Grooming cats: features and recommendations

Grooming cats is a very relevant topic and raises many questions from their owners. This is a very specific and serious matter, therefore, before deciding to trim your pet, you need to familiarize yourself with the intricacies of the process and weigh the pros and cons.

One of the main reasons cats are sheared is felting of wool and the formation of tangles. In this regard, the main purpose of a haircut is to rid the animal of the unpleasant sensations arising from the tightening of the skin by matted hair.

Long-haired cats especially often suffer from this, in which these troubles happen very often. One has only to skip brushing, as the animal begins to experience significant discomfort and become very nervous. Moreover, in the tightened skin, blood circulation is disturbed, which causes unbearable itching.

An equally important reason for clipping excess hair is too hot climate as well as an increase in room temperatures in summer and winter. It can be very difficult for animals, especially long-haired ones, to tolerate air temperatures above 35 degrees, so it is simply necessary to alleviate the condition of the pet in such cases. Another common problem with wool cats is contamination of long wool with excrement while walking on the litter box.

In this case, there can be two ways out of the situation: constant washing of the contaminated area or cutting the hair around the anus.

In addition to the hygienic component, there is an aesthetic moment in the grooming of cats. A properly trimmed pet looks very beautiful and well-groomed, attracting the attention of others and pleasing the eyes of the owners. In addition, intensively molting animals also require trimming, otherwise they literally fill the house with their hair. But if the cat sheds too long and too much, it should be shown to the veterinarian, as intense hair loss can be caused by a lack of vitamins or the onset of a serious illness.

As mentioned above, there is undoubtedly the benefit of grooming cats. This is the release of the animal from the unpleasant sensations caused by the tightening of the skin by bundles of matted hair, and the relief of the pet's condition in the heat, and a significant reduction in the amount of hair in the house during the cat shedding. The latter is especially true for owners suffering from allergic reactions to animal hair, as well as for small children.

In addition, a haircut noticeably transforms and ennobles even the most ordinary-looking cat and makes him a beautiful and graceful animal.

However, in addition to the obvious benefits, haircuts have their drawbacks. One of the most important negative aspects is the violation of the thermoregulation of the animal's body, due to the fact that a gross interference occurs in the mechanism of natural skin conditioning provided by nature. As a result, after removing a part of the coat, the body temperature of the animal changes, and it becomes vulnerable to drafts and direct sunlight.

Another weighty argument against haircuts is the deterioration of the coat after regrowth. There are frequent cases of noticeable degradation of the hair structure and color changes. But this is not the main thing, since the most dangerous consequence of grooming cats is the most powerful stress that most animals experience, especially those who cut their hair for the first time. After the procedure, many pets fall into serious depression and often get sick on a nervous basis. It is also worth mentioning here the known cases of death of animals during cutting from cardiac arrest.

Considering the cons, one cannot fail to mention that cats grow overgrowing rather slowly, and there is no guarantee that the hair after shearing will ever reach its original length. Moreover, in the first few weeks after clipping, the hairs will remain quite spiky and not very pleasant to the touch. With very short haircuts, performed with nozzles of 1 mm in length, the risk of damage to the pet's skin during scratching increases significantly.

Therefore, cutting cats too short is very harmful and risky, besides, most of the problems arising from the long hair of an animal can be solved by regular grooming and careful combing.

Cat haircuts are divided into two groups: model and hygienic. The latter pursue very specific goals and are carried out in order to protect the animal from overheating and mats, as well as for veterinary reasons. These include diseases of the skin and the gastrointestinal tract, increased secretory activity of the sebaceous and paraanal glands, as well as the old age of the pet, when it is no longer able to cope with its fur on its own.

Model haircuts are performed exclusively for decorative purposes to give the animal the greatest attractiveness, as well as before cat shows.The most common of these are haircuts. under the lion, under the dragon and under the dinosaur. The puma hairstyle is also very popular and is a simplified version of the lion's haircut. The only difference is the design of the tail: for example, if in a “cougar” it is cut almost bald, then in “lions” it repeats the shape of a real lion's tail with a fluffy tassel.

However, the most creative can be called the "dragon" haircut, which includes various variations of cutting symbols, letters, ornaments and figures on the back of an animal. Despite the rather exotic appearance of the pet, most veterinarians warn owners against performing this haircut. This is due to the fact that after cutting the patterns, the coat on the pet's skin becomes uneven, which greatly disrupts thermoregulation and does not allow the body to adapt to this type of heat transfer.

A graduated hairstyle has a much stronger negative effect on the condition of a cat than uniform haircuts, to which the body adapts over time. The same, but to a somewhat lesser extent, applies to the haircuts of the limbs "socks", "golfiki" and "puss in boots", which are also very popular among cat owners. Among the show haircuts are very popular "harlequino", "modern" and "continental chic".

Before you start grooming your cat, you need to carefully prepare. To do this, you need to make sure in advance that an assistant is always present during the procedure. Then the issue should be resolved with the use of sedatives that calm the animal while shearing. However, making a decision, it is necessary to understand that any anesthesia negatively affects the health of cats and can only be used in exceptional cases. Next, you should prepare special tools and devices that will be needed in the process of cutting the animal.

