Grooming Tips for Long Haired Cats

Article by Jenny Dean of Floppycats.com

You might be interested in grooming tips for long haired cats, whether you have a long haired companion at home and just need to keep on top of his or her grooming or if you’re preparing to take your feline to participate in a cat show.

Cats are very clean animals and take great care of themselves, however sometimes it is necessary to do a little extra work. Please do keep in mind that if your cat’s personal hygiene has changed dramatically, there might be something medically wrong with your cat and you might want to take it to your vet for bloodwork.

Grooming Tips for Long Haired Cats

• Comb your cat. Use a comb, not a brush! If you use a brush, it will take care of the top of the coat, but not the under hair
• Clip their nails. Most cat shows require this, but in general, to save your furniture and carpet, you might want to keep up on trimming their nails.
• Wipe out their ears. This is as easy as wetting a cotton ball with some alcohol and wiping out their ears. You don’t want to go down into the ear canal.
• Brush your cat’s teeth. As absurd as that might sound, it is really important to brush your cat’s teeth not only to prevent disease but also to eliminate the need for expensive dentals. You can read more about it here - How to Brush Cat Teeth

If you are bringing your cat to a cat show…

Be sure to check the regulations for the show. For example, the Cat Fanciers’ Association can be found here: CFA Cat Show Regulations.

Some people like to bathe their cat before a cat show or if it has mats. If you would prefer to bathe your cat, then you might read about it further here - How to Bathe a Cat.

Some things to remember about bathing a cat

• Keep water away from their face and ears
• If you use shampoo, remember that it has a high pH and has an alkaline base. So if you bathe your cat frequently, you will dry out your cat’s skin. Use a cream rinse or a conditioner to balance it out. The conditioner is more acid balanced and will keep the skin moist, fur soft and everything at a proper pH.
• Some professional groomers use Dawn dishing washing liquid to get rid of any grease on cats’ fur and then do the shampooing afterwards
• Be sure to blow your long haired cat completely dry. If they aren’t completely dry, then they run the risk of getting a fungus under their fur.

If you don’t want to get your cat wet, there are special kitty wipes that are on the market that you can use to freshen up their smell and can remove some of the oil from their coat.

Whichever method you use, it is important to know that if you keep up on your cat's grooming it will help their overall health and happiness in the long run.