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Feline Grooming Tips
All cats need to groomed to some extent, depending on their coat and
habits. The basics of grooming are aimed at providing a clean coat of
pleasant and appropriate texture, clean ears, and a peasant or absent
odor. If grooming is forgotten the cat will suffer for it. Eyes need to
be kept clean or bacteria will build up causing infection or
ulcerations. The cat needs to be bathed monthly and combed daily
otherwise the hair will mat up. Nails also need trimmed weekly. These
simple things will help to maintain a happy, healthy cat. Cats with
longer fur, like Persians, especially need to be kept well groomed and
require more frequent grooming.
Cats have a full inner-eyelid, or nictitating membrane. This
inner-eyelid serves to help protect the eyes from dryness and damage.
When the cat is ill, the inner-eyelid will frequently close partially,
making it visible to the observer. You can tell a cat's mood by looking
into its eyes. A frightened or excited cat will have large, round
pupils. An angry cat will have narrow pupils. The pupil size is related
as much to the cat's emotions as to the degree of light.
All cats tear. Cats sometimes have trouble with the tears draining
because of a narrow or crimped nasolacrimal duct and a shallow tear lake
at the inner corner of the eye. Those that have an overflow of tears
because of this need to have their faces washed daily. The best way of
cleaning the face is with a warm wash cloth. There are commercial
cleaners that can be bought to clean eyes and remove any stains such as
Diamond Eye by VitaCoat or Opticlear by Tomlyn. You can also buy an
unbuffered or unpreserved saline solution made for contact lens wearers.
The following is a recipe taken from The New and Natural Cat book
written by Anitra Frazier with Norma Eckroate and it is to make your own
Normal Saline Solution.
1/2 cup boiling water
1/8 teaspoon salt ( sodium chloride or sea salt)
Dissolve salt in water; cool and store in covered container in
refrigerator. Keeps for a week or so. Before using, heat to warm bath
temperature by standing the container of solution in a bowl or pan of
hot water.
You can wet a cotton ball with one of these solutions and wipe the eye
area. If excessive brown tearing or yellowish or creamy matter comes
from the eyes the cat needs to see a veterinarian.
Cats have true fur, in that they have both an undercoat and an outer
coat.
A clean coat feels and looks good, and the hairs separate and do not
stick together. The Persian coat is to be of a thick density and long
length. This leads to a lot of combing and more frequent bathing to keep
in a manageable state, but all cats need to be bathed regularly. Some
particular bloodlines have a more silky texture while others have a very
thick and cottony texture. Some colors have a tendency to have their own
particular texture and benefit from different shampoos. Each cat is an
individual and might need more or less combing/bathing than suggested
below.
During shedding seasons (spring or fall) or as a kitten is maturing
(usually between 7 months to a year), cats will go through a rather
heavy shed. If this dead hair isn’t removed mats will result.
This is a good plan to start with: First you will need to have a metal
greyhound-like comb (these will have teeth at one end that is medium and
the other that is more fine) and a more coarse comb (the teeth are
longer and are wide spaced). Brushes with long metal pins (without balls
on the tips) are OK to use but for maintenance only. Slicker brushes
will not work on maintaining the thick coat of a Persian though. Slicker
brushes can be used on getting mats out as long as the mat is exposed
and you work at it gently. Combing should be done on a daily basis
paying close attention to the hair behind the ears, in the ruff (around
the neck) and the hair in between and around the legs. This seems to be
where the first signs of matting will occur. If a mat is found it will
need to be removed. You can first try to pull the hairs apart with your
fingers. If this doesn’t work try to use the greyhound comb using the
medium side and gradually go to the finer end of the comb as the mat is
being worked out. The best thing to do is to try and split apart the mat
into smaller sections with the comb or your fingers. This will save
pulling on the cat and also save as much of the hair as possible. In
some cases shaving the belly of the cat is a good idea. You can either
do this yourself or take to a groomer to have this done. If matting is
excessive shaving is necessary! Mats will gradually get bigger and pull
on the skin causing much discomfort with your cat. If severe matting or
matting that goes to the skin and can't be combed out occurs, consult a
veterinarian or a professional groomer right away!
Bathing is needed to keep the hair a manageable texture and sometimes
for odor control. Hair that is oily or a cat that has fleas will mat.
Bathing should be done once a month. Some more oily coats might need to
be bathed twice a month. This will not hurt your cat. If your cat really
protests a bath they should be bathed more often to get them more
accustomed to them. Unaltered (not spayed/neutered) Cats generally have
a more oily coat and often more odor in their urine so spaying/neutering
will help in keeping your cat clean also.
