Does your cat have a bit of a dishevelled coat? Have their claws grown to the point that you can hear them clacking about in the next room? Sounds like it’s about time your cat has a good groom!
In this blog, we’re going to cover some fantastic cat grooming tips, along with detailed advice on
- Brushing and Coat Care
- Dental Care
- Nail Trimming
- Bathing
We’ll also be covering why it’s so important that we fulfil our cats grooming needs and how our fantastic products at Healthful Pets can prove to be a game-changer. So, let’s get started and learn everything we need to know about keeping our cats clean and healthy!
Do Cats Really Need to be Groomed?
There’s a common misconception that cats simply don’t require grooming. After all, they frequently clean themselves!
While this is true, our cats can’t handle everything on their own. For example, have you ever seen a cat brush their teeth? Willingly take a bath? There’s plenty of situations where we, as responsible kitty parents, need to step in!
Even coat care, which cats are widely believed to be perfectly capable of caring for by themselves, may need some extra attention from us humans. Long-haired cat breeds struggle a lot with matting and trapped debris within their coats, because the amount of hair is simply too much for the cat to deal with on their own.
Additionally, senior cats commonly run into coat problems, due to age-related health issues such as arthritis making it much harder to self-groom.
To summarise, many of our cats need extra help staying clean and tidy. A lack of grooming comes with many nasty health issues, so it is important we take care of all their grooming needs!
How to Groom Your Cat!
Here, we’ll cover four main aspects of cat grooming. These are coat care, dental care, nail trimming, and bathing. While not all of the above may apply to your particular feline, there’s bound to be a few that you should take care of regularly.
So, let’s take a look at the ins-and-outs of each!
Brushing and Coat Care
Keeping your cat’s coat well-brushed and tidy will prevent nasty knots and tangles from forming, remove debris, and promote healthy skin. Additionally, many cats enjoy a good brush!
While you may get away with not brushing a short-haired cat regularly, it’s still recommended that you do so as it helps to remove loose hair and keep their coat in top condition.
To start, check over your cat’s coat for any knots or tangles. If you find any, you should focus on these first, as catching them while brushing can be painful. We have a guide to removing mats here!
Once you’re sure that any major tangles have been taken care of, you can brush your cat from head to tail, being sure to brush in the direction the hair grows.
Remember, a high-quality comb will make all the difference! The Ancol double-sided cat comb has wider teeth on one side to help detangle, and finer teeth on the other to help brush thoroughly.
Dental Care
Teeth in cats are often neglected, even though dental disease poses many health risks and can be seriously painful. With proper dental care, we can prevent such issues from ever occurring.
We have plenty of dental care products available to help you clean your cat’s teeth. One of our most popular items is the Bogar Cat Dental Hygiene Combo, which includes a high-quality finger brush and tooth-cleaning gel. Everything you need to get started!
To clean your cat’s teeth, apply a small amount of gel to the brush and use circular movements to clean the outside and inside of their teeth. Getting them used to the feel of the brush and taste of the gel beforehand will help tremendously!
