I’ve found that each cat is completely different in their desire to be groomed. Some relish being brushed and you can’t get them to leave you alone once the brush is put away. Others hide under the bed and threaten you with a set of recently sharpened claws when you even hint at brushing them. Then there are the ones who like being groomed one day and look at you like you are crazy to even think of trying to groom them the next. Here are 8 tips on grooming your cat that should work with any kind of temperament your cat may have.
8 Rinse Your Cat Thoroughly after Bathing
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I’m thankful that cats don’t need baths that often. This is quite the chore, especially if you try to do it by yourself. The claws and yowling are more than enough reason to avoid giving a cat a bath, but not being able to reprimand a cat seems to make things worse. You can tell a cat to get down or sit still until you are blue in the face or covered in blood from feeling the wrath of Fluffy’s claws. It doesn’t work. Cats will do whatever they please and they will usually fight you to the finish if water is involved. However, if you are successful in bathing your cat, rinse her well so she won’t end up licking her fur and getting a mouthful of shampoo instead.
7 Don’t Get Water in Your Cat’s Ears
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No one likes water in their ears. Trying to avoid this occurrence can be extremely tricky when bathing a cat. They are very quick and can twist in directions that you wouldn’t expect. I’ve only had to bath a cat a few times and thankfully one didn’t have any claws, which made the event less hazardous for me. Using a sprayer makes it easier to rinse deep down into the fur. Keeping the sprayer away from your cat’s head should eliminate the chance of an accidental squirt into her ear.
6 Use a Cotton Ball to Clean off Ear Wax
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Swiping the inside of each ear with a dry cotton ball should help to take out most of the golden wax that is inside. I don’t do this very often, since a little bit of wax is healthy. I do use this time to make sure that the wax looks normal and that there aren’t any ear mites present or an odd smell coming from the ear. Don’t add water to the cotton ball thinking it will help remove more wax. You’ll actually end up with less wax on the cotton ball, since wax repels water. It will end up not sticking to the cotton ball.
5 Buy a Flea Comb or Brush
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These are very inexpensive and can be purchased at a fancy pet store or even a discount store carries them. There’s nothing fancy about them, so just about any brand will do the job. I’ve used a rat tail comb before and had great results. The teeth are so close together on these combs that they capture a lot of the finer hairs and loosen dirt. If your cat does have a few rogue fleas, a comb or brush will flush them out as well.
4 Brush Your Cat Often
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Both long and short-haired cats benefit from brushing. Hacking up hairballs in the middle of the night will happen a lot less often when cats are brushed regularly. I don’t know about you, but I dislike being jolted awake in the morning by a squishy hairball between my toes. Cats with short hair should be brushed at least once a week. Long-haired cats need to be brushed almost daily. You might be able to get away with every other day if your cat doesn’t appear to be a heavy shedder.
3 Beware of the Claws
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I was rather excited to find out that the two cats I picked up from the local animal shelter were declawed. I would never have this procedure done on purpose, since I feel they have claws for a purpose. My cats have a log in the kitchen they claw at in the kitchen when they can’t make it outside. This saves the furniture from being molested, but it also keeps me aware that they all do have claws and they know how to use them too. The back claws seem to be the most detrimental when grooming time comes around. You might need to wrap your cat in a towel to save your skin from the wrath of her claws.
2 Have Someone Help with Nail Clipping
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I can usually do the front claws fairly easily with most of my cats. However, there is one cat that I need assistance with. I think she can sense what is going to happen and she turns into a demon cat. There is a lot of growling involved. A few of my cats have a couple of claws that seem to grow faster than they others, which causes a ticking sound as they walk across the kitchen floor. Outdoor cats don’t seem to need their nails clipped that much, but indoor cats can have some lengthy claws on them. Wrapping those dangerous back feet in a towel and having a friend hold onto Miss Kitty will make this task a lot easier and safer for everyone.
1 Remain Calm
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Like most animals, cats can sense when something is up. If you remain calm and talk to your cat in a normal manner, you might be able to convince her that you aren’t up to something. Rushing around while gathering grooming supplies will definitely clue her in that you are about to do something she might not like.
I hope these 8 tips on grooming your cat are useful and help you through a successful grooming process. It is much different than grooming a dog. The brushing process is about the same, but bath time is way different. Thankfully cats are generally clean animals. They don’t tend to go out and roll in something dead they found in the ditch, so baths are rare. Do you find grooming your cat to be a chore or a joy? What grooming tips can you suggest?
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