How to Avoid Coat and Skin Problems In Cats ?

GROOMING

The cat’s tongue has a spiny surface that acts like a comb. As cats groom themselves, saliva wets the fur, and then cats lick themselves to take up the moisture, catching dirt and pulling out loose hair as they do. Mothers teach their kittens how to do this. When two cats live together, grooming often becomes a mutual activity.

Even though your cat keeps relatively clean, brush her regularly. The more hair you remove, the less can be licked off, swallowed, or shed. This helps to reduce the problem of hairballs, and also means less cat hair will be shed around your home. Frequent brushing also keeps the coat sleek and healthy, and free of parasites and other skin problems.

Kittens should be groomed in very short sessions every day, beginning shortly after they are weaned. This is good training. An adult cat unaccustomed to grooming can present a difficult problem when tangles and mats must be removed. Use a very soft bristle brush and keep the sessions short and happy. 

How often to groom an adult cat depends on the thickness and length of her coat and the condition of her hair and skin. Shorthaired cats usually need less grooming, and once a week may be sufficient. Longhaired cats with thick coats—Persians, Himalayans, and Angoras, for example—should be combed every day to keep their coats from matting and tangling. As cats age, even shorthaired ones will need more frequent grooming, because older cats tend to groom less.

A variety of grooming tools are described in the list that follows. What you’ll need for your cat depends on the type of coat your cat has.

• Comb. A metal comb will last the lifetime of your cat. It should have smooth, round teeth designed to avoid trauma to the skin. You should have a narrow-toothed comb to remove dirt and fleas. A wide-toothed comb is best for grooming long hair, and for attending to the hair around the head and in other sensitive areas on all cats. You can buy a combination comb that has narrow teeth on one side and wide teeth on the other. 

• Brush. Brushes with natural bristles produce less static electricity and broken hair than do nylon ones. A slicker brush (a rectangular bush with short, stiff wires) works well for most shorthaired cats. The wires feel like the spines on a cat’s tongue and are excellent for removing dead hair. For Rex cats, an ultra short-bristled brush or a brush with rubber nubs is most desirable, because this breed is prone to excessive hair loss if brushed too vigorously. 

• Palm brush (hound glove). This is used on shorthaired cats to remove dead hair and polish the coat. A piece of chamois leather or nylon stocking also works well. For a Sphynx cat, a damp washcloth may be adequate for most grooming needs. 

• Scissors. These may be needed to cut out mats (adequate grooming ensures that mats will never form). Buy a pair with a blunt tip or rounded bead on the end of each blade. 

• Nail clippers. We prefer those that have two cutting edges—a scissor effect rather than a guillotine. • Grooming table. This is really a luxury item, unless you are showing your cat. Some people prefer to hold their cat on their lap when they groom, but some cats just won’t sit in a lap. And it is easier to work with the cat on an elevated surface. If the table is the correct height, you can work on your cat comfortably without having to bend. Any table should be solid with a nonslip surface. You can also use an ordinary table or any flat, sold surface, with a nonslip mat placed on top to prevent your cat from slipping. 

How to Groom 

Always try to avoid adding static to the coat, because this is very uncomfortable for cats. Dampening the brush first or misting it lightly with water will help. With a shorthaired cat, begin at the head and work toward the tail, drawing a narrow-toothed comb carefully through the coat. Gently roll the cat over to groom the belly and armpit areas. Then brush in the same direction with a bristle or slicker brush. Finally, using a palm brush or chamois cloth, polish the coat to give it a sheen.

With a longhaired cat, use a wide-toothed comb and begin near the head by brushing or combing toward the head and against the lay of the hair, to fluff out the coat. Work upward over the legs and sides of the chest, the back, flanks, and tail. Then use a brush in the same way. The coat around the neck is brushed up to form a frame for the face. Roll the cat over gently to comb out the belly and armpit areas. Then comb the hair back down along the body, unless you are fluffing the cat out for the show ring. 

A discoloration at the base of the tail, which may be accompanied by loss of hair, is caused by overactivity of large oil-producing glands at the base of the tail. It is most common in unneutered males, but may occur in other cats.

Use special care to make sure any soft, woolly hair behind the ears and under the legs is completely combed out. These are two areas where mats (clumps of hair) form if neglected. Any mats should be removed. Mats that are not removed will continue to catch up more and more hair, pinching your cat’s skin and causing pain and irritation.

There are commercial tangle remover liquids and sprays that may soften these mats and facilitate removal. To remove mats, first saturate the clumps of hair with such a product. This rehydrates the hair and closes the barbs. Then separate as much of the mat as you can with your fingers.

Some mats can be removed with the tip of a comb. In many cases, however, they will need to be cut out. Cutting into mats with scissors must be done with extreme care, because a cat’s skin is not attached to the underlying muscle and tents up as the mat is pulled. Do not slide the scissors beneath the mat and attempt to remove it flush with the skin. You will almost certainly remove a piece of skin. When possible, slide a comb beneath the mat as a barrier between the scissors and the skin. Then hold the scissors perpendicular to the comb and carefully snip into the fur ball in narrow strips. Tease the mat out gently with your fingers. After the mat has been removed, comb out residual snarls. 

Cats with badly matted coats may need a whole body clipping done by a professional groomer or a veterinarian. Some owners of longhaired cats keep their cats in a short clip, especially in the warm weather.