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Archive for the ‘Cat Grooming’ Category

For the most part, cats don’t require any extra help getting and remaining clean. They are diligent with regards to their hygiene and most cats dedicate much of their day primping and preening so as to stay clean. It could be that this is instinctive to their nature to do so and the fact that mothers show their kittens really early the art of bathing seems to bolster their natural intuition. Whatever their grounds for doing so, it bodes well for cat owners because they will rarely have to bathe their cats. There are times however when your intervention is necessary, specially in cases where your cat is suffering from skin allergies or flees. When your cat is sick or getting down in age you may also have to step in then to provide him with a bath.

It is at times difficult to get cats into the bath water as they might be resistant. So preparation is needed before making an attempt to do so.

Have your materials ready and within easy reach

Make certain you have everything you need to give your cat a bath before starting. It will be nearly impossible and sometimes disastrous to stop what you are undertaking with a struggling cat to seek out a towel or shampoo. Line up several towels, mild, non-irritating shampoo such as baby shampoo or pet shampoo, and a cup for rinsing. You may also need a pet comb or brush and scissors for getting rid of any matted hair. Please keep all these within reach of the place you’ll actually be giving your cat his bath.

Preparing the bath

Lukewarm water is best suited for the majority of cats. They are going to react strongly to very hot or very cold water so beware. Fill the tub, sink or whatever container you plan to make use of with just enough water to rinse your cat. Don’t fill with too much water as this will alarm your cat. If available you can place a non-skid mat at the bottom of the tub to avoid slipping.

Introducing your cat to the water

If you’re bathing your cat for the first time this might be a challenge. Many cats will fight at any attempts to immerse them in water. The key here is to do this slowly and gently and submerge the hind legs first and then the remainder of the body after the cat calms down. Wrapping a towel around your cat while immersing in the water might help to prevent scratches. Another possibility is to get into the bath with your cat so he feels secure in your presence.

A few Safety measures

While bathing your cat use a small amount of shampoo so not as much rinse action is required. Also be careful of getting lather into the cat’s eyes. Don’t bathe your cat more than once per month. If you must bathe your cat, this ought to be restricted to two to three times a year.

Bathing too often will strip natural oils from your cat’s skin. Natural oils are required to give your cat a healthy coat.

Whenever possible replace harsh shampoos with natural herbal shampoos, this is often more calming for your cat.

Diane likes writing on various topics including reviews of products like Green DIY Energy, Wii Unlock Plus and Men Made Easy.

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Pet nail care is an essential part of your pet’s complete health care. Since nails continuously grow and are not necessarily worn down as they would if they were going for walks, consequently it is up to you to help in keeping them at a more comfortable length. When nails are too long, this affects the manner a dog walks which can cause osteo-arthritis later on in life. Also longer nails could get snagged and torn, or sometimes curl back into the toe pad which enables it to lead to an infection. Trimming nails is not that upsetting if you have the suitable gear and have trained your pet to let you hold the paw.

The nail does have a “quick” which houses the veins and nerves of the nail.The quick is easier to view in white nails. By trimming small amounts at any given time and trimming with the plane of the bottom of the toe pad (horizontally rather than vertically) you are able to avoid cutting the nail to short as to make it bleed.

Here are a few additional guidelines to successfully cut your pet’s nails:

1. Begin when your pet is still a puppy or kitten by gently touching their feet. Start by making a sport of it and looking at the nails, chances are they’ll will let you trim them once they grow older.

2. Pick a pet nail trimmer for the size and age of your pet. I often use the human toe nail trimmer for young pet’s nails since it can easily get to the teeny tips just a little easier plus they are sharper. When the kitten or puppy grows older, I may then change nail trimmers to the scissor action kind of trimmer in lieu of the guillotine trimmer. I find that these stay sharper for a longer time and are also easier to use. The guillotine type some times traps the nails and doesn’t necessarily create a clean cut. Your veterinarian can assist you oh how to purchase an appropriate trimmer.

3. When trimming your dog’s nails, by no means undertake it when your pet is sitting in your lap. Enlist someone to assist you and set them on the countertop or lid of the washer or dryer. You can wrap them with a bath towel to assist holding them better. Cats can also be scruffed by grasping the loose skin behind their heads for better control. If your pet begins to resist, just try holding the paw until he calms. In the event you let go of the paw when your pet starts to protest, you are just re-enforcing the bad habits and will make your next nail trim event even more difficult. (Go back to number 1)

4. Be prepared. Have on hand styptic pencils such as silver nitrate or Kwik stop powder. Be aware that the silver nitrate on the end of the sticks does indeed stain counter tops and your skin if you ever get it on you. For beginners, it is best to stick with the styptic powder.

5. If your pet has light colored nails, you are able to visualize the pink portion of the quick. If your pet has darker nails, trim a little bit at a time. I like to carefully press on the toe and extend the nail out. I then draw an imaginary line level with the bottom of the toe pad and extend it out across the nail. I then trim the nail at this imaginary line so that the nail is now level with the floor when the dog is standing. The nail of the cat is easier to see and it is best to just trim the tips off and stay away from the pink colored quick.

6. You may use an emery board to smooth the sharp edges.

7. Pedi-paws or similar rotor drill sanders are helpful to smooth rough edges and to trim just a small amount of nail. If the nail is very long at all, then it will probably take you quite some time to get it trimmed. You can use the drill to keep the nail shorter or for smoothing the nail after you have used the clippers. Your pet will also need to be taught not to be terrified of the noise, so it’s always best to move slowly as you both learn to work with the drill.

