Grooming Long Haired Cats

Cats are lovable felines and have always grown attached to humans, much like humans become attached to them. The bond that is shared between the furry feline and its owner is a special one that only the owner and feline really understand. When I first moved to Indiana, I temporarily left my cats at my parent’s house until they could bring them to me the following weekend. When my cats were reunited with me, they checked out the area and almost as soon as the lights went out, my female started meowing frantically and would not calm down until she was snuggled as close as she could possibly get to me with my arm wrapped around her. She wanted comfort, and I knew just how to give it to her. All cat people understand this bond between cat and human, which is why giving them the best care possible is all we, humans, really want to give to them.

One thing to do for your feline is a bath, especially if your cat is long-haired. If you’re not a groomer or are not experienced in giving cats a bath, this may come to you as a shock. Did you know that the upkeep on a long-haired cat is easier if the fur was regularly cleaned? All cats sweat, but with long-haired cats, the sweat generally remains on the body or hair for longer periods and can cause the fur to become tangled. Yes, they do clean themselves regularly, but they need help with keeping it clean, and much like a small child, they may fight and do whatever they can to not have to endure the lengthy bath. If given baths regularly though, the fighting will subside and eventually they will calm and take it.

You may be wondering what you need prior to giving them a bath. Something you want to make sure you have is Dawn dish washing soap. As weird as this sounds, its beneficial to the fur and skin on your beloved cat. It helps remove the sweat and grease, while not being too harsh on the skin. Also, you may want to invest in a good shampoo that will not only additionally clean the fur, but also make it shine.

You will also need a good comb, nail clippers, and a blow dryer. Be sure to comb the fur completely prior to a bath, as this will help you rinse the shampoos and conditioners out completely. If you don’t rinse extremely well, it will cause itching and irritation, which is never comfortable. Clipping their nails prior to the bath will be beneficial to you, especially if your cat is not used to the bathing process.

The blow dryer you choose needs to be suitable as in it cannot become too hot or overheated. You can get a hand held dryer, but be sure that it is on cool. Check out this blog on drying techniques.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 17th, 2012 at 9:18 am and is filed under Cat Grooming, Persian Cats. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.