As compared to other animals, cats are clean animals and they keep grooming themselves. However, there are few cats that aren’t able to groom themselves properly, especially when they have long fur or fleas. If you are a pet-parent, you have to maintain your cat’s coat and take care of all her other hygiene needs like clipping her claws, you can always keep your cat groomed.
Table of Contents
Guide to Cat Grooming: Benefits & How to Do It
After a proper grooming session, your feline will look and feel like a cat’s meow! Cats tend to be extremely fastidious and you must have seen your kitty washing her own body several times a day. However, there are times when she might need help.
How to make grooming your cat a fun experience
For both the cat and the owner of the cat, grooming sessions should definitely be fun. Hence, make sure you schedule them only when your pet is relaxed post eating or exercising. Don’t you want your pet cat to remember these grooming sessions in a positive manner? If yes, you should never want your pet to lose temper. When he had a bad day or his mood is not set at the right tone, this is probably not the right time to groom your pet cat.
Make sure the initial grooming sessions are short enough that are of 5-10 minutes duration. Eventually, check on the way your pet reacts and then lengthen the time only after the pet is habituated with the routine. Your pet cat should feel comfortable being handled by you. You should gradually feel comfortable petting each and every part of his body, including tail, ears, belly and particularly the back of his feet.
Don’t lose patience as your patience can take you a long way. If you find your cat stressed out for some reason, curb the duration of the session and wait for another time when he is calm and poised. Unfortunately, majority of the cats don’t prefer baths and hence you may require another person to help. Make sure you offer your cat a treat once he calmly completes his session.
Brushing or combing your cat’s hair
If you continue with regular sessions of brushing with a comb or brush, this will give your pet’s hair a great shine as it removes all dirt and spreads natural oils all over his coat. It will let go of all sorts of tangles and keep his skin irritant-free and clean.
Does your cat have short hair? If yes, you will only need to brush his hair only once in a week:
- You can use a metal comb to comb her fur from head to tail
- You can also use a rubber brush or a bristle to remove loose and dead hair
- Be extremely gentle and light-handed near the belly and chest
Does your cat have long hair? If yes, you’ll have to brush it almost every day:
- Begin by combing her legs and belly and ensure untangling all the knots
- Brush her fur in an upward motion with a rubber brush or a bristle
- To brush her tail, make a division down the middle and brush the fur on either side
Bathing your pet cat
If your cat’s coat gets oily or greasy or if he has got into something smelly or sticky, he will love to take a bath as he is usually fussy about such mess. You can use a mild shampoo that is definitely safe to be applied on cats. The steps to follow are:
- Give your pet a good brush to remove all mats and dead hair
- Place a bath mat that is made of rubber inside the tub so that he has firm footing
- The tub or sink has to be filled with 3-4 inches of lukewarm water
- Use a spray hose to wet y our cat thoroughly and don’t spray water directly into his eyes, nose and ears
- Massage the shampoo gently starting from head to tail
- Rinse the shampoo thoroughly with a spray hose and once again avoid the eyes, ears and nose
- Dry your pet with a towel
Clipping the nails of your pet cat
Most cat parents never handle or hold their cat’s feet unless they’re trying to clip their nails. You can’t forget the fact that there are some animals that can get extremely sad when their nails are clipped as this is a foreign feeling for them. This is why experts recommend you to make your cat used to the feeling of having him touched down at him feet.
Rub your hand through his leg and press each toe gently and make sure you give him lots of food treats and praises for allowing you to do so. All animals are different and they react differently to such practices. If you can give him the right foot massages, you’ll soon make him ready for nail clipping without a mess.
- Start by giving gentle pressure at the top of his foot and the cushiony part beneath as this will make him extend his claws
- Use premium quality sharp nail scissors to chop off the white tip of each nail
- Make sure you’re careful as there are veins that run into the nails. The pink portion should be seen through the nails
- Accidentally if you cut the pink area, this may lead to bleeding which has to be stopped by using styptic powder
Skin issues to be wary of while grooming your pet cat
- Parasitic infection due to ear mites, fleas or harvest mites
- Infections due to excess bacteria on the skin
- Fungal infections like yeast or ringworm infection
- Feline acne or seborrhoea
- Viral infection like feline cowpox
- Immune disorders like allergies
- Drug reactions
- Contact dermatitis
- Stress-induced fur loss
- Trauma from collars or accidents
So, now that you’re totally aware of how to groom your cat, what are you waiting for? If you’ve already adopted a cat, make sure you take all the precautionary steps before you go on to groom your cat so that he stays happy after the grooming session.