Brushing and Cat’s Hygiene

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The cats are well known as the cleanest animals. They spend about one third of their waking hours grooming and licking themselves. Despite the cat’s good innate hygiene habits, it is necessary that we take part in maintaining its overall cleanliness, because every cat needs support in keeping its coat clean, and the healthy cat means the less problems for us and our family. A shiny coat always reflects the good care and excellent health of the cat. Beside the importance of good feeding for keeping its healthy look, brushing and combing is also pertinent for its well-being. The article “Keeping Up with Your Cat’s Hygiene” points out to the importance of regular brushing.

Brushing and Combing

While brushing is essential for a longhaired cat to remove tangles and prevent matting, it’s good for all cats. Brushing removes a lot of hair before it falls on your furniture and carpets or is ingested by your cat and converted to a hairball. The close attention you give “the outer cat” while grooming can also mean early detection of lumps, bumps, sores, or parasites or changes in skin or coat that could indicate a developing health problem.
You’ll find lots of brushes, combs, and other grooming gadgets at your pet supply store, and the right tools make the job a lot easier. For long, thick fur, a pin brush works well. If your cat has long, silky fur, a soft-bristle brush will do the job. A rubber brush is good for removing hair from short coats. Metal or Teflon coated combs are useful for the finishing touches, especially on long coats. A flea comb, which has small, very closely spaced teeth, is useful if you suspect that your cat has passengers.

Begin grooming at the front of your cat, lifting small sections of hair with the brush and brushing them forward, toward Felix’s head. Be sure you pick up the hair at skin level—without poking your cat’s skin—to prevent matting of undercoat hair near the skin. Work your way back to the tail, one side at a time. Brushing against the hair growth may excite your cat, so go slowly, and if necessary groom him in small sections at a time until he gets used to the procedure. After the hair has been brushed forward, beginning at the rear, brush sections of hair back into the right direction. Repeat on the other side. Don’t forget his chest and tail and, when your cat is comfortable with being groomed, his belly. Follow the brushing with a metal or Teflon-coated comb if you like.

As we can see, brushing is good for the cat’s health, and this is also beneficial for bonding with the pet. Many cats enjoy brushing, because it reminds them of the first kitten’s memories, when they were licked by their mothers. This predisposition should make the activity itself very pleasurable. But, in case that the cat does not like it, some slight changes in a routine or with the choice of the grooming tools can help. Sometimes, treating the small area of the cat’s fur, where the cat especially likes to be groomed and for a short period of time, might seem as a good start and by the time, the cat can relax and enjoy the process. In any case, to turn the regular maintaining the cat’s hygiene by brushing into joyful activity is highly beneficial not only for cats, but also for our relationship.

As we can see, brushing is good for the cat’s health, and this is also beneficial for bonding with the pet. Many cats enjoy brushing, because it reminds them of the first kitten’s memories, when they were licked by their mothers. This predisposition should make the activity itself very pleasurable. But, in case that the cat does not like it, some slight changes in a routine or with the choice of the grooming tools can help. Sometimes, treating the small area of the cat’s fur, where the cat especially likes to be groomed and for a short period of time, might seem as a good start and by the time, the cat can relax and enjoy the process. In any case, to turn the regular maintaining the cat’s hygiene by brushing into joyful activity is highly beneficial not only for cats, but also for our relationship.