Cats are notorious for self-grooming. If you’re a cat owner, you must have seen that your feline spends most of its time eating, sleeping, and grooming. She licks its fur and pulls out knots with her tongue that doesn’t belong there. However, just because a cat is self-sufficient and can take care of herself, it doesn’t mean that you can ignore your duty.
This self-grooming technique generally works well for young and healthy cats; older cats find it difficult to do so regularly. As a result, there are high risks of developing ear mites, sores, and hairballs. In order to keep your feline friend healthy, a cat owner must trim its nails regularly, take care of its bathing, cleaning, and grooming program.
What are the benefits of cat grooming?
Grooming is not all about keeping your cat look good. You can have several benefits, including
- It helps you to keep an eye on your cat’s health.
- It allows you to prevent health issues such as digestive problems caused by hairballs.
- It helps maintain your cat’s skin and coat health.
- It helps you to prevent ear mites, fleas and ticks, and other skin problems.
- It helps you to create a strong bond with your cat.
Since cats lick their fur to keep themselves clean, when it comes to grooming, unlike dogs, cats need a different approach for bathing, brushing and trimming. In this guide, we are going to give a few tips to groom and clean your cat effectively and tell how to keep your cat healthy. Without wasting much time, let’s get started.
Tips for making cat grooming session easy
Start early
If you own a kitten, it is good to get your furry friend accustomed to being groomed at its early stages of life. The reason behind it is that some cats don’t like being groomed. So, when you groom her, she will fight with you, which can result in some potential injuries to you or your cat.
But, if you groom her by birth, it will become a part of her daily routine. As early as you start grooming your cat, less time and difficulties you will face while grooming. Increase the time you spend grooming your cat gradually until it becomes a part of her daily routine. However, if you own an adult cat and don’t know how to groom your cat, you can take help from a professional groomer or a vet.
Make grooming session enjoyable
It is your duty to take care of your cat’s grooming needs, but it doesn’t mean that one day you snatch up your cat and start to groom her. Doing so can have detrimental effects on your cat’s mind. Probably, you or your cat might get some injuries as well. You need to understand that the grooming session should not be like a formality; it should be fun for you as well as your cat. Hence, make sure you have sufficient time to groom your cat. Additionally, ensure that your cat is relaxed and happy when you schedule the grooming session. However, if you had a bad day or you’re in a bad mood, it’s good to postpone the grooming session.
Check your cat’s mood
Just like humans, cats can have different moods at different times. Hence, it is essential to understand your cat’s behavior and mood before you conduct a grooming session. For instance, if your cat is stressed out or suffering from some health issues, it can have a bad mood and doesn’t anyone to interrupt her actions. In this situation, it is good to keep the session short and do it again when she is calm. Also, don’t forget to praise your pet and give her a treat at the end of the session. For instance, if your cat can eat peanut butter, give her 1-cup of natural peanut butter with no added flavors and sugar.
Use the right pet grooming tools
Fortunately, the market is stacked with countless numbers of grooming tools for pets. However, not all tools are good for all pets. For instance, if you have a short fur cat, you should choose a fine-tooth comb with soft-bristles to remove debris or any loose hair from the cat’s body.
On the other hand, if you have a long-haired cat, it will require more maintenance. You have to choose a wide-tooth comb to work out the knots. Hence, it is vital to do some research and choose the right tool according to your cat’s coat type. You can also take help from a vet for any recommendations for grooming tools that are ideal for your cat.
How to groom your cat?
Check your cat
Ear mites or parasites like ticks and fleas may attack your cat, which can cause itchiness and discomfort to your cat. Hence, it is crucial to check your cat’s skin carefully. When your cat hops onto your lap, it is the best time to run your fingers through your cat’s coat. Check its ears, eyes, nose, mouth, teeth, gums, claws, and abdominal body parts as well. Not only it will help you to detect the possible problems that your pet can have, but you could also have sufficient time to treat these problems at the right time.
Brush your cat’s coat
Brushing your cat’s fur is an essential part of grooming. For those who own a short-haired cat should brush its coat once or twice a week from head to tail, whereas the pet owners with long-haired cats need to brush their cat daily.
Not only removes dirt, grease, and dead hair, but it also helps in reducing the chances of hairballs and prevent hair tangling. It also improves blood circulation, enhances the overall skin health. Apart from this, you can also get to know about your cat’s health.
If your cat has excessive dead hair, it might be due to some skin allergy, poor diet, parasites, stress, etc. Get your cat to a vet if you notice excessive chewing, scratching, or unusual hair loss.
Trim your cat’s claws
Nail trimming is the most overlooked part of general cat care. However, long nails are unhealthy for your feline friend. While wild cats usually use their nails for their prey and wear them down regularly, domestic cats often need extra help. Overgrown nails make it difficult for a cat to stay on its feet and cause a lot of discomforts. Hence, it is crucial to trim your cat’s nails regularly. Not only it is good for your pet’s health, but it also prevents your cat from destroying your stuff like furniture.
Tooth Brushing
Since some pets can have periodontal disease, which can be a vital cause of many health issues, it is recommended to brush your cat’s teeth daily. It is wise to start brushing your pet’s teeth at a young age to get her accustomed to the process. Choose the right soft brush and consult a vet for recommending a safe toothpaste for your cat.
Final Words
Though cats need relatively less maintenance as compared to other pets, it still needs your helping hand in order to stay happy and healthy. Grooming your cat helps you keep a strong bond with your pet. However, make sure that your furry pal takes this grooming session in a positive way. It should not be painful; you should always need to be patient. Always use the right products for your pet.
We hope that you have enjoyed reading this article. If you have any doubts and queries, you can share them in the comments. We would love to answer your queries.
All the best!
About the Author:
Linda Butts, the girl behind Pawsometalk.com. With my pawsometalk.com I hope to share ideas and techniques from my personal experiences of what I have done with my pet research and what I love about pets and their lives.