After a little practice and a lot of patience, you will soon be trimming your pet’s nails with full confidence. If all else fails, your veterinarian or groomer are here to help.

Unless you started bathing your cat when he/she was just a kitten, bathing a cat is definitely not the easiest thing to do. Felines detest water and regardless of how much love they usually show you, when they know they are going to get wet, the instinctive protection and claws appear.

Before you start a few things you need are a couple of towels, some natural cat shampoo (bought or home made), a bowl or pitcher, a sponge and the mind set that you are probably in for a scrap. First run a couple of inches of water in the tub and place one of the towels in the bottom where you plan to bath your cat. Then, go and get her, pick her up as if you were just going to pet her or take her for a treat, and head for the bathroom.

Cats are very intelligent, so when you enter the bathroom they will most likely start struggling because they have already figured out you are up to no good. So, before you put your cat in the tub and begin, be sure to close the bathroom door. If you have had a cat for long you know; if they escape and don’t want to be caught, they won’t be caught. Not only are they fast, they know the places, like under the bed, where it is difficult to get them. If you have already succeeded in getting her wet down and applied shampoo, if she should escape you are going to have a mess on your hands if she has the whole house to run through.

Now that, you have your supplies ready, the door is closed and you are ready to start. The first thing that will probably happen as you try to put the cat in water is she will suddenly become firmly attached to your arm with those very sharp claws. Just bite your lower lip and ease her down in the water while talking in a soft, gentle voice. Hopefully she will calm down after a couple of minutes. Continue talking quietly in a loving, reassuring way and begin to wet her down. After she is wet, take a safe, natural cat shampoo and slowly massage it into her fur. She may even like this part. After you have finished bathing her, gently wash off the shampoo. Be sure and get it all off so there will be nothing left that could possibly irritate her skin. Lastly, dry her down with the towel and put her in her favorite resting place.

Luckily for the owner, cats spend half the day bathing themselves with their tongue, so you only need to wash your cat very few times a year, for instance in flea season. All the same, try and remember when this task does come to hand, to use natural bath washes when shampooing your feline. Click here for great home made shampoo recipes you might want give a try. Some of them are even dry shampoos that don’t require water. Your cat would probably love you to give that one a try first.

Our colleagues often complain of their cat dandruff problems. It’s a nuisance that affects many cat lovers, and if you own a cat, it’s a matter of time before you have to look into it.

But fear not, there may be a cat dandruff cure that you can try without taking an expensive trip to the vet, just by looking at the symptoms and environment and taking action based on these symptoms. It is important to confirm first that your problem is not instead cat dander.

The majority of cat dandruff problems have in common three factors:

1. The cat dandruff appears on the rump or tail and your pet is aging or overweight.

If your pet is over-weight or has sudden weight gain and dandruff on her rump and tail, most likely she’s not able to reach these areas to clean herself. This is also an issue for old cats that don’t have the mobility to groom themselves.

Just carry on and brush your cat and you might want to consider grooming her every 2 months. If you decide to bathe your cat, please avoid using human shampoos as that might make her skin drier and exacerbate the condition. Always use a cat shampoo and do not forget to clean thoroughly as excess shampoo stuck on her undercoat may only make the problem worse.

2. It’s winter

If your cat only experiences dandruff issues in winter, then it could be the result of the cold and dry weather. Worse of all, a lot of cats like to lie about in the warm comforts of the fireplace, which quickly dries her skin causing it to flake.

Simply move her away from the fireplace regularly and see if the cat dandruff persists. Owning a humidifier would be a really good idea, both for your cat and also yourself (humans get dry skin too…)

3. The cat dandruff still persists after trying out everything

If none of the above apply, a change in furniture might be the cause A new curtain perhaps? See if there are any changes to her surroundings that she might be sensitive to and try to make the necessary adjustments.

If all three solutions still don’t work, don’t worry, click here for a comprehensive step by step cure for cat dandruff.

I hear about cat dander problems all the time and it’s really a big deal if you love cats. If you’re one of the unfortunate pet owners who have an allergy to cat dander, then good news, you may not have to give up your pet.

Cat dander are microscopic pieces of cat skin shed by your pet and propagated all over your home. It is sometimes wrongly diagnosed as cat dandruff. If you are allergic to them, here are some ways to minimize your problem:

1) Don’t let your kitty into the bedroom or onto your bed. I know this is difficult especially for those who share the bed with the cat, but the close distance of your body to the bedsheet and pillow means that you’ll be breathing in cat dander whenever you lie on the bed. Try to train your kitty to recognize your bedroom as out of bounds and you should see immediate improvement.

Also clean your blankets, pillow cases and bedsheets with hot water as often as you can.

2) Does your home have carpets? You might want to remove them as cat dander stick on to them and bacteria breeds easily there. If that isn’t an option, give them a good vacuum whenever you have the time.

3) Do you have fabric sofas too? The cloth of the sofa act as a breeding ground for cat dander. Change them with leather sofa sets or clean the fabric regularly.

4) Now you need to check your curtains. If you have the heavy fabric ones, cat dander might stick to them easily. You might want to consider curtains of another material or alternatives like blinds.

5) As cat dander spread by the air due to their tiny size, you have to look into cleaning the air too. It would be a great idea to invest in a good air purifier.

These five simple tips should help you get started but they are not the only solutions. More cat dander advice can be found at www.catdandruffaway.com