats and dogs being rescued from homes where they are abused and/or not being taken care of. And when an animal’s fur is matted, the groomer shaving the matts off use clippers and electric razors. They often take off all the fur except for the head and face. They have one person holding the animal and another person doing the shaving. (One dog had more than 2 pounds of matted fur!)
scuffletuffle
Can’t stop laughing….gasp! Pics or it didn’t happen….hahahahahahaha!
Kay Eye
Pictures, please. We’ve all had to look at Donald Trump’s hair for months. We deserve this.
Ella in New Mexico
Peanut butter, well worked in, used to take the pine sap out of my kids hair. Or orange oil, but then, They weren’t likely to lick the stuff I put in their hair, and so weren’t in danger of being poisoned by it.
Good fricking luck, John.
Bob2
@Ella in New Mexico:
Mayonnaise supposedly works well too
http://www.ehow.com/info_8461853_removes-pine-tar.html