Again - copied from an online article written by Linda Hornberger - all due credit to her.
Grooming a Cat -- Step 3.3
Now for the fun, and yes, I personally think it's fun!
I groom my cats in one of two locations -- depending on the cat's willingness to be groomed. Those that like, I groom on my kitchen counter. I use the end of the counter with the refrigerator, so the cat is blocked in on 3 sides -- wall, fridge, and me. It's a nice height so, my back is not strained. There's space on top of the microwave for tools. And there's plenty of light.
For those less than thrilled, which is only a few, I take them into the master bath, close the door, and groom them on the floor, between my legs. Being in there with only me, they seem to feel safer. I can easily lay out all the tools next to me.
Regardless of the cat, my general order of grooming is something like this:
back of neck
back of neck continuing in long strokes towards tail
back of neck
front shoulders
chin and chest
back of neck
hip region
back of neck
lifting one front paw at a time, the inside of the other paw and chest/belly
back of neck
long strokes down body
push cat gently over and lift one rear leg to groom belly and groin
let cat up, push over on other side and repeat
back of neck
finally tail and butt bloomers
With a shorthaired cat, I do it with comb then slicker brush, so two complete run throughs. With persians, I do one very thorough combing.
Now, you may have notice the back of neck got a lot of attention. Cats LOVE being brushed there -- it's their sweet spot. So, I return to it over and over to make the experience enjoyable, especially with anxious cats. Sometimes it's only 1 or 2 strokes, just to calm and reassure. The chin, chest, shoulders are all spots most cats like groomed. The hips can be iffy. Many cats do not like the area in front of the tail combed, especially with any pressure so sometimes I sneak in some strokes there. If the cat tolerates nail trimming, lifting the front feet to groom should be fine.
Some cats love their bellies groomed and some don't. The recommended way of grooming it is to flip the cat on its back in your lap and groom it that way. And if the cat is skittish at all, you will be mauled as an upside down cat feels VERY vulnerable. Laying on their side, they tend to be more tolerant. With one girl, I have her sit up, I pick up both front feet on my one arm, raise the arm until she's a prairie dog, and then comb her tummy like that.
I can hear some of you say "Yah, not with my cat." Grooming is a matter of positive experiences. Start with what you can do -- and if that is 2 or 3 strokes on the back of the neck, so be it. Then try for 3 or 4 or even 5... Work up to the shoulder region. Slowly expand the tolerable area an inch here and there.
The worst thing you can do is force the issue!
And before someone says, "But you have show cats," I also have Gabby, PsychoPuff (in photo). When I got her, she would attack me if she saw a comb -- and I mean it, I have the scars. (BTW, getting blood on your silver persian is a no-no!) But I persisted (and it did help when she started to like being petted...), and did just what she could handle on that day. I approached her calmly, without any anticipation that she would attack, and with lots of patience. It took 9 months to fully groom her back, shoulders, head, and chest. We are working on her front legs now... slowly.
With long-haired cats, the #1 reason in my mind for hating grooming is mats, which we will talk about in the next installment.
Grooming a Cat -- Step 3.3
Now for the fun, and yes, I personally think it's fun!
I groom my cats in one of two locations -- depending on the cat's willingness to be groomed. Those that like, I groom on my kitchen counter. I use the end of the counter with the refrigerator, so the cat is blocked in on 3 sides -- wall, fridge, and me. It's a nice height so, my back is not strained. There's space on top of the microwave for tools. And there's plenty of light.
For those less than thrilled, which is only a few, I take them into the master bath, close the door, and groom them on the floor, between my legs. Being in there with only me, they seem to feel safer. I can easily lay out all the tools next to me.
Regardless of the cat, my general order of grooming is something like this:
back of neck
back of neck continuing in long strokes towards tail
back of neck
front shoulders
chin and chest
back of neck
hip region
back of neck
lifting one front paw at a time, the inside of the other paw and chest/belly
back of neck
long strokes down body
push cat gently over and lift one rear leg to groom belly and groin
let cat up, push over on other side and repeat
back of neck
finally tail and butt bloomers
With a shorthaired cat, I do it with comb then slicker brush, so two complete run throughs. With persians, I do one very thorough combing.
Now, you may have notice the back of neck got a lot of attention. Cats LOVE being brushed there -- it's their sweet spot. So, I return to it over and over to make the experience enjoyable, especially with anxious cats. Sometimes it's only 1 or 2 strokes, just to calm and reassure. The chin, chest, shoulders are all spots most cats like groomed. The hips can be iffy. Many cats do not like the area in front of the tail combed, especially with any pressure so sometimes I sneak in some strokes there. If the cat tolerates nail trimming, lifting the front feet to groom should be fine.
Some cats love their bellies groomed and some don't. The recommended way of grooming it is to flip the cat on its back in your lap and groom it that way. And if the cat is skittish at all, you will be mauled as an upside down cat feels VERY vulnerable. Laying on their side, they tend to be more tolerant. With one girl, I have her sit up, I pick up both front feet on my one arm, raise the arm until she's a prairie dog, and then comb her tummy like that.
I can hear some of you say "Yah, not with my cat." Grooming is a matter of positive experiences. Start with what you can do -- and if that is 2 or 3 strokes on the back of the neck, so be it. Then try for 3 or 4 or even 5... Work up to the shoulder region. Slowly expand the tolerable area an inch here and there.
The worst thing you can do is force the issue!
And before someone says, "But you have show cats," I also have Gabby, PsychoPuff (in photo). When I got her, she would attack me if she saw a comb -- and I mean it, I have the scars. (BTW, getting blood on your silver persian is a no-no!) But I persisted (and it did help when she started to like being petted...), and did just what she could handle on that day. I approached her calmly, without any anticipation that she would attack, and with lots of patience. It took 9 months to fully groom her back, shoulders, head, and chest. We are working on her front legs now... slowly.
With long-haired cats, the #1 reason in my mind for hating grooming is mats, which we will talk about in the next installment.
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