Every time you see a Persian, Himalayan, Birman and Maine coon cat you are mesmerized with the beauty and grace of their perfect coat! Well a lot of effort on the part of the cat owner goes into maintaining that coat and making it look the way it does. And after after hours of grooming the cats look like fluffy cotton candies!
Although most cats are capable of grooming themselves and need little external help but long haired cats need special attention from their owners to keep their coat healthy, shiny and tangle free. Here are a few things that you can do to maintain the coat of your long haired cat.
Give your cat a Bath
Most cats are scared of water and hate being given a bath. Although short haired cats can get by without having a bath for prolonged period, long haired cats need to be given a bath more frequently as their coat gets dirty and they are not able to clean it on their own. You can train your cat to be more tolerant towards getting a bath by starting to bathe it from an early age. The body temperature of a cat is higher than that of humans so make sure that the water is hot enough for the cat so it feels comfortable in it. Water that would be considered hot for humans would be normal for cats.
Use a good pet shampoo preferably that also repels ticks and fleas. Use a conditioner after shampooing. Bathe the cat as fast as you can as cats don’t like to stay in water that long. Dry the cat with a towel after the bath but make sure that you do not rub the coat as it will cause tangles just press the towel so that the water gets absorbed. If your cat can tolerate hair dryer use that at a no heat setting.
Dry Shampoo for Cats
If your cat cannot tolerate water at all and would bite you if you try to give it a bath you can find powder shampoos and give your cat a waterless bath. Dry shampoos are easy to use. All you have to do is gently rub your cat with the powder and then brush it afterwards. But it is advised that you start bathing your cat at an early age so that it lets you give it a bath every now and then.
Brush your Cat
Make it a routine to brush your cat every day. It keeps the coat tangle free and also gets rid of the dead hair that would fall everywhere otherwise and would also reduce the hairball problem and shedding. You can find a variety of brushes for grooming your cat and should stick with the one that suits your cat.
You will have to train your cat to be brushed as well. A few cats enjoy being brushed whereas others just can’t wait to run away as soon as you reach out to grab the brush! So for the cats that don’t enjoy the process keep the grooming session short and make sure the cat is in a good mood when you brush her and don’t force the cat if it does not want to be brushed. Give the cat a little treat afterwards to encourage good behavior and make it look forward to the next grooming session.
Use a wide toothed comb and comb the hair in small parts if the coat is thick. A toothbrush can be used to groom the area near the face. Be sure that you take care of all the tangles or else if the tangles get really bad you will have to shave off your cat and a shaved cat does not look good at all and your cat would not appreciate being shaved off as well.
In the end if you find that the tangles that your cat has got beyond your handling skills take it to a professional groomer and let them work their wonders. Do not try to do everything on your own you just might end up panicking your cat and then it wouldn’t let you groom it after an unpleasant experience.
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