Top basic cat grooming ideas
All cat owners know that their feline friends love to groom themselves. They spend about 30-60 percent time in self-grooming. Although they look perfect in the beauty department, you should adopt some practices to keep your furry friend’s skin, teeth, and fur spotless. If you want to groom your cat and keep it healthy, you should take some measures like:
- Regular nail trimming,
- Occasional ear cleaning and
- Weekly brushing.
This grooming practice will help to strengthen your bond with your feline friend. Before starting grooming, you must have ideas on basic cat grooming. In order to help you in grooming your cat, we are going to present some cat grooming ideas in this article.
Basic cat grooming ideas to follow
Begin grooming early in life.
Kitten Hood is the ideal period to acclimate your cat to grooming. Mother cats used to preen their kittens, for that reason, humans can easily handle and groom the kitten. To make grooming enjoyable, remember to be kind and employ positive reinforcement. Grooming an elderly cat can be more difficult if they have never become used to being touched. The introduction of new tools, techniques, and products should be a slow process. With little effort and patience, your cat can be attractive and pleasant.
Bathing Your Cat
A cat can take care of her own hair. But if your cat becomes dirty or gets into something sticky or smelly, you should give her birth. After playtime, your cat will be tired. So, your birth session should be after playtime. Before bathing, you should trim the nails for your own protection. Use cotton in the ear so that water can’t enter into the ear. You can use a rubber bath mat in the sink so that your furry friend doesn’t slip. Don’t use any human shampoo. Use cat shampoo for the cat. A human face is drier than a cat and your cat’s face is not the same as a human’s face. Your feline’s coat will benefit greatly from cat shampoo and conditioner.
Brushing Your Cat
Brush your cat’s fur so that your cat can stay shiny and healthy. If you brush your cat’s hair once or twice a week, dead or dirt skin and debris will be eliminated from its body or skin. To get rid of excess hair or hairballs, regular brushing is a must.
Invest in proper grooming tools
Investing in the appropriate tools is an intelligent option. Avoid spending money on inappropriate items. Conversely, a wide-toothed comb is necessary for a cat with lengthy hair.
Ear Care
A cat’s pinna or flap is hairy and devoid of bald areas when it is healthy and safe. It should be light pink in color and have a clean interior surface. If redness, swelling or discharge occurs, take your cat to the veterinarian for an examination. You should check the inner side of the cat’s ear in a safe place where there are no other pets. If you find anything abnormal or detect any wax or odor, a veterinary exam is a must.
If everything is okay, you can clean your cat’s ear in these ways:
You can wipe away all earwax or debris by folding your kitten’s ear back. Remove all types of debris or wax which are seen to you. Don’t try to clean the canal of your cat’s ear because this practice can cause trauma or infection.
Paw Care
In order to scratch, climb and achieve legendary acrobatic landings, cat needs healthy feet. In order to ensure that your cat’s paws are fresh and devoid of injuries, it is crucial to clean them.
Keep your cats paws clean always. During grooming, unhealthy substances can cause pain. Give a gentle wipe with damp cloths every day. On an ongoing basis, you should check the space beneath the toes and adjacent to the paw pads.
Your cat may be experiencing hair germination between its toes if it has long hair. You ought to utilize rounded scissors to carefully remove these unwanted hairs if your cat is bothered by this issue.
As your cat’s paw pads are sensitive, you should use vet recommended moisturizer in cold and hot weather.
Nail Care
At first, take your cat in a quiet room and sit your cat on your knee. When your cat is loose and languid and there are no pets around your room, take one paw between your fingers and knead for three seconds.
If you move quickly, your cat may be injured and be wary of the clippers.
| Cut few nails at a time | Your cat would feel easy. |
| Your cat won’t face any injury. |
Please don’t try to declaw your cat. Some cat owners want to get rid of claw and go to a vet for a surgery. This surgery amputates the cat toes end and caremypet don’t encourage cat owners to do this.
Get help from a friend
If your cat squirms after following all nail clipping tips, you can consider taking help from a friend. It can be easier for you, if your friend hold your cat. If this process doesn’t work well, you can get help from professional cat groomers.
Use pet-safe nail polish
If you want to make your cat talk of the town, you can add a splash of color to your cat’s nails. You can add color to your cat’s nails with pet-safe polish. There are many nail polish brands in the market which are non-toxic, safe and formulated specially for pets. You also can purchase polish pens to color directly on the nail and not making a mess.
Dental Care
Your cat’s teeth should be maintained clean for the best possible gum and dental wellness. The idea of brushing your cat’s teeth should be taught to cats incrementally.
Start by dabbing your cat’s mouth with a tiny bit of paste.
Secondly, give a little massage to its gums with cotton made swab. This process will help to introduce your cat with the feeling and taste and make ready for a real brushing.
It is wise idea to buy a cat toothbrush. Your cat’s mouth cannot accommodate a human toothbrush. Cat toothbrush is specially made for cat. So, buying cat toothbrush is a wise decision. Put a bit of toothpaste which is made for cat and gently brush your cat.
Monitor for ticks and fleas
Ticks and fleas are the two most frequent insects that attack pets. You can run your hand over your cat’s skin so that you can feel any abnormal bumps. If you can find one, you should pull it upwards by grabbing its head with clean tweezers. After that, you should clean that area of your cat’s skin.
Fleas are mostly found through flea dirt. If you found any black specks on your cat’s skin, you should check it with your vet who will recommend proper flea treatment like spray or shampoo.
Cat grooming is not only just about keeping your feline friend looking good but also keeping your feline friends healthy and happy. You can strengthen your bond with your cat by doing some regular grooming sessions like
- Bathing,
- Brushing,
- Nail trimming and
- Ear cleaning.
As every cat is unique, you should keep in mind their specific needs during grooming sessions. With a little patience and the appropriate instruments, grooming sessions can be enjoyable. Well-groomed cats are thought to be happier.
If you have any cat grooming ideas or tips, you can share in the comments below.
FAQs
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Is a grooming cat a happy cat?
You can make your cat healthy by grooming your cat. So, this idea is true.
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When can you groom a cat?
Long and medium-haired cats need daily grooming sessions where short-haired cats required grooming sessions per week.
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Is grooming stressful for cats?
It depends on you. If you can follow our training tips properly, grooming won’t be stressful for you.
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Do cats need baths?
Regular bath is essential for long and medium haired cats where short-haired cats don’t require regular bath.
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Do cats dislike water?
Yes, cats hate water.
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Quite good topic