Tips for
Grooming Long-Haired Cats...
by Susan Nelson
Hopkins
Cat hair is an inevitable
presence in all cat lovers' lives.
Even if you have a
long-haired cat, it is actually possible to keep cat hair at a
minimum, just by following these grooming tips...
Brushing your
cat...
- Equipment:
- Use brushes made for removing loose
hair from cats. Try a
brush with nylon bristles with tiny
balled ends.. it will be gentle on your cat's skin.
- Use specially made
gloves that have
tiny balled surfaces to catch the loose hair. Basically,
you're removing all the loose hair while stroking your cat.
Both of you will thoroughly enjoy this interaction.
- Use a specialized
comb to remove
matted hair. It has three large prongs to tease apart the
mat.
- (Proper grooming also includes
trimming your kitty's claws... see
How to Clip Kitty's
Claws.)
- Frequency:
Long haired cats should
be brushed daily... period. Skip a day, and it quickly becomes a
losing battle!
Bathing your
cat...
- Equipment:
- A baby bath pan or a good sized dish
pan... or just the sink. Don't use the bathtub... wouldn't you
rather be standing up washing a wet devil-cat instead of bending
over?
- A
shampoo and de-tangler recommended by
a professional groomer or your vet.
- A rubber mat sized to fit the sink
(helpful, but not absolutely necessary.
- Three or four thick piled towels.
- A wide toothed metal
comb.
- Frequency:
- As infrequently as possible!
- Sometimes a long-haired cat's hair becomes oily because they
have oily skin, or the climate is too hot.
- Even the best mannered kitty can have mishaps and become too
dirty for her to clean herself.
- How to bath your cat:
- Hint: Two people are better... one to
hold kitty and the other to wash her.
- Fill the pan or sink up to kitty belly
height with warm water. (Unless your sink is equipped with a
spray nozzle, fill a large container with warm rinse water.)
- Put the rubber mat or hand towel in the
bottom so she has something to grip... instead of you.
- Some folks insert cotton ball slightly
into their ears to keep water out.
- Use a damp washcloth to gently wash her
face and head, again being very careful to keep water out of her
ears.
- Wet her down from neck to bottom and
tail with a plastic cup dipped into the bathwater.
- Gently rub in the shampoo from her neck
and along her torso and to the tip of her tail. Then shampoo
each of her legs and her belly... and her "dainties".
- Ear plugs for the humans should
probably be at the top of the list. Your little sweetheart
becomes a howling, hissing, squirming Darwinian throwback to
a prehistoric saber-tooth tigress! (This, too, shall pass.)
- Remove the dirty water, and refill with
warm water. Rinse her very, very well with the reserved
container of warm water, or use the faucet spray nozzle if
available. Again, start at her neck and move along her torso and
tail, and then her legs, belly, and "dainties".
- It may take several rinses to
completely remove the soap, but make sure you do... it will eliminate chances of
skin irritation.
- Place a towel on the counter. Lift her
onto it and start toweling her dry. Avoid rubbing her hair,
because it will just mat the wet hair.
- Replace the towel as soon as it becomes
saturated, until kitty is as dry as possible. Keep her wrapped
in a dry towel in a warm place until she stops shivering.
- If she will allow it, comb through her
damp hair with a metal comb to remove any tangles.
If your kitty is like all
the others in the universe, she will promptly start grooming
herself! It's just a normal reaction.
Your long-haired lovely may
require more frequent grooming, but just look at her. It's like
watching a soft mass of fluff tiptoeing across the floor, tail
floating along behind her.
She's definitely worth it...
and she definitely knows it!
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