All cat owners have a responsibility to ensure their pets get regular grooming. So if you own a cat or are planning on getting one, you should know about cat grooming.
- Grooming Preparation
- How to Groom Your Cat
- Professional Cat Grooming — Pros and Cons
- Cat Shedding
- Why Do Cats Groom Themselves So Much?
While it’ll keep your cat healthy and clean, you’ll also see a lot less cat hair lying around. From training your cat to enjoy bath time to techniques for grooming different parts of the feline body, you’ll find all the answers below.
We have some invaluable cat grooming tips to share. We’ll touch upon the following:
Grooming Preparation
Grooming for cats can be stressful. For starters, your cat doesn’t know what your intentions are, and those tools look scary.
Preparing your kitty for grooming can help reduce its anxiety. If your cat hates the idea of bathing and nail clipping, here are some techniques for a more relaxed and stress-free experience:
Play Relaxing Music
Don’t you find it relaxing when you go to a SPA, and they play some nice music in the background? According to some studies, classical music helps cats to calm down. So your kitty can benefit from hearing soothing music while being groomed.
Use CBD Oil
If yourcat’s scared of grooming, try some CBD oil for felines to help your pet relax. Did you know that 41% of pet owners treat episodic stress with CBD?
According to Hemp Industry Daily, CBD oil can also help relieve common feline skin problems, like hot spots and wounds.
Herbal Calming
Herbs can help soothe the anxiety while you’re grooming your cat. Some of our favorites include:
- Chamomile
- Valerian
- Catnip
- Passionflower
As cats are delicate creatures, the safest form to use isdried herbs. Your pet will still benefit from their relaxing qualities, and you’ll ensure that it won’t ingest too much of them.
How to Groom Your Cat
Luckily, you can perform most grooming cat procedures safely from the comfort of your home. Let’s dig into our best tips and recommendations to help you through the process.
Brushing
Brushing and combing your feline’s hair coat is an essential part of cat care. Hertzko self-cleaning slicker brush on Amazon does an excellent job of keeping your cat’s fur in good condition. It helps to remove loose hair, prevents mats and knots, and distributes the natural skin oils over the hair shaft, ensuring a shiny, dirt-free coat. Plus, regular brushing can help to decrease the need for a bath.
Bathing
Cat self-grooming starts right after their birth. But despite that, your feline friend still needs bathing. For cats with healthy skin and coats, the most common reason to bathe them is to remove an unpleasant odor or to clean them up if they get dirty. For the former, you can also use a pet odor eliminator made specifically for cats.
Ear Care
If your cat is fluffy and has hairs inside its ears, you might want to add ear cleaning to the regular cat grooming session.
If you notice wax and debris in yourcat’s ears, apply a cleaning solution to a cotton ball and wipe the dirt from the inner ear.You can use Virbac Epi-Otic ear cleanser on Chewy for regular sessions, which is ideal for maintainingearhealth in cats.
Nail Clipping
It’s best to clip yourcat’s nailsevery two weeks to maintain their ideal length.
But how to trim cat nails safely? Start by clipping your cat’s nails in a calm and relaxing environment. You can wait until your cat is tired and sleepy to ensure that it stays in your lap. Talk to your vet about how to clip cat nails safely and what type of clipper to use.
Eyes
A cat’s eyesare among its most fragile body parts, so you should take great care whengroomingaround them. Wipe the eyes clear of debris with a soft, damp towel. Healthy cat eyes should be clear and without signs of irritation. While you’re engaged in cat grooming, you also might have to trim the hair around the eye. If you notice eye redness or swelling, take your cat to the local vet as soon as possible.
Teeth and Gums
Start this habit when your pet is still a kitten and brush its teeth every day to make it less of an unpleasant experience. If you haven’t done this, gradually introduce the activity by placing your finger near your cat’s mouth. Maintain the habit and slowly get into brushing until it becomes natural.It’s crucial to use the correct cat grooming tools for brushing teeth. Never use human dental products on yourcat.Vets can recommend the best home care based on the studied history of cats, breeds, and lifestyles.
Check for Skin Problems
Grooming also ensures that your cat’s skin can breathe and reduces the grease in its coat. Besides, skincare is essential because the condition of your cat’s skin is a health indicator.
The signs of skin issues in cats can vary greatly, just like they do in humans. Here are a few common symptoms that indicate skin problems in felines:
- Frequent scratching
- Biting at its skin
- Color changes of the cat fur texture
- Redness and irritation
All these steps can seem overwhelming, so you might consider going to a professional groomer instead. But is that a good idea? Let’s find out.
Professional Cat Grooming – Pros and Cons
Professional groomers have considerable experience. A typical cat grooming service includes:
- Hair brushing and trimming
- Bathing
- Nail clipping
- Ear care
- Dental care
The groomers can create a relaxing environment for pets in no time. Also, since the procedures won’t take place in your own house, you won’t need to clean and tidy up the place. And that’s the greatest advantage compared to cat grooming at home.
But despite the many benefits, you should consider the disadvantages, too. Visiting professional groomers will likely turn out more expensive than home grooming. Be sure to compare prices of different services to find the one that fits your budget.
Cat Shedding
Even though it can be frustrating for you, shedding isa natural process. Daily cat combing and brushing removes loose and dead hair and helps keep a cat’s skin and coat healthy.
A cat’s body gets rid of old or damaged hair by shedding. The amount depends on the breed, season, and fur texture. But how much shedding is normal?
Excessive Shedding or When to Take Your Kitten to the Vet
While cat shedding is normal, knowing the difference between that and fur loss is crucial. You should know how to identify any underlying issues with your furball.
Too much fur loss can indicate the following:
- Poor nutrition
- Stress
- Parasites
- Allergies
- Skin infections
- Ringworm
If you can’t understand why your cat is shedding excessively, you should talk to the vet.
Why Do Cats Groom Themselves So Much?
Cats groom their coats daily. They spend approximately 15% of their time doing this, and the habit forms when a cat is about four weeks old. That’s when a cat starts grooming itself to imitate its mother.
Cats’ fur differs in summer and winter. In winter, the coat stays fluffier to keep them warm and protect them from the cold, while in summer, the fur sticks to the body to safeguard it from the hot air.
Did you know that cats calm themselves down with grooming? So if your cat is stressed, or you’re getting it back from a vet visit, you might notice your furball self-grooming. The fur contains vitamin B, which regulates psychic excitement and helps your cat calm down.
Why Is My Cat Grooming Me?
As cats live with their owners,it’s normal to groom them to show affiliative behavior as part of the social group. So your cat grooms you to express sympathy. Just likemother cats licktheir kittens, cat grooming is a sign of affection to the owner. Plus, it stimulates the release of positive hormones in cats.
Why Are Cats Grooming Each Other?
Ifyoulive in a house with many cats, youmay notice them lickingandgrooming each other. It’s a behavior known as allogrooming, and it’s widespread among felines. While two cats may regularly groom each other,one cat will typically do most of it. It can be a sign of affection or an expression of dominance and leadership.
Conclusion
We love cats because of their independence and self-sufficiency, but they still might need occasional help with grooming.
Cat grooming plays a massive part incaringfor your fluffy friend. It makes your pet presentable, keeps it healthy, and builds a bond between you and your furry companion.With monthly baths and clips, weekly nail checks, and daily brushing of the coat and teeth, your cat will stay happy and in top shape.
