Helpful Tips For Grooming A Short Haired Cat

Grooming a short haired cat is much easier than grooming a long haired one. There are many benefits to regularly grooming your cat. First of all, it helps reduce the hairballs in the cat's intestines. Secondly, you can give your cat a thorough health check for anything unusual or peculiar. Thirdly, you get to bond with your cat. Fourthly, if the grooming is done with patience, your cat will love it.

The first step of grooming a short haired cat is brushing its fur. For this, you will need a soft bristled brush to prevent the skin from getting scratched or hurt. While buying the brush, you could try it on your skin. If it hurts you, it will probably hurt the cat as well. You could also use a fine toothed comb to groom a short haired cat.

Short haired cats are generally low maintenance as compared to long haired cats. But even their fur gets matted at times. You could start with combing the fur and end with brushing. It is best to brush their fur at least twice a week. Use gentle strokes while combing and brushing your cat. And remember to brush in the direction the fur grows. Take care not to brush around the eyes and whiskers.

Brushing your short haired cat regularly will give its coat a healthy shine and will also help in the bonding process.

Another method of grooming a short haired cat is by cleaning its eyes and ears. Check the ears for ear mites. You could use damp cotton swabs to clean the eyes.

Cats are such clean animals that they don't need baths too often. If you do find fleas, then the vet might recommend that you bathe your cat with a special shampoo. You might also want to bathe your cat if some dirt does not come off with combing or brushing.

You have to be very gentle and careful while bathing your cat. Cats, as a rule, don't like water. Make sure the water is the right temperature. Use shampoo that's meant specifically for cats. Using normal shampoo could interfere in the secretion of the oil glands which are essential for waterproofing a cat's fur.

Another step in grooming a short haired cat is trimming its nails. Cats normally bite their nails or scratch on the furniture to get rid of the dead skin on their nails. To prevent your furniture from ruin, you should trim their nails. Use the right kind of nail trimmer and be patient and gentle. If you trim the nails the wrong way, the cat could bleed and be in a lot of pain. If you're not confident about doing this, you must get it done by the vet.

Of all the steps in grooming a short haired cat, brushing is the most important one. Brushing stimulates the hair follicles and gets rid of dead skin. It is particularly useful in spring and autumn, when most cats shed fur.