Grooming and Hygiene for Cats: What you should know

Cat hygiene: basics

Although cats are very clean animals, sometimes they need us to help them maintain their hygiene. For example, they may be infested with external parasites or stained with a dangerous substance. In addition, long-haired cats require specific care. It is important to brush their hair frequently to avoid health problems .

On the other hand, it is convenient to keep the environment of our feline pet as clean as possible. If we don't properly sanitize your litter box or bedding, you may end up with an infection .

Bathing a cat: yes or no?

These pets do not need to be bathed very often precisely because they already wash themselves. However, it should be bathed from time to time to remove accumulated dirt and dead hair. It is important to bathe cats that go outside every so often. Outside the home, they are more likely to get dirty with toxic substances (car oil, pollution, etc.).
On the other hand, it is true that, if the cat has a bad time during the bath, it is not advisable to unnecessarily expose it to that stressful experience. In these cases, they will only be bathed if it is a matter of health .

If your cat gets a little nervous, we recommend:

Cat grooming: hair brushing

It is important to brush cats' hair at least once a week . If the animal has long hair, the frequency of brushing will have to be increased so that knots do not form or dirt accumulates on its skin.

In the molting season it is better to comb these pets every day. In this way, we prevent the cat from ending up with hairballs in its digestive system and the house from being filled with dead hair (and vomit). Choosing the most suitable brush for each particular case is essential.

Eye, ear and nail care

In addition to bathing and combing them, we must also remember to care for our cats' eyes, ears, and nails. Some cats, such as Persians, can accumulate discharge on the outside of their eyes. In these cases, we can use specialized products to clean them. It is advisable to consult with the veterinarian or with the pet groomer so that they can recommend the best product.

Regarding the ears, we can clean them with a cotton ball superficially. Thus, we will carefully remove the earwax.
On the other hand, we have to be very aware of their nails. House cats do not wear them down as much by not walking on hard surfaces (stones, asphalt, etc.). In addition to putting a scratcher on them, we will have to cut their nails from time to time to prevent them from growing too much and digging into the pads.

If we don't know how to do it, an expert can help us . Remember that conventional nail clippers should not be used and that care must be taken not to cut too much so as not to harm the animal.
 

 Cat's teeth

Deworming of cats

Another important part of cat hygiene is external deworming . The veterinarian will tell us which is the best treatment and how often we should apply it.

In feline grooming sessions, the specialist checks the animal's coat to see if it has parasites , wounds , or signs of skin problems .
 

The cat's sandbox

We also have to try to keep our cats' litter box as clean as possible . In this way, we prevent the animals from suffering infections and dirt and bad smell from accumulating on their feet and in their coat.