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Are you considering a long-hair kitten? Although grooming is vital to good
health for all cats, it is especially so for long haired ones. Consider the coat
of the cat. It is really both the fur and skin together. So, you cannot have a
healthy coat unless both the skin and fur are healthy.
Anyone who has watched their cat very much knows that they naturally maintain
well-groomed coats. Notice your cat's tongue. You will observe that the bristles
face toward the back. These bristles are what allow them to groom themselves.
And, they often do so for hours at a stretch.
But, even though your kitten works hard to groom himself, he still can use
some help from you. Besides, what better way to bond with your kitty. The
problem is your kitten's tongue cannot reach certain areas-like behind the ears,
the top of his head, and his back. On top of that, if your kitten is
long-haired, his bristles simply can't always get through all of that hair.
That's where you come in.
First of all, grooming a cat, no matter whether it is long or short-haired,
requires some work as well as patience.
On the other hand, don't worry if you
encounter problems such as hair that mats too badly to stay well groomed. Or, a
cat that becomes violent when you try to groom it. These are just guidelines for
the typical cat owner. If you have problems such as these, don't feel bad if you
can't do it all yourself and you need to use a professional groomer.
Kittens should not need grooming until they reach the age of at least 14 to
16 weeks old. But, when the time comes, keep in mind that kittens generally do
not like water and may require special handling. Some cats react to bathing so
strenuously that you may need to sedate them. If that's the case, be sure to
only have a licensed veterinarian give any type of sedative to your pet.
Although we normally think of cat grooming with long-haired cats, don't let
that short hair fool you. Grooming is needed for all cats. However, long-haired
cats do require a few extra considerations. For example, you may need to buy a
few tools - especially in the case of long-haired cats. Your local pet store
will have an entire array. These include brushes, specialty brushes, combs,
bematting combs, scissors, and nail clippers. You can get the store owner to
explain the uses of each one.
You will find several types of cat brushes available at the pet store. Most
of them are either wired slicker types with wire bristles or pin brushes.
Because of their rounded tips, pin brushes are gentler on the skin and do not
scratch or hurt. A variety of specialty tools are also available for grooming
cats. You can use the other specialty tools listed above to remove excess fur
and scaling, crusting or dead skin. For long-haired cats, if their fur is thick
enough, consider using electric clippers. The clippers with stainless steel
blades can shave right through even the toughest mats.
One final suggestion on thorough grooming is to trim your cat's the nails.
Don't use regular dog clippers on cats. Dog nail clippers are too cumbersome and
will sometimes splinter cats' nails. Because of this, there are special nail
clippers designed just for cat nails. Watch for this type of clipper when
shopping for your cat grooming gear.
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Dr. Rosenberg is the owner, CEO & Chief of Staff at Veterinary Cancer Group.
Kymythy Schultze has been a trailblazer in animal nutrition for over two decades.
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