If bathing the cat at home several things will be needed: a large towel,
shampoo & conditioner, cotton balls and a hair dryer. A double and deep
kitchen sink helps as the cat can put it's paws on the ledge that
separates the two sinks and feels more secure. It is convenient to have
a small carrier to dry the cat in. For shampoo in an adult you can use
Dawn dishwashing liquid (be careful not to get into the eyes) and baby
shampoo or a commercial cat shampoo (tearless) around the eyes. Dawn is
a good degreaser. Then you want to follow up with an actual shampoo. In
most kittens and cats with fine coats, a shampoo for "fine hair" works
well. Many cat shampoos are available, some with color enhancers and
others for the particular type of coat. First put cotton balls inside
the ears so water doesn’t get down in the ear canal. Then wet the cat
down with warm water. Start with the Dawn (diluted down 1 tablespoon to
2 cups of water) and work all over the body being careful to avoid the
face.
Then rinse until there are no more suds and then rinse again. Then you
need to use a shampoo to wash again. Repeat the rinse cycle being sure
to rinse completely. Then take conditioner (diluted 1 teaspoon to 2 cups
of water and well shaken) and rub this through the hair. Leave on for a
minute then RINSE COMPLETELY. Adequate rinsing is VERY IMPORTANT.
Squeeze the water out with your hands and wrap in the towel. Pat with
the towel and remove the cotton balls.
For drying have your dryer on the coolest setting possible. Turn the
dryer on while pointing away from the cat to get the cat use to the
noise. Then slowly take up to the cat and start blowing on your cat.
Some cats like it better if you start on the back and work from there.
After a lot of the dampness is gone you can comb the hair as you dry it.
You don’t want to comb through the coat when it is very wet. It is much
easier if you have a small carrier and can prop the hair dryer up on
some folded towels so the back of the dryer isn’t covered and it is
blowing up in the carrier. Only do this with a dryer that has a cool
setting though so the cat doesn’t overheat. When the cat is dried or
mostly dry you can take out and comb him out. There are stand dryers
available in a variety of prices which leave both your hands free to
work on the cat. These can be very handy if you don't have someone that
can help you with a cat that likes to wiggle. If your cats feet are
still damp and you use clumping litter you may want to take the litter
up until the paws are completely dry so clumps of cement don’t form on
the bottom of the paws.
Fleas can be common in certain locations, especially if the cat has been
exposed to other cats or dogs. They can easily be treated with medicines
or shampoos best bought with the advice of your veterinarian.
NOTE: Cats with white fur and skin on their ears are very prone to
sunburn. Frequent sunburns can lead to skin cancer. Many older white
cats need surgery to remove all or part of a cancerous ear. Preventive
measures include sunscreen, or better, keeping the cat indoors.
After the bath or after drying is a good time to clean the ears out.
That way you can be sure they aren’t wet after the bath. You will need
clean cotton balls or Q-Tips (being very careful not to get inside the
ear canal). Take cotton or Q-Tip and fold the ear back and gently wipe
the ear including in the folds where wax can build up. If there is any
crusty look, foul smell or excess of debris a vet needs to be consulted.
Ear mites can be common especially if the cat has been exposed to other
cats or dogs. They can easily be treated with medicines best bought from
your veterinarian.
Cats have five toes on each front paw, but only four toes on each back
paw, and their claws are retractable.
Nails should be trimmed weekly for optimum maintenance. This will
protect furniture from being used as a scratching post or damaged during
play by sharp claws. Nail trimmers come in a variety of shapes and
sizes. Either a cat nail scissors or human fingernail clippers works as
well. When clipping nails, take the paw in hand and take one toe at a
time and squeeze the toe between the thumb and the finger, making the
nail extend out. Locate the pink area which is called a quick. You do
not want to trim back to the quick, but right in front of that area is
ideal. Take the trimmers or nail scissors and clip the nail back. If the
quick can not be seen then clip the nail before where the underside of
the nail starts to curve down since this is generally right before the
quick.
If the quick is accidentally cut into, take a cotton ball and hold on
the nail for a few minutes (more to prevent blood spots around the house
than to control bleeding as bleeding generally stops by itself) or you
can use a styptic (for shaving cuts) to stop the bleeding.
Plenty of scratching posts with sisal or cardboard are very important in
keeping your pet directed away from clawing the furniture. These help in
keeping nails trimmed down too. Cloth stereo speakers are almost
impossible to keep cats away from if the access to them is not limited,
as they provide the "feel" of a good scratching post.
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