Grooming Your Cat: The Complete Guide

In this guide

Cats spend a remarkable amount of their day grooming themselves, helped by an unusually flexible body that can twist and bend to reach almost anywhere, and a tongue covered in backward-facing spines that works like a built-in comb, lifting loose hair and dirt from the coat.

A cat's fur is generally made up of three hair types, down, awn and guard hair, and different pedigree breeds carry different proportions of each, which is part of what gives them their distinctive coat textures. Moulting happens to some degree all year round, and grooming helps clear the loose hair, much of which is swallowed and either passes through the digestive system or comes back up as a hairball.

What grooming actually does for a cat

• Removes loose hair and smooths the coat, improving insulation.
• Helps regulate temperature in hot weather, as saliva spread across the coat evaporates and cools the cat.
• Keeps the coat waterproof by stimulating glands at the base of each hair.
• Spreads sebum through the coat, which produces vitamin D on exposure to sunlight, later ingested by the cat.
• Distributes the cat's own scent across its body.
• Removes parasites.
• Strengthens social bonds when cats groom each other.

Why it's worth grooming your cat yourself

• Improves muscle tone.
• Stimulates the skin to produce oils, giving the coat a healthy shine.
• Removes far more loose hair than the cat could manage alone, particularly useful during moulting, and helps prevent hairballs forming.
• Gives you a regular chance to check ears, eyes and mouth, and look for fleas, ticks, ear mites, or any unusual lumps.
• Builds the bond between you and your cat, and can be genuinely therapeutic for both of you.

Building tolerance from kittenhood

Get a kitten used to handling and grooming as early as possible, building up the time spent gradually until it is comfortable being brushed all over. Some cats, kittens and adults alike, tolerate handling far better than others from the outset, so patience matters; grooming should never feel forced, and a cat should always have the option to move away if it is finding the experience stressful. A cat well used to handling from kittenhood also tends to cope far better with veterinary examinations later in life, simply because there are no unfamiliar surprises.

Signs your cat has had enough

Watch for these subtle cues, and stop the session as soon as you notice them:

• Skin rippling or twitching
• Tail swishing, thumping, or twitching at the tip
• A sharp turn of the head toward your hand or the brush
• Sudden freezing or tensing
• Ears flicking or rotating backwards
• Swallowing or lip-licking
• Head shaking
• A short, rapid burst of self-grooming
• Growling or hissing

Grooming short-haired cats

You will need a fine-toothed flea comb, a bristle brush, and a rubber grooming pad or mitten. Start sessions when your cat is relaxed, aim for at least once a week, and begin with the flea comb to check for flea dirt (tiny black comma-shaped specks that turn red with a drop of water). Use your fingers to loosen dead hair by massaging gently against the direction of hair growth, then brush or comb from head to tail, following the direction the hair naturally grows. A bristle brush swept against the grain, then smoothed back down, helps lift loose hair to the surface, though some cats dislike this step if unfamiliar with it. A rubber grooming glove or pad from head to tail then removes the loosened hair and stimulates blood flow to the skin, and a final pass with a damp cloth or rubber glove gives a glossy finish. Keep sessions as short or long as your cat is comfortable with, stop at the first sign of discomfort, and end on a positive note with a treat.

Grooming long-haired cats

Long-haired cats need a wide-toothed comb and a rubber mitten or pad, and ideally daily attention, calibrated to what your particular cat can tolerate. Begin, as with short-haired cats, only when your cat is relaxed. Massage the skin gently from tail to head before combing, checking for flea dirt as the hair lifts. Comb from head to tail, paying particular attention to the armpits and the area between the hind legs, where the skin is thin and sensitive and knots form easily. If you find a mat, tease it apart gently and patiently, working from the root toward the tip. Never reach for scissors; it is genuinely difficult to distinguish skin from matted hair, and you risk cutting your cat. Check between the toes and pads too, another common site for mats. Finish with the rubber mitten to remove remaining dead hair, then a damp cloth for a final polish, and a comb-through if your cat is still patient. Stop if grooming becomes a struggle, and return to it later with smaller, more achievable goals, rewarding calm behaviour with praise and treats throughout. A wide range of grooming tools exists, rakes, slickers, detangling sprays, and it is worth experimenting to find the combination that works best for you and causes the least stress for your cat.

Dealing with mats

Regular grooming should prevent matting from developing in the first place, and prevention really is the priority. If a cat does arrive with mats, bear in mind how uncomfortable they are; imagine a clump of your own hair caught in a tight elastic band, constantly tugging at the scalp. A professional groomer may be able to work mats out by hand, but severe cases usually need shaving by a vet, typically under sedation or general anaesthetic, leaving the cat with fur only on the tail, head and lower legs until it regrows.

Bathing

A healthy cat generally has no need for a bath at all, and most cats tolerate the experience poorly regardless.

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