1. First of all, you need to decide on a place for grooming. For these purposes, a table or a wide ironing board is well suited.
2. Cutting tangles and large clumps of wool will require medium-sized sharp scissors, preferably with rounded ends.
3. The main tool for grooming cats is a special clipper with a 3 mm attachment. You should purchase a model designed exclusively for animals. The use of an instrument designed for human hair is not permitted. When choosing a typewriter, you need to take into account the length and density of the pet's hair, and if a Persian needs an apparatus with a power of 40 to 45 W, then to trim less woolen cats, you can do with a relatively weak 20 W machine.
4. The type of power supply of the device should also be taken into account. Networked devices are more convenient in comparison with rechargeable ones: they do not require constant recharging and can work indefinitely. As for the car engine, there are two options here: the vibration motors are quite low-powered and practically do not heat up, while the rotary ones have decent power, but are prone to overheating.
5. For the treatment of paws, armpits and peri-tail area, it is better to purchase a trimmer. It is much more convenient for them to handle problem areas, and it is almost impossible to injure the animal.
6. You will also need a massage comb to remove excess hair and give the pet a well-groomed appearance, as well as thinning scissors, which are used to decorate the paws, tail and scruff of the animal.
7. In case of careless handling of scissors and accidental injury of the cat, it is recommended to prepare a bottle of iodine or hydrogen peroxide.
8. Wet wipes are required to remove clipped hair from an animal's fur coat.

After the necessary tool is prepared, you can proceed to the haircut procedure, which can be conditionally divided into several stages.

• Before you start cutting your pet, the sharp tips of the claws are necessarily cut off so that it does not scratch either itself or the “hairdresser”. It is important to remember that you can shorten the claws by no more than 2 mm, since the network of blood vessels goes further and its damage will provoke bleeding.
• The animal is laid on its side and its paws are pressed tightly to the table. In order to fix the limbs, you will need the help of an assistant, who must hold the front legs with one hand and the hind legs with the other.
• Next, the coat is checked for tangles, combing it with a massage brush "against the grain". The found felted areas are carefully cut off with scissors.
• Then the areas around the nipples, genitals and around the anus are also cut off with scissors.
• Further, at some distance from the animal, the machine is turned on and its reaction is monitored. Most cats begin to growl and hiss, expressing their displeasure in this way. Therefore, in order to avoid injury, the assistant should press the pet as tightly as possible to the working surface.
• Starting a haircut, the sides are first treated, then the back and last of all the abdomen. This sequence is due to the fact that the skin on the abdomen is very sensitive, and if you start from this area, the animal will experience severe stress and will forever dislike a haircut. Starting from the sides and back, the groomer allows the pet to calm down a little and understand that the procedure is actually not so scary. The main thing is not to hurt the cat at this moment and not to instill in him fear of the typewriter for the rest of his life.
• It is recommended to cut according to hair growth, since this method of processing, although quite long, gives the pet a minimum of discomfort. Grooming against the fur allows you to trim the cat much faster and is used in relation to those animals that do not have their hair cut for the first time and are not afraid of the clipper. To trim wool in this way, it is recommended to slightly tighten the skin in the direction opposite to the movement of the knives, thus reducing the unpleasant pulling sensation.
• Further, with the help of a trimmer, hair is cut off at the folds and relief areas of the animal's body: under the armpits, around the elbow joints and under the tail.
• Then the paws and tail are sheared, forming a small brush on the latter, in order to avoid injury to the tip.
• After the trimming of the body and limbs is completed, the cat is wrapped in a towel and the mane is processed using thinning scissors.
• At the end of the procedure, the animal is bathed, washing off excess hair with water, after which it is dried in a natural way and combed out with a massage brush.

A hygienic haircut is performed no more than twice a year. This is due to the fact that the wool will grow back to its previous size in about 5-6 months, in addition, animals also molt twice a year. Usually Siberian, Persian, Angora and Norwegian cats are sheared, while this procedure is not required for the short-haired feline.

Show cats are trimmed 3-4 months before the eventHowever, it is not recommended to cut the wool too short: the animal will overgrow for a very long time and may not have time to increase the required length before the exhibition.

Before deciding on a haircut for a cat, it is necessary to take into account the recommendations of experienced professionals.So, professional groomers advise, if possible, not to touch the tail, which is the most vulnerable part of the animal's body. Even minor damage to it causes the pet enormous suffering and can negatively affect the overall well-being of the cat. You should also pay attention to the belly, especially the lower, most delicate part of it.

The next point that experts advise to pay attention to is the psychological preparation of the pet. This procedure may require some time and patience from the owner of the cat. So, long before the planned haircut, you need to start accustoming the animal to the table. This should be done very carefully and consistently.

To begin with, the cat is simply placed on the work surface, stroking its sides and back and, if possible, try to lay the pet on its side, without stopping stroking. After the animal stops behaving wary on the table and will gladly respond to caresses, they carefully start combing, each time increasing the time of the procedure.

If you follow the sequence and do not forget to regularly comb the cat on the table, then over time it will get used to the procedures and will perceive both the table and the comb quite calmly. The next important step is to accustom your pet to the sound of a working machine. Ideally, it is better to purchase a noiseless device, but if this is not possible, then you can try to accustom the cat to the noise of a running electric motor. To do this, a few days before the haircut, you should turn on the machine for a short while, while holding the pet in your arms and stroking it.

In general, grooming a cat or cat should be perceived as an extremely extreme measure, when the animal's fur is hopelessly neglected and it is not possible to comb out the tangles. As for haircuts for decorative purposes, then in this case it is necessary to be guided by the cat's reaction to the procedure, while assessing the possible consequences. When performing complex show hairstyles, it is recommended to give the cat a rest and trim in 2-3 stages.

It should also be remembered that a trimmed mustache, as well as hair on the inside of the ears and on the head, significantly reduce the sensitivity of the olfactory receptors. Do not cut too aggressive or overly active pets on your own. These animals are best taken to the salon with an experienced groomer where sedation may be required. Thus, each owner must decide for himself - to cut or not to cut the pet. To do this, you need to soberly assess the benefit / harm ratio and focus primarily on the well-being and mental balance of the pet.

For information on why to cut cats, see the next video.