Grooming cats: features of the procedure

Animal care professionals know what grooming is. However, recently this term has become vague, or even completely incomprehensible. Someone, for example, believes that this is called pet grooming. Let's look at the nuances of the term, the features of the procedure, and find out who needs it, as well as how it affects the behavior of the animal.

Grooming cats is a complex of caring hygiene procedures. It includes not only a haircut, but also care for the coat, condition of the ears, eyes, skin and teeth of the pet. This is not a breeder’s whim at all, but rather a necessity to maintain the excellent health of the pet. In addition to brushing your ears, teeth, eyes and taking care of your hair, it includes clipping. A specialist or the owner himself can perform a set of measures for caring for a cat, if he has the skills and necessary equipment.

Cat grooming can be classified into two types: hygiene and exhibition. The first type of care is aimed at ensuring and maintaining the cleanliness and health of the cat, giving the pet a well-groomed appearance. The caring complex includes 7 different procedures:

• combing pet hair;
• swimming in warm water;
• shearing wool;
• ear scrubbing;
• trimming long claws;
• eye wash;
• brushing your teeth.

Show grooming differs from usual grooming in that it aims to bring a domestic cat to a specific standard, established for this breed standard. A professional groomer is engaged in its implementation, paying more attention to the hair of the animal. This type of grooming is necessary mainly for cats that take part in exhibitions.

For a complex of procedures use:

• special combs;
• shampoo for cats and cats;
• nail clippers or claw scissors;
• cotton pads or napkins;
• ear cleansers;
• scissors or a hair clipper.

In addition, hydrogen peroxide and cotton wool should be on the desktop just in case. If the cat’s coat is long, crests with rare teeth, massage brushes, and gloves are used to remove the fallen hairs.

In general, a set of caring procedures is always needed. However, there are times when an immediate haircut is required. For example, cats need grooming:

• before an upcoming operation or procedureassociated with the need to cut hair in certain places;
• in the presence of skin diseases pet requiring access to the skin;
• in case of heatif the cat has long hair and there is a risk of overheating of the body;
• in the presence of small parasites in the coat (fleas, ticks);
• when sticking feces on the wool near the hind legs and tail of long-haired cats;
• cat swallowing a lot of hair when licking your own body;
• in the case when the animal’s hair falls into tanglesBut there is no time for constant combing.

In addition, the cat needs a haircut if the owner is allergic to cat hair, which can be an allergen carrier. This procedure allows you to lower the concentration of allergenic protein, coupled with the constant cleaning of the house. It is necessary to cut the animal even when the owner is not able to provide proper care for the pet's hair. Otherwise, the cat needs to do more grooming for medical reasons.

The cat itself cannot lick itself completely, which is bad for the condition of the coat and skin. For example, she will not clean her ears, cannot clean her eyes, and shear her claws. Timely grooming is the prevention of various diseases.

It is impossible to say with certainty that cats adore grooming. And the point here is not so much in the fear and restlessness of animals, as in their upbringing and mood. If a kitten has been accustomed to elementary hygiene since childhood, he will sit quietly while combing his hair, treating his ears, and brushing his teeth. The cat, the first time being grooming, will become nervous.

Begin the procedure in the salon with a clipping, which the accustomed cat reacts differently. But as regards the haircut, few pet treats it positively. Some individuals consider this a humiliation, and therefore for a long time depart from the procedure. For them, such a procedure often turns into stress, and sometimes loss of appetite.

You need to accustom a kitten to hygiene from the age of two to three months, gradually including new types of procedures in home cat grooming. When grooming, a cat can scratch, bite, twist and try to escape. In some cases, after the procedure, her stress can develop into a problem such as the appearance of bald patches, which will never overgrow. A cat can be nervous when you hear the sound of a hair clipper or even a hair dryer.

Some pets may try to bite the groomer when he bathes them. You do not need wild haircuts, which can cause mockery of the pet. Cats very accurately feel intonation, they understand not only a strict voice, but also a manner of conversation. Neither the haircut under the lion, nor under any other animal will give the pet confidence. Most confident they feel with their native wool.

Grooming a cat is one of the key stages of grooming.At the same time, an unenlightened layman may not know some points that are important to pay attention to. For example, you can’t cut the animal’s head, cut the hair from the ears and whiskers, as the vibrissae are likely to be damaged.. In addition, you can not completely cut the hair off the tail, because cats constantly nibble it, and therefore can cause serious injury to themselves.

During grooming, a specialist often reveals the presence of such problems as incipient dermatitis, increased greasy hair, and vitamin deficiency. Typically, a cat stands on a table during grooming. Other "clients" are laid on their side, and after processing - on the other side. After the haircut, the cats are bathed, then, at the request of the client, they take care of the ears, claws and eyes.

It is rare that animals behave too calmly: this is typical of those cats who adore when their hair is combed, constantly petted and cherished. Often when trying to cut their hair, cats become aggressive. This is a natural defensive reaction, and therefore the groomer sometimes needs an assistant who holds the animal while its hair is sheared. However, there are limitations under which certain stages of hygiene procedures are excluded.

For example, you can not cut and bathe the animal if it is cool in the room, as the pet may catch a cold. You can not abruptly perform the whole range of procedures if the animal is not accustomed to them. Preparation is necessary gradually: you can start with short calls, treating the cat at each stage of grooming. Something can be skipped, allowing the pet to get used to the situation and manipulations, so as not to provoke stressful situations in the future.

To reduce the cat’s resistance to cutting, some salon masters work with muscle relaxants. The drugs do not immobilize the animal, but remove its activity, as a result of which the pet's reactions become inhibited. In fact, the cat is given an injection, choosing the right type of drug and the required dosage.

Other groomers use a leash, putting it on a cat during a haircut. Still others prefer a special bag-clamp, which simplifies carrying out various manipulations by a specialist. Bags are used to simplify injections in any of the limbs, care for the ears and eyes. In fact, this product is somewhat like a straitjacket for a violent pet.

It is worth noting that far from all stages of grooming must be performed continuously. For example, a haircut is not recommended to be done more often than 1 time in 3 years. In addition, no matter how you want to make your cat special, you need to understand that this is, first of all, an extreme measure, and not a change in appearance through a model haircut.

If you need a haircut, they start it after processing the claws and injecting a special drug. For cutting use a machine and scissors, paying special attention to the armpits and stomach. At the end of the haircut, the animal is bathed, its hair is dried, after which it is combed out. The cat needs to be washed well so that no cut hairs remain on its body.

The specialist selects a washing shampoo and starts bathing the cat. After bathing, he wraps it in a towel to dry the coat. Other masters use a hairdryer to speed up the procedure. If necessary, a haircut is performed, which is selected based on the length of the coat and the preferences of the owner.

Sometimes pets need trimming, which provides comprehensive care for the hair with the removal of old wool and cutting specific hairs. For example, individual individuals are trimmed with hair between their toes.. Do this carefully so as not to injure the animal.Engaged in hygiene of the ears and eyes, the master will tell the owner that this should be done daily.

If the cat has diseased organs, perform antiparasitic treatment with the removal of purulent secretions. If the wool fell into tangles, they are removed, the hair is combed for a long time using different combs and brushes. If the cat does not have hair (hairless breed), instead of cutting and combing the hair, the master pays attention to places of possible accumulation of dirt in the folds of the skin. Such cats need a frequent bath.

As for the ears and eyes, they are cleaned using a decoction of chamomile or boiled water. Ear sulfuric secretions are removed using a wet cotton swab or disc. From dust particles and dirt in the corners of the eyes get rid of using wet wipes soaked in boiled water. Claws are cut with a claw cutter no more than 1.5 mm.

As for the removal of tartar, only a specialist should do this. Ideally, the cat needs to brush its teeth with a special paste and brush every day. However, it is rare for any breeder to do this on his own, and besides, not everyone knows that the paste for cleaning the teeth of cats is different from the one used by people.

About the features of grooming cats, see the following video: