Cats are incredibly clean animals and they’re generally pretty good at grooming themselves, so it can be difficult to know how often we need to give them a helping hand.
Every cat is different, but there are some great reasons to help our cats out with their grooming. We’re taking a closer look at why it’s good to groom our cats regularly, *and* when our cats might need a little extra help with their grooming.
It’s a great bonding activity
First of all, even if your cat doesn’t actually *need* any help with their grooming, it can be a great bonding activity for you and your cat, and time spent grooming them is quality time spent together.
As with most things, in order to get your cat comfortable with being groomed, it’s best to do it little and often. And if you’re adopting a kitten, you can start getting them used to grooming from an early age.
You can keep an eye on their health
As well as bonding with your cat, making grooming a regular habit also means you can keep an eye on your cat’s health. Daily or weekly grooming means you can monitor them and quickly notice any changes like lumps and bumps, fleas, ticks, or issues with their eyes and ears.
Your cat is getting older
This is one situation where your cat might need a little more help with grooming. We all start to slow down as we get older, and our cats are no exception (you can see our recent post on how cats age to find out more).
As our cats get older, they can start to experience discomfort in their joints, much like humans, and this may make grooming more difficult for them—especially in harder to reach areas. A gentle groom can help to keep ageing cats looking their best. In much the same way as senior cats, sick cats can also struggle to keep on top of their daily grooming requirements and may benefit from a gentle helping hand.
Your cat has a longer coat
Your cat’s coat can often be a deciding factor in how often you need to groom them, and if your cat has a medium to long coat, you’ll probably be reaching for that brush more often.
Cats with short coats won’t need as much grooming (depending on the cat, once a week or so will probably suffice) but longer coated cats are prone to matting and can pick up more dust and dirt, meaning they’ll benefit from additional grooming.
So that’s the when and the why covered, but if you’re curious about the how, head to our past blog for even more information on how to groom your cat. It includes additional advice on brushing those tiny teeth, keeping claws in check, and making sure cats stay safe in the sun.
16/08/2022 by NatuTeam