Grooming your little furry friend is a part of the responsibilities that come with being a cat owner. Though cats are known to be particular about their hygiene, not to mention their efforts at looking after themselves. But, despite their attempts at being clean, there is no way your cat can do better than you when it comes to his grooming duties.
Why Should You Groom Your Cat?
A great look is not the primary purpose for cat grooming; their health is the main concern. Also, besides giving you the perfect opportunity to bond with your kitty, grooming provides you the chance to check your cat’s entire body for any health concerns and to ensure their well-being.
Regular grooming makes it possible to spot any painful joints and growths and also to assess your cat’s feet, ears, eyes, and coats for any irregularities that will require immediate attention.
Best Cat Grooming Tools
To ensure that you are regular with your cat’s grooming, you must have and use the right tools. Some of the best tools you should have in your cat grooming tools kit include;
- Shedding tools (brush or comb)
- Deshedding tool
- Toothbrush
- Nail clipper or scissors
- Shampoo (preferably, organic to avoid irritation)
- Baby wipes
Ideal Cat Grooming Practices
You must already know that cats do not like to have whatever activity they are engaged in to be disrupted for any reason, and worse, for a grooming session. Hence, it is best to find a perfect time, specifically when they relaxed, which is mostly after a meal to begin the grooming exercise, which should not last too long. Usually, 10 minutes should suffice, else your kitty could become restless.
However, if you begin early, say as a kitten, your cat will grow to accept grooming as a part of his routine. Also, most adult felines will tolerate and gradually take grooming if you start gently and make the process a rewarding and regular practice.
The following are some of the standard grooming practices for your cat:
- Bathing: It is ideal to give your cat a good scrub every once in a while or anytime you notice that their coat is either sticky or smelly.
- Nail Trimming: This grooming activity can be quite challenging as your cat may put up some defense. But, you can begin by touching your cat’s feet, and paws to get him comfortable and used to your touch.
- Brushing: This activity is necessary for removing dirt and irritants, freeing tangled hairs, and for spreading natural oil all through your kitty’s coat. You can use a shedding tool to brush your cat’s coat daily if he is long-haired or once a week if he is short-haired.
- Deshedding: It is essential to remove loose hairs from your cat’s undercoat regularly, as this will cut down the amount of hair your furry friend ingests when self-grooming. Though you can run baby wipes on your kitty’s coat to remove loose hairs, usually after brushing, but a Deshedding tool will do a better job of reaching into your cat’s undercoat to remove the free-hanging hairs.
- Dental Care: It is crucial to keep your teeth clean and sharp, and their gums healthy. Regular brushing and checks will keep dental issues and risks at bay.
- Eye Care: Check your feline’s eyes regularly for inflammation, cloudiness, tearing and crust, and get the vet’s attention if you notice anything off.
- Ear Care: It is part of best practice to clean your cat’s ears regularly to remove dirt, debris, and wax.
Final Thoughts
Regular grooming is an essential responsibility on your part and a necessity for your cat to ensure optimum health and well-being of your feline pal. More so, cat grooming is made less tasking and rewarding when you are using the right tools.
