Despite your cat’s frequent self-grooming habits, this alone isn’t sufficient. While it can keep its coat in good condition, the majority of pets struggle to maintain clean teeth and properly trimmed nails.
Be prepared that your beloved furry friend can become furious because of some treatments. So, you should make this activity enjoyable and five to ten minutes long max. There is a list of 5 easy tips for grooming your pet at home to keep your baby satisfied and healthy.
In most cases, you can finish some grooming on your own, especially if you have a dog or kitty that trusts you entirely. Otherwise, you should consider letting a professional groomer or a vet do this job and prevent possible injuries.
1 Skin and Fur Care
Brushing
Your kitty is entirely capable of brushing itself, but it may result in forming hairballs. In most cases, cats swallow their hair and expel them through the digestive tract or vomit it. Unfortunately, constipation or even blockage may sometimes occur.
So, you can help your pet stay clean without consequent inconveniences. Regular brushing once a week will remove dead hair, dirt, and excess grease from the coat. However, long-haired animals require more frequent brushing.
Use a rubber brush for a short-haired pet or metal comb when you need to take care of long hair. Always be fast but gentle to prevent hurting delicate skin.
Check for skin problems
The skin condition will always show you the level of your pet’s overall health. When an issue occurs, your pet will start licking, scratching, and chewing affected body parts.
Regularly check your baby’s skin to spot possible problems on time, including redness, rashes, inflammation, hair loss, swellings, or discoloration.
In such a case, you should visit your vet to check your pet for the presence of seasonal or food allergies, stress, ringworms, fleas, other external parasites, and more severe complications. Also, you can use cat harness for avoid the skin problem. Cat harnesses allow your cat to securely bask in the sun while the breeze courses through their fur.
Shedding
Shedding is a natural, often seasonal process of losing damaged and dead hair. However, if you mostly keep your pet inside, it will shed all year-round.
In some periods, your pet can lose more hair than usual. The first reaction should be to consult your vet and check for possible health issues, such as allergies, bacterial infection, hormonal imbalance, stress, or poor diet.
As for seasonal shedding, there is nothing you can do but clean clothes and furniture regularly.
2 Ear and Eye Care
Ear care
Regular grooming should also include monitoring of your pet’s ears at least once a week. While ears are healthy, their interior is pale and odorless. When you spot some debris or wax inside them, clean them gently with a damp washcloth.
Any sign of possible infection, including redness and swelling, requires an immediate visit to the vet. Become highly alert if your pet scratches the ear area persistently, shaking its head, or shows signs of hypersensitivity and disorientation.
Unpleasant odor, yellowish-brown discharge, accumulating dark brown wax inside the ear, and bleeding are always signs of some problem.
Eyecare
Regularly examine your pet’s eyes before starting with grooming. Healthy eyes are always clear and bright with pupils of equal size. Any cloudiness, tearing, discharge, crust, or visible third eyelid may indicate inflammation or another health issue.
Use a damp cotton ball to wipe away any crusts that appear in the eyes’ corners and carefully cut long hairs that block the clear vision. Never use eye drops or ointments unless your vet has prescribed them.
3 Paw and Nail Care
Healthy paws
Regularly examine and clean the pet’s paws to discover any possible wounds or signs of inflammation. Keep in mind that long-haired cats often need trimming the fur between their toes that irritate delicate skin.
You should also clean dirty paws with a damp cloth, especially if you have a dog. Honestly, my cats clean their paws and nails regularly, so there is no need to think about that, but every pet is different. If you find that your baby needs this type of care, help it stays clean. Always keep the pets’ paws safe from freezing or hot surfaces.
Nail care
When your pet spends most of the time indoors, you should check its claws regularly and trim them when necessary. That will save you from scratching while playing with your furry friend and prevent damage to your furniture. This procedure will also relieve pain after accidental breaking claws.
You probably won’t have any problem with a dog, but you should prepare your cat for this unpleasant task. The reaction will depend on the cat’s personality. For instance, I have three kitties, and all react differently.
Sophio would let me cut his paws if I decided so. Clementine trusts me endlessly, and she will allow me everything because she loves me. On the other hand, Josephine reacts like I plan to rip the skin off her back every time I bring nail clippers close to her claws.
4 Dental Care
My cats don’t believe in dental care, but I regularly check my dog’s teeth. It is necessary to prevent possible teeth, tongue, gums, palate damage, and numerous health risks. If you avoid feeding your pet with raw meat and bones, regular brushing is crucial for its health.
5 Bathing
The rule of thumb in my house is – No one never, ever bath cats at no cost, under no circumstances. My kitties hate water, and I love them too much to repeat such torture once again. Luckily, all of them are clean, never leave the house, and there is no need for that action anyway.
If it is not good enough for you, you can try. Some cats allow bathing, and you are maybe the lucky owner. Use a mild shampoo safe for pets and wash anything greasy, smelly, or sticky from their fur. Good luck!
Conclusion
Regular grooming is the best way to keep your pet in good condition. However, be wise and moderate, especially if you are a cat’s parent. The point of this care is to provide well-being for your kitty, not to hurt yourself or